Weed of Week – Broom & Gorse

Snowy Monaro Regional Council is asking community members to get to know our priority weeds and find out what we can all do to play our part to protect our environment, help our famers and support our community.

This is the second in our nine-week ‘Weed of the Week’ series where we’ll be sharing information on our region’s priority weeds, this week focusing on Scotch/English Broom, Cape Broom and Gorse.

All three are weeds of national significance. The impact of weeds is estimated to cost the NSW economy around $1.8 billion annually (NSW Department of Industry, 2018).

What are these weeds?

Scotch/English Broom (Cytisus scoparius), Cape Broom (Genista monspessulana) and Gorse (Ulex europaeus), were first introduced as garden plants but now present serious agricultural and environmental problems.

Gorse is one of the worst weeds in Australia because of its invasiveness, ability to spread, and its adverse economic and environmental impacts.

Scotch/English Broom and Cape Broom will smother desirable vegetation, which reduces pasture-stocking rates. They form dense thickets, which can block access by humans and stock but harbour feral animals such as rabbits, foxes and pigs. Seeds of Broom are poisonous if eaten in quantity and leaves may cause digestive problems in horses. A mature infestation produces up to 50,000 seeds per square metre making effective control costly and difficult if the plants establish.

Why are they a problem?

• Seeds spread easily through soil, water, machinery, footwear, stock and wildlife

• Plants live for up to 25 years

• Each plant produces thousands of seeds per year

• Plants shoot their seeds metres away, allowing infestations to thicken and spread quickly

• Can dominate pastures, waterways and creek lines

• Obstruct access, reduce pasture availability and provide shelter for pests

• Compete with native vegetation

What can you do?

• Learn to identify and effectively control broom and gorse

o Download the free NSW Weed Wise app onto your phone or visit the website at https://weeds.dpi.nsw.gov.au/

o Call Council and one of our Biosecurity Officers can assist you with identification

• If you find Gorse or Broom in your garden replace it with a native shrub

• Grazing sheep and goats can suppress the regrowth of gorse and broom to some extent

• Practice good property hygiene

o Thoroughly check equipment, footwear, vehicles and animals for seed

o Wash down all of the above before leaving an infested area

• Stick to established paths, roads and tracks to reduce the risk of transporting seed

• Prevention is the best control option – maintaining a vigorous perennial ground cover will inhibit the establishment of weed seedlings

• Biological control of large Scotch/English Broom infestations with the Scotch Broom Gall Mite (Aceria genistae) can be effective

o The effects of the gall mite can be limited by cooler climates and has little impact on small infestations, where chemical or mechanical measures are the preferred method of control

• Biological control for Cape Broom is available with the Cape Broom Psyllid (Arytinnis hakani)

• Visit Council’s website to understand how we can help you with weed management: https://www.snowymonaro.nsw.gov.au/140/Biosecurity-and-Weeds