Are these native perennials going to be invasive at all?
prairiemoon2 z6b MA
17 years ago
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prairiemoon2 z6b MA
17 years agophilmont_709n2
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Helpful Thoughts about Invasives, Natives, etc.!
Comments (13)Unfortunately I am in the process of removing my japanese barberry and replacing it with New Jersey tea shrubs because of my concerns about the invasiveness of the barberry. I wish it wasn't the case because I do like the little things (and digging out a thorny shrub isn't easy) but I feel it is the right thing to do when there is a chance that letting the barberry stay is harming the environment. Just because you don't see the plant spreading in the nearby landscape doesn't mean that birds aren't possibly eating the seeds and spreading it to nearby forests or other natural areas. There are a lot of very pretty plants that are at least not potentially invasive, if not native, that could replace it. The article I am linking to this post has this comment on the issue: >> Mark Brand, professor of ornamental horticulture, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture Department, University of Connecticut, does genetic studies on feral barberry plants to determine their source. He especially looks for purple parentage. DNA fingerprinting of old, invasive populations of barberry originally showed meager evidence of purple barberry contributing genes to wild plants. "We did find a little bit but it didnÂt seem as though these populations were largely produced by the purple leaf types," he says. In another sample, however, parentage analysis of the genetics showed that plants had indeed spread from an old purple plant in an old landscape. "That study did show that a large, old, established, standard-sized purple plant could contribute seedlings to surrounding unmanaged areas." Ehrenfeld likens low levels of long-distance seed dispersal to a still-humongous 1% microbial resistance to anti-biotics. "In Highland Park, every third house has a barberry hedge. If we were adjacent to a natural area and even if only one percent of those seeds were moving into a natural area and only one percent of that had managed to germinate, thatÂs still substantial, especially because there is so much effective dispersal thatÂs local with bushes spreading out vegetatively and seed dispersal thatÂs local. Here is a link that might be useful: Article about barberry's invasiveness...See MoreWS's what has been your most invasive perennial??
Comments (55)Have had mint, monarda, obedient plant with little to no problems. Campanula punctata reseeds but cute so I remove most of it in spring and leave few clumps. Macleya cordata reseeds, easy to pull. Bishop weed was planted because of my own stupidity- still trying to get rid of it but the bed full of bulbs and perennials so it is pretty hard to remove it completely. Chameleon plant died on me- I wanted it to grow. Petasites japonicus was speading last year with alarming speed- well, got killed this year during recent cold snap- barely found couple survivors and potted them up. Got some running bamboo last year- it is marginally hardy for me......See Morenative/ invasive PLant slide show web site
Comments (6)There is a book by USDA Forest Service that is free for the asking...color photos...nice book. Order a box of 40 copies from pubrequest@srs.fs.usda.gov; ph. 828-257-4830; mail: Southern Research Station, PO Box 2680, Asheville, NC 28802. You can download this book from three different sites, but I think it would be better to get the books. Who wants to print all of this out?? Even better, there are downloadable powerpoints of conference presentations to use for free.I could use the ones on the plants to make my own presentation, but some of the others would need someone a little better versed on the problem. Anyway, it's all free. Here is a link that might be useful: Powerpoint invasive programs...See MoreInvasives the same as non-natives?
Comments (13)One has to distinguish between plants that are invasive in natural settings and plants that are invasive in gardens. Lots of natives are invasive in the garden sense of the word. They spread in the garden and may require that the gardener control them. On the other hand, I don't know of any situations where a native plant has been invasive in a natural ecosystem, with the exception of Common Reed Phragmites australis (and it may be that a non-native variety of Phragmites is responsible for the invasion of east coast marshes). On the other hand, some species that are invasive in natural settings don't create much problem in the garden. For example, if you plant one of the shrub honeysuckles (e.g. Lonicera mackii) in your garden you'll probably have few problems with it - it won't spread about the garden very much, At the same time, however, it may be spreading seedlings throughout the local woods, displacing native plants and eventually taking over the understory of the woods. So think twice what is meant when someone says a plant is invasive. But your question is whether invasive and non-native mean the same thing, and whether it is OK to grow nonnative plants in your garden. Not all non-native plants are invasive, and almost everyone has at least a few non-natives in their garden. Almost all vegetables are non-native, as are most lawn grasses. I think it is fine to grow non-natives, but I try to avoid them as much as possible. If there is a native alternative then I select the native plant, and I try to avoid any non-native plant that shows a tendency to spread, especially if it spread to any wild areas. Lots of plants commonly recognized as invasive were at one time grown as garden plants, and I bet that there are garden plants we use now that will in the future turn out to be troublesome invasives. For example, butterfly bush (buddleia davidii) is invasive in some parts of PA, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it listed as an invasive plant in future years. In the mean time, however, lots of people, even people who are concerned about things like invasive plants, are growing butterfly bushes not realizing they may be a problem. I won't even point out that Norway Maple, Bradford Pear, Common Privet, Water Hyacinth, and even Purple Loosestrife are commonly sold in nurseries - all are extremely invasive over a wide geographical range. I think that plants that have been in cultivation in the US for a long time are probably less likely to be a problem than pants that are newly intruduced, but you can never be sure. So, I think that non-native daffodils are fine, but I'd get rid of that Russian Sage......See Morersmallen
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