Thursday, 15 May 2014

Bramble root system

From my recent experience with removing bramble from underneath the Rhododendrons on our course it seems that generally these plants do not have very deep  root system. It is as if the plant forms a bulb-like structure from which lateral roots shoot outward.

The shallow root system ensures that the plant has access to any surface before competing plants. 

Another feature of this highly competitive plant is its ability to send stems straight to the canopy of  a competing shrub. Again from my observation, only once the stem reaches the top of the canopy does the plant create a head of leaves. This means that not only does the plant get access to surface water first but it also gets to the light first. 

These features of the bramble mean that shrubs such as the Rhododendron are no match and if left alone the Rhododendrons will become completely smothered and possibly eventually die.

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