Nestled next to the Connetquot River and spanning nearly 700 acres in Great River, NY, Bayard Cutting Arboretum has beautiful cultivated landscapes and natural areas for visitors to enjoy. Managing such a landscape is no easy task. Facing threats from coastal erosion to invasive species encroachment, Joy Arden, Landscape Curator, shared her team’s challenges and successes at LIISMA’s March Partners Meeting.
Boasting historic trees that date back to the early 1900’s, Bayard has extensive tree collections designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Unfortunately, these towering trees are not immune to Long Island’s invasive pest introductions, including hemlock wooly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), southern pine beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis), and beech leaf disease nematode (Litylenchus crenatae-mccannii).
Each introduction comes with its own challenges and solutions. Staff protect historic hemlock specimens from the wooly adelgid by targeted treatments, whereas preserving pines from southern pine beetle means the monitoring and removal of infested trees. When it comes to beech leaf disease, local companies donate their services to try different treatments to protect Bayard’s grand weeping beeches and beech hedges. Throughout the season, Bayard Cutting Arboretum staff educate a team of interns to scout for these tree pests and diseases, aiding in their early detection efforts. “All of this work, the monitoring,” says Arden, “helps us as an institution and helps the community.”
Other terrestrial invasive species find their way onto the property and are removed by hand, including common species like yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), vine honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), english ivy (Hedera helix), garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), common mugwort (Artemesia vulgaris), and mile-a-minute vine (Persicaria perfoliata). Newer invasive species on their radar include spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) and lesser celandine (Ficaria verna).
Having over a mile of coastline gives the arboretum a beautiful view, but also a challenge for management. “Over the last 10 years or so we’ve seen a huge burden of storms and flooding wrecking our coastline,” says Arden, “We’ve had to adjust what we’re planting, adjust our paths, and think about how we treat our coastlines into the future.” That means adapting to the changing conditions of areas like the Friendship Garden, where restoration is underway. There, arboretum staff are working with NYSDEC and local experts to do mechanical and limited chemical control of phragmites. They’re in this project for the long haul, as Arden explains, “All of this work has to happen annual and continually. We can’t just remove invasives once, oftentimes you have to go back. That’s an important part of the process that we understand, and we make it a priority.”
Arden’s team is also planting many native species in the Friendship Garden, including inkberry (Ilex glabra), swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), northern blue flag iris (Iris versicolor), seaside goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens), and cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum). The most exciting findings are the native species that come back on their own after phragmites is removed, including trout lily (Erythronium americanum), mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), wood anemone (Anemonoides nemorosa), saltmarsh bulrush (Bolboschoenus maritimus), marsh hay cordgrass (Sporobolus pumilus), and marsh elder (Iva fructescens). Noting that the native three-square bulrush (Schoenoplectus americanus) thrives along their estuary-adjacent Riverwalk, the managers stopped mowing the lawn grass and instead planted more of the bulrush in its place. The result is a bright green native border that is thriving along the Connetquot.
Joy Arden praised the help of her intern team in their shared work to protect the cultivated and natural landscapes of Bayard Cutting Arboretum. LIISMA thanks Joy and the arboretum staff for their efforts in managing invasive species!
View a recording of Joy Arden’s presentation on LIISMA’s YouTube channel: Spotlight on Bayard Cutting Arboretum | Joy Arden
