Mother of Millions…more like mother of all nightmares!

By Lois Simpson - Chair Lake Mac Landcare Volunteer's Network

It seems like this devil can sniff out bushland, lake’s edge or road-side verge a mile away. The pinkish-brown to grey mottled stems can be over 60cm high, successfully camouflaged amongst other plants, or, in winter and spring, hailing their presence with tubular, bell-shaped, red to orange flower heads. Look out especially for the sneaky little young ones, hidden and un-noticed, but proliferating like crazy, to surprise us one day as a mini-forest.

It has every survival strategy mastered. Readily spread by plant fragments and seed, even the tiniest piece will take root. Its succulent nature allows it to adapt to prolonged dry conditions and it is unperturbed in saline ground. So it is no surprise that it so rapidly and successfully invades bushland and disturbed sites. It is also highly toxic to stock and poisonous to humans and household pets.

Preventing the spread of mother of millions is the best control measure. Learn to identify mother of millions and regularly check for it in winter when the plants are in flower and are easier to see. If found, remove immediately using a combination of control methods including hand removal, herbicide application and rehabilitation. Herbicides meet with mixed success only.

For small infestations, mother of millions is best removed by pulling up individual plants by hand. Once the plants have been removed they should be stored in black plastic bags until completely decayed, placed in your red bin or buried. Care needs to be taken when using this method of control as plantlets may detach from the leaves during removal and establish as new plants. Regrowth will therefore occur and follow-up treatment is a must.

Once removal of the infestation is complete the infested area should be revegetated with more desirable plants to provide competition to future mother of millions seedlings and plantlets.

For more information on bushland gardening check out the Bonza Bushland Gardening Guide.