How do you dispose of multiflora rose branches that were cut?
Question:
We have an invasion of wild roses, multi flora, which are making mowing difficult. We have cut back an huge amount of branches and want to know how to dispose of branches. Can I bring them somewhere so they can be burned?
Answer:
Jonathan Foster, Special Project Assistant
I’m sorry to hear about your troubles with multiflora rose.
First, thank you for being conscientious about disposing of problematic plants. I will refer you first to an excellent UNH Extension resource on disposing of plant material. It sounds like you don’t have the capability to burn the debris on site, so you could contact your local town office to see whether the transfer station burns or chips excess plant material (we do not recommend this for pernicious species like multiflora rose). If that doesn’t pan out as an option, the UNH resource gives good instructions for how to bag the debris and dispose of it in the trash.
Moving forward, please take a look at this Penn State Univ Extension page on multiflora rose for advice on how to combat the species. While the information there is geared toward pasture management, the control principles are the same. Mowing it frequently is already doing some good, so kudos for that, but you may find some helpful tips to get better results.