22.5 acres · 2 900 mt. eaglewoods 5.9 acres gps november 9, 2005 300 marthacustis woods - 1 .02...

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PARKFAIRFAX WOODLAND AREAS

22.5 Acres

Submitted by: Mary C. Hastings

March 18, 2007

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900 Mt. Eagle Woods 5.9 acres GPS November 9, 2005

300 Martha Custis Woods - 1 .02 acre GPS March 14, 2007

300 Martha Custis Woods - 2 .02 acre GPS March 14, 2007

3

500 Lyons Lane Woods 0.5 acres GPS November 9, 2005

4

700 Ward III Woods 3.6 acres GPS March 13, 2007

5

800 Coryell Woods 2.9 acres GPS November 8, 2005

200 Martha Custis Fence Line Woods 1.9 acres GPS March 13, 2007

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600 Valley/Gunston Woods 7.3 acres GPS January 29, 2007

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APPENDIX II

Native Plants Recommended for Parkfairfax Woodlands or Adjoining Landscaped Areas

(Note: For the 600 woods, only those plants native to Parkfairfax should be used.)

Native groundcovers for shade/partial shade

Common Name Scientific Name Native to

Parkfairfax?

Aster - White woodland Aster divaricatus or Eurybia

divaricata

Yes

Blackberry - Common Rubus allegheniensis Yes

Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta

Canadian anemone Anemone canadenis

Columbine - Native Aquilegia canadensis

Dwarf tickseed Coeropsis auriculata

Fern - Bracken Pteridium aquilinum Yes

Fern - Christmas Polystichum acrostichoides

Fern - Hay scented Dennstaedtia puntilobula

Fern - Maidenhair Adiantum pedatum

Fern - New York Thelypteris noveboracensis

Fern - Wood Dryopteris marginalis

Foam flower Tiarella cordifolia

Golden ragwort Senecio aureus

Goldenrod - Bluestem or

wreath

Solidago caesia Yes

Goldenrod - Early Solidago juncea

Goldenrod - Erect Solidago erecta

Green & Gold or Goldenstar Chrysogonum virginianum

Lyre-leaf sage Salvia lyrata

Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum Yes

Mistflower (wild ageratum) Eupatorium coelestinum Yes

Pachysandra1 - Native Pachysandra procumbens

Phlox - Creeping Phlox stolonifera

Phlox – Summer or Garden Phlox paniculata

Phlox – Wild Blue Phlox divaricata

Robin’s plantain Erigeron pulchellus

1 Native Pachysandra (Pachysandra procumbens) is not to be confused with Japanese Pachysandra (Pachysandra

terminalis) sold in most nurseries.

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Common Name Scientific Name Native to

Parkfairfax?

Solomon’s Plume Smilacina racemosa Yes

Solomon’s Seal Polygonatum biflorum Yes

Virginia Creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Yes

Virginia knotweed Tovara virginiana/Persicaria

virginiana or Polygonum

virginiana

Yes

Wild bleeding heart Dicentra exima

Wild geranium Geranium maculatum

Woodland sunflower Helianthus

Native Shrubs

Common Name Scientific Name Native to Parkfairfax?

American Beautyberry Callicarpa Americana

Black huckleberry Gaylussacia baccata

Blueberry - Highbush Vaccinium species Yes

Blueberry - Lowbush Vaccinium augustifolium Yes

Chokeberry - Red Aronia arbutifolia

Deerberry Vaccinium stamineum Yes

Elderberry Sambucus canadensis Yes

Gray stem dogwood Cornus foemina ssp. racemosa Yes

Leatherwood Dirca palustris

Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia Yes

Pinxterbloom azalea Rhododendron periclymenoides Yes

Rose - Carolina Rosa carolina

Rose - Virginia Rosa virginiana

Spicebush Lindera benzoin

Viburnum - Arrowwood Viburnum dentatum Yes

Viburnum - Blackhaw Viburnum prunifolium

Viburnum - Mapleleaf Viburnum acerfolium Yes

Viburnum - Nannyberry Viburnum lentago

Virginia sweetspire Itea virginica

Winterberry holly Ilex verticillata

Witch Hazel Hamamelis virginiana Yes

Native understory (small) Trees


Dogwood Cornus florida Yes

Fringetree Chioanthus virginicus

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Hazelnut, American Corylus americana

Mulberry, Red Morus rubra Yes

Redbud Cercis Canadensis Yes

Sassafras Sassafras albidum Yes

Serviceberry - Downy Amelanchier arborea Yes

Native Trees


American Beech Fagus grandiflora

American Elm Ulmus Americana ?

American Hawthorn Crataegus phaenopyrum Yes

American Holly Ilex opaca Yes

Black Gum Nyssa sylvatica

Cherry, Black Prunus serotina

Eastern Red Cedar Juniperus virginiana Yes

Hickory - Bitternut Carya cordiformis ?

Hickory - Mockernut Carya tomentosa Yes

Hickory - Pignut Carya glabra Yes

Oak - Black Quercus velutina ?

Oak - Blackjack Quercus marylandica ?

Oak - Chestnut Quercus montana Yes

Oak - Northern Red Quercus rubra Yes

Oak - Pin Quercus palustris

Oak - Post Quercus stellata

Oak - Scarlet Quercus coccinea Yes

Oak - Southern Red Quercus falcate

Oak - White Quercus alba Yes

Oak - Willow Quercus phellos

Sweet Gum Liquidambar styraciflua Yes

Tulip Tree Liriodendron tulipfera

Virginia Pine Pinus virginiana

Note: Most of these native plants and many more can be purchased at the Parkfairfax Native

Plant Sale, held twice yearly (April & September) or from the Virginia Native Plant Society at

Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, which also has biannual sales in the spring and fall. For

information about these sales, lists of area vendors, and links to their websites see:

http://home.earthlink.net/~sknudsen/ and http://www.vnps-pot.org/about-us

http://home.earthlink.net/~sknudsen/

http://www.vnps-pot.org/about-us

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Appendix III

Non-Native, Invasive Plants and Trees Inappropriate for Woodlands and Adjacent Areas*

Below are listed non-native plant species which are not appropriate for the Parkfairfax woodlands or

adjacent areas. These species are highly invasive and difficult to control. A few (such as English ivy)

can be used in confined landscaped areas with regular maintenance. However, in unmaintained, natural

areas like our woodlands they quickly take over, crowd out or smother native plants, reduce or eliminate

food and habitat for birds and other wildlife, deplete soil moisture and nutrients for native species, alter

the soil and inhibit the regeneration of native plant and tree seedlings. Some of these species will climb

trees, slowly killing the tree by enveloping branches, blocking sunlight, girdling the trunk and roots, and

making the tree more susceptible to blowing over during storms. Trees are also more susceptible to

disease when the trunk is covered by vines, which inhibits air circulation and encourages insect attack.

*Note: This list is not comprehensive. If in doubt, check with the Woodlands Committee or refer to the

following websites:

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/ - National Park Service

http://www.ma-eppc.org/ - Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Council (MA-EPPC)

Vines:

Common Name Scientific Name

Chinese wisteria Wisteria sinensis

English Ivy Hedera helix

Japanese honeysuckle Lonicera japonica

Japanese wisteria Wisteria floribunda

Kudzu Pueraria Montana

Mile-a-minute weed Polygonum perfoliatum

Oriental Bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus

Periwinkle Vinca minor and Vinca major

Porcelainberry Ampelopsis brevipedunculata

Herbaceous Plants:

Creeping Euonymous Euonymus fortunei

Garlic Mustard Alliaria petiolata

Japanese knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum or Fallopia japonica

Japanese stilt grass Microstegium vimineum

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/

http://www.ma-eppc.org/

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Lesser Celandine (Fig buttercup) Ranunculus ficaria

Moneywort (or Creeping Jenny) Lysimachia nummularia

Shrubs:

Exotic bush honeysuckles:

Bell’s honeysuckle Lonicera x bella

Amur honeysuckle Lonicera maackii

Tartarian honeysuckle Lonicera tatarica

Morrow’s Lonicera morrowii

Multiflora Rose Rosa multiflora

Autumn Olive Elaeagnus umbellate

Russian Olive Elaeagnus angustifolia

Bamboo Bambusa, Phyllostachys and Pseudosasa species

Wineberry Rubus phoenicolasius

Rose of Sharon, Althea Hibiscus syriacus or Althea syriacus

Trees:

Bradford Pear Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’

Chinaberry Melia azedarach

Chinese tallow tree Triadica sebifera

Mimosa tree Albizia julibrissin

Norway Maple Acer platanoides

Paper Mulberry Broussonetia papyrifera

Princess tree Paulownia tomentosa

Sawtooth Oak Quercus acutissima

Tree-of-Heaven Ailanthus altissima

White Mulberry Morus alba

White Poplar Populus alba

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Appendix IV - Parkfairfax Woodlands Invasives Removal: History and Funding

Part 1: History

Parkfairfax has 22.5 acres of woodlands broken into 7 separate areas (see Appendix I

GPS maps). The woodlands are not maintained by the Landscape crew, except on

occasion if large fallen trees obstruct major paths or if a tree is in danger of falling on a

building. Judging from available old aerial photographs, at the time Parkfairfax was built

in the early 1940’s, tree cover in most parts of the property (with the exception of the 600

woods and clusters of trees in the area of the 800 Coryell woods and 900 Mt. Eagle

woods) was much less than became the norm later in the 20th

century. Several of today’s

woodland areas located near buildings had few trees and much of the surrounding soil

was disturbed during construction of the buildings. Since that time, more trees have

grown in the woodlands. Unfortunately over the last 50-60 years the disturbed soil in

areas adjacent to woodlands encouraged the spread of invasive non-native vines such as

English ivy, Japanese honeysuckle and Chinese wisteria, which had been planted in many

cases by residents and staff in landscaped areas near the woods.

By 2001 the vines in many woodland areas were completely covering the trunks of most

of the trees, sometimes extending into the upper branches. Over the same time several

other non-native invasive problem species have proliferated, such as tree-of heaven,

Norway maple, multiflora rose and various bush honeysuckles. The presence of

aggressive vines in combination with other non-native invasive plants contributed to a

steady decline in the health of the trees and other native plants in our woodlands resulting

in the loss of many mature trees before their time and the elimination of many tree

seedlings and saplings before they could reach maturity. As a result, habitat for birds

and other beneficial wildlife has been depleted and the quality of life at Parkfairfax, as

well as our property values have been threatened.

The Woodlands Committee, re-formed in 1999, decided that removal of non-native

invasive plants should be the top priority of the Woodlands Program, and began working

towards that goal. The first few years these efforts consisted of occasional work days in

which Woodlands Committee volunteers removed the problem plants by hand from one

of the woodlands. In the winter of 2005 the Woodlands Committee began a concerted

effort in the 600 woods (Gunston Rd. section) to hand-remove English ivy from the

ground and from trees using Woodlands Committee volunteers together with paid

part-time workers coordinated by a Woodlands Committee volunteer, with supervision by

the Landscape Manager. These efforts continued in 2006, along with volunteer efforts in

the Valley Dr. section of the 600 woods. The use of paid workers to remove invasives

by hand did not continue after winter 2007 due to the unavailability of a Woodlands

Committee coordinator. As a result of the work done from winter 2005 - winter 2007,

much of the English ivy was removed from the ground in the Gunston Rd. section of the

600 woods, and all vines (whether ivy, wisteria or honeysuckle) on trees were removed in

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this section. Although wisteria in this area was cut to the ground in fall 2005 by

volunteers, it became clear that herbicide treatment and follow-up over several years

would be required to eliminate the wisteria. Wisteria sends out very long underground

runners that continue to send up shoots no matter how many times they are cut at the

ground level. These runners cannot be pulled up easily and doing so causes extreme

disturbance to the surrounding soil.

The Valley Drive section of the 600 woods contain the oldest stand of trees in Parkfairfax

as well as rare native plants. According to Rod Simmons, Plant Ecologist for the City of

Alexandria and Site Registry Chair for the Virginia Native Plant Society, there are plants

in these woods that are found nowhere else in Alexandria, and in 2004 he recommended

against the use of herbicides in this area. For this reason, the Woodlands Committee has

continued to work removing non-native invasive plants by hand from this section of the

600 woods, wherever possible. In calendar year 2008, Woodlands Committee volunteers

spent approximately 200 person hours on hand removal of invasives in this area.

After these experiences in the 600 woods, the Woodlands Committee decided hand

removal by volunteers was not feasible for the remaining woodland areas at Parkfairfax,

most of which were heavily infested with English ivy, Chinese wisteria, and Japanese

honeysuckle. We contacted several contractors, obtained cost estimates, and in 2006,

Invasive Plant Control, Inc. (IPC) was hired on a 5 year contract to eliminate problem

species through the application of herbicide treatments in the 800 Coryell woods. This

woods was chosen as a test case due to the heavy infestation of the vines previously

mentioned, as well as the presence of kudzu. Two treatments were completed in August

and December of 2006. By the spring of 2007, a dramatic difference could be seen in the

Coryell woods, though significant remnants remained of each invasive species treated.

Follow-up spot treatments in the succeeding years have and greatly reduced all the

original problem species found in the Coryell woods.

In March 2007, the Board approved a 5 year contract for IPC to treat the 900 Mt. Eagle

woods. Two treatments were completed in March and August of 2007. That same year

the Board approved a 5 year contract for the remaining woodlands areas (excepting the

Lyons Lane woods) to be treated by IPC. The Lyons Lane woods was not included in

IPC’s contract at that time because it did not appear to have a significant problem with

invasive plants. However it was noticed in 2010 that several invasive plants were taking

over the area and a special budget request for herbicide treatment by IPC was submitted

and approved by the Board. Treatment of the Lyons Lane woods was conducted in

September 2010.

The nature of invasive exotic plants requires several years of follow-up herbicide

treatment by professionals for the most complete and cost-effective removal.

Continuous monitoring of the woodland areas by Woodlands Committee members is

needed to catch outbreaks of problem plants before they become more widely established.

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Hopefully many of these outbreaks can continue to be remedied by hand removal by

Woodlands Committee members. However this may not always be possible or practical.

The Woodlands Committee recommends that Parkfairfax fund yearly herbicide control of

problem invasive plants in the woodlands by an outside contractor such as IPC. In May

2010 IPC provided a cost estimate of $9,000 for such yearly maintenance of all woodland

areas.

Due to the disturbed soil conditions in many woodland areas and the long period of

extensive coverage by invasive exotic plants, it was anticipated that many areas of the

woodlands would need to have native plants introduced before a more balanced and

diverse population of native plants could become established. In 2009 and 2010 with the

bulk of exotic plants removed from all woodland areas, Committee members began

planting native plants in the form of small seedlings and saplings in a few small areas of

the 600, 700, 800 and 900 woodlands. During the same time the Landscape Director

also began several planting projects using native plants and trees in the 700 woods for

erosion control purposes.

In view of the substantial tree loss that resulted from the storm of August 5, 2010, the

Woodlands Program, with assistance from the Landscape Director, plans to expand the

planting of native trees in certain woodland areas, especially in the 700 and 800 woods.

APPENDIX IV, PART 2 : Amounts Paid to IPC by Fiscal Year

Woodland

Areas

Exotic Invasive Plants

Present FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013

800 Coryell

Woods (2.9

acres)

English ivy, Jap.

honeysuckle, Chinese

wisteria, kudzu,

multiflora rose, bamboo $8,600 $1,200 $1,200 $1,200

900

Mt.Eagle

Woods (5.9

acres)

English ivy, Jap.

honeysuckle, Chinese

wisteria, tree-of-heaven,

multiflora rose, bamboo $20,000 $14,800 $7,500 $5,000 $3,000 $2,000

(projected)

700 Woods

(2.6 acres of

the 3.6 acres)

English ivy, multiflora

rose, wisteria, Japanese

honeysuckle, Vinca

minor, winter creeper,

tree-of-heaven. $10,250 $6,150 $3,090 $2,215 $1,330

(projected)

200 Martha

Custis Fence

Line Woods

(1.9 acres)

English ivy (foliar and cut

off trees), Japanese

honeysuckle. $8,600 $2,580 $1,550 $930

(projected)

300 Woods

(0.04 acres)

English ivy (foliar and cut

off trees), Japanese

honeysuckle, Vinca

minor $600 $300 $300 $300 $300

(projected)

600 Woods –

Tennis court

section (1.08

acres)

English ivy, Jap.

honeysuckle, tree-of-

heaven, Vinca minor,

Jap. stilt grass $3,600 $1,800 $600 $650 $390

(projected)

600 Woods

(Gunston Rd.

section - 3

acres)

Chinese wisteria, tree-

of-heaven, remnants of

English ivy, Japanese

honeysuckle $3,200 $2,280 $1,800 $1,000

(projected)

600 Woods

(7.3 acres)

Norway maples

throughout $600

500 Lyons

Lane Woods

(0.5 acres)

English ivy, Jap.

honeysuckle, tree-of-

heaven, porcelainberry,

multiflora rose, Amur

honeysuckle $3,600

SUBTOTALS: $28,600 $37,850 $20,150 $15,050 $14,615 $5,950

(projected)

(summer &

winter treat-

ments)

(summer &

winter

treat-

ments)

(summer

& winter

treat-

ments)

(summer

& winter

treat-

ments)

Summer

treatment

only

Appendix V - Parkfairfax Buildings/Units Bordering Woodlands

Building # Unit # Address Comments

214 1 3112 Ravensworth Dr. Rear area only - borders Robert Leider Park




219 2 1903 Quaker Lane Front area only



311 1 3536 Martha Custis Dr. Rear area only








317 1 3492 Martha Custis Drive Rear area only






536 6 3626 Greenway Place Front and rear area

607 2 1126 Valley Dr. Rear area only








701 3 3405 Valley Dr. Front area only













































713 1 3536 Gunston Rd. Front and rear area



717 1 3512 Gunston Rd. Rear area only

717 2 3514 Gunston Rd. Front area only













811 4 1650 Preston Rd. Rear area only

811 5 1652 Preston Rd. Rear and side area





827 1 3325 Martha Custis Dr. Front and rear area

827 2 3327 Martha Custis Dr. Front area


829 2 3315 Martha Custis Dr. Front/side area

835 1 1619 Ripon Place Rear area only

837 1 1607 Ripon Place Front and rear area


838 1 3235 Ravensworth Place Front and rear area








914 2 1618 Fitzgerald Lane Rear area only











920 1 3700 Gunston Rd. Front area and rear area

920 2 3702 Gunston Rd. Front/side area




926 1 3632 Gunston Rd. Side area


928 9 3630 Gunston Rd. Front and rear areas





935 1 1621 Mt. Eagle Place Front and rear area

935 6 1631 Mt. Eagle Place Rear area only






942 1 1601 Preston Rd. Front area only





943 1 1651 Mt. Eagle Place Front area only
















949 1 1521 Mt. Eagle Place Front area only

949 2 1523 Mt. Eagle Place Front side area






955 5 1516 Mt. Eagle Place Front and side area







22.5 acres · 2 900 mt. eaglewoods 5.9 acres gps november 9, 2005 300 marthacustis woods - 1 .02...

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