Arboretum

The Acton Arboretum ( LSC webpage) comprises both the well-manicured Orchard area, and a wilder wooded portion, with swamps, eskers, bogs, and inner meadows. Invasive plants are found throughout.

Area A - The Orchard

Area A comprises the "Orchard Loop" plus the new China Garden. Invasives in this area are Multiflora Rose, Asian Bittersweet, Mugwort, Bush Honeysuckle, and Garlic Mustard. The areas near the paths need regular weeding of invasives.

They were being continuously cleared in 2022/2023 (as Ruby got her daily constitutional.)

In fall 2022, all meadow areas in Area A were mowed (tractor). Yearly mowing is recommended.

There was no fall mowing of these areas in 2023. They were mowed on Oct. 11, 2024.

Area B - Taylor Rd Border

Area B is the area between the sidewalk and Taylor Rd., in the area between the exit and the southern border of the Arboretum. Invasives in this area are largely Glossy Buckthorn and Mugwort, with some MultiFlora Rose, Bush Honeysuckle, and Asian Bittersweet thrown in.

There is a beautiful (in early June) Carolina Rose bush about 15m north of the Arboretum entrance (marked by a fire hydrant on Taylor Rd.). It has a Black Walnut and a Bush Honeysuckle root system in it which need regular cuttings. There is also Mugwort growing throughout harming the Carolina Rose.

Cleared on 10/18/23 (although there is still a large Bush Honeysuckle at the southern end which hasn't been cut.) Cleared in June 2024, including cutting the large Honeysuckle.

The Catalpa trees growing right next to the sidewalk are not desired. Discussion started in 2024 about removing them.

Area C - Inside the WildFlower Trail

This is an area cleared in the past few years (2019 ?). There is still considerable regrowth from roots of Asian Bittersweet, Bush Honeysuckle and Multiflora Rose which needs clearing. It was worked in October 2024.

A tree fell down into this meadow in early 2024. Normally it would be cleared to allow mowing, but 1) this area doesn't get mowed and 2) the area where the tree fell is too uneven/rocky to mow. Still, it is encouraging Asian Bittersweet regrowth.

The American Hazelnut cluster near the trail needs yearly clearing of Asian Bittersweet regrowth.

The rock wall and trees along it need clearing yearly.

Area D - The Neglected Area

Area D starts at the parking lot and continues downhill between the Arboretum border and the maintained Arboretum lands. Infested with large Bush Honeysuckle overgrown with Asian Bittersweet. Multiflora rose is also scattered throughout. Clearing started in 2022, and continued in 2023 and 2024.

Area E - The Donald Land Crossing

Area E is the area around the start of the swamp trail. It is infested with large Bush Honeysuckle, Glossy Buckthorn and Multiflora Rose overgrown with Asian Bittersweet. Lots of Poison Ivy and Raspberries as well, which while desired have a tendency to grow into the trail.

In 2022 (?), there was an effort by volunteers to cut back the encroaching vegetation, especially in the area close to Mary's Brook. There was a pass made a clearing regrowth in summer of 2023.

Area F - The Taylor Rd. Swamp

This area is the Taylor Rd. side of the swamp at the northeast corner of the Arboretum. It has large clumps of Glossy Buckthorn and (supposedly) one scary infestation of Japanese Knotweed.

The area at the north end of the Hosta Garden (where it meets the swamp) had Glossy Buckthorn cut in 2023, and again at the end of May, 2024.

The area under the Maple Tree was cleared of MF Rose, Asian Bittersweet, and Glossy Buckthorn in June 2024.

Area G - The new Garlic Mustard patch

In 2023, Jim Snyder-Grant discovered a new infestation of Garlic Mustard in this area, hidden among the Bush Honeysuckle.

Area H - The Vulcan Ear Loop

This area is completely infested with invasive plants: Bush Honeysuckle, Glossy Buckthorn and Multiflora Rose overgrown with Asian Bittersweet. There were also some Norway Maples, but they were girded and killed in the late 2000s.

The Blue path through this (the Vulcan Ear loop) requires mowing two - three times a year to keep it clear, along with at least one pass at cutting back the larger intruding bush invasives by hand.

There has been no attempt to deal with this area.

Area I - The Inner Meadow

Bordering the Vulcan Ear Loop is the Arboretum Inner Meadow. This jewel has seen its mowing sadly neglected, which has resulted in an overgrowth of Asian Bittersweet and Glossy Buckthorn.

The entire meadow was mowed in 2023.

The eastern half of the meadow got a good mowing in the fall of 2022. The western half hasn't been mowed since 2020.

The large trees at the trail junction died in the late 2010s. In 2024, there were two Black Walnut saplings and a number of

Area J - The Indian Mounds

This is forested area to the northeast of the intersection of the Billings trail and the Yellow Bog Loop trail. While the overgrowth restrains the growth of invasive plants, there is still Glossy Buckthorn and Asian Bittersweet growth in this area. Note that any plant removal around the Indian rock mounds should avoid disturbing them.

Last cleared around 2021.

Area K - Inside the Bog Loop

This area started seeing invasive plant clearing in 2017, and is now starting to stabilize with little remaining regrowth. The culprits were Glossy Buckthorn and Multiflora Rose overgrown with Asian Bittersweet. There was also one large Winged Euonymus which had spread to dozens of little Winged Euonymus plants.

The area was last walked through in 2023.

Area L - The Swamp Trail

The continuation of the Swamp trail has lots of Glossy Buckthorn growing around it, with occasional Multiflora Rose, Asian Bittersweet, and Japanese Barberry.

It is unclear when it was last completely cleared.

Area M - Lower Bog Loop

This area is infested with Glossy Buckthorn, Multiflora Rose, Bush Honeysuckle, and Asian Bittersweet.

It shows sign of previous removal efforts, but needs lots of work.

The area immediately around the rock wall was cleared of Asian Bittersweet in Feb. 2024.

Area N - The Wood Lane Meadow

This meadow sees infrequent mowing (should be yearly). It is infested with Asian Bittersweet and Glossy Buckthorn.

There is an cluster of Aspen Saplings growing in the northeast corner of that meadow, which should probably be encouraged instead of mowed (Despite mowing around it with a field mower, it was mowed in Fall 2023). Also in the north side of the meadow (near the trail) is an Valley Forge variant American Elm tree.

In 2023, all edges of the meadow were cleared of invasive plants, and all trees in and along the meadow were cleared of Asian Bittersweet.

Area O - The Billings Trail

This is the part of the Billing Trail leading out to Concord Rd. from the (current) end of Wood Lane. The edges of the trail are infested with Asian Bittersweet, Glossy Buckthorn, and Norway Maple.

A sweep was made all the way down the trail in 2023. The large number of girded Norway Maples will need another sweep to remove regrowth in early 2024.

In June 2024 a sweep was made to continue working the Norway Maples. There is still considerable regrowth of Asian Bittersweet and Multiflora Rose from left-behind roots. There are still over a dozen Norway Maples which need girding.

Area P - The Meadow at the Fish Pond

Golden Larch sapling on the southern side of the Meadow w. the Fish Pond

This meadow has been receiving more attention since the addition of the Japanese Garden (and connecting trail) in the late 2010s, and the Fish Pond in 2023. The western edge of the meadow (along the yellow loop trail) has long been a source of Bush Honeysuckle incursions into the trail which needed cutting back. The southern and eastern edges were known for Multiflora Rose incursions into the trail which needed regular cutting back.

Starting in the late 2010s, more effort was put into cutting back the bushes along the western side, as well as the Asian Bittersweet growing over them. In 2024, the yearly field mower (bush hog) took a pass along that edge. This was followed by a manual pass, uprooting any remaining invasives within ten feet or so of the walkway.

The southern edge was mostly cleared of multiflora rose in 2024, but will need continual re-cutting for a while. The highlight here is an area previously cleared which has a Golden Larch Sapling. Growing in front of it are small examples (in 2024) of Virginia Rose.

The brush pile at the southeastern corner was created when the mower moved a dead tree from the meadow into there, knocking over the large existing MF Rose bushes.

American Elms

There are Dutch Elm Disease Resistant American Elm trees planted throughout the Arboretum. These should get special attention to keep them free from invasive plants. Their location is provided in this map (mirrored from here): As of Nov. 2023, all of the ones indicated as living in that diagram were found alive.

Identifying Local Elm Species