You weren’t aware it was Invasive Plant Awareness Week in New York? Well now you know. Learn more here.
So now what? How do we become aware of invasive species? I started in my yard about two years ago. With the right phone apps — I prefer PictureThis! — but your mileage may vary — you can get an inventory of your yard pretty quickly, and it will shock you.
On less than half an acre:
Annual Bluegrass
Armenian Grape Hyacinth
Asiatic Day Flower
Asiatic Tearthumb
Autumn Olive
Balloon Plant
Barnyard Grass
Bermuda Grass
Big Leaf Hydrangea
Bigleaf Lupine
Bitter Dock
Black Medic
Black Swallow-wort
Blackseed Plantain
Bull Thistle
Burning Bush
Butterfly Bush
Careless Weed
Carolina Buckthorn
Chickweed
China Rose
Chinese Clematis
Chinese Peony
Climbing Dayflower
Common Dandelion
Common Hawkweed
Common Lilac
Common Morning Glory
Common Mugwort
Common Nettle
Common Plantain
Common Purslane
Common Sowthistle
Common Velvet Grass
Common Vetch
Creeping Thistle
Creeping Yellowcress
Crepe Myrtle
Curly Dock
Dwarf Lilyturf
English Ivy
False Daisy
Florida Tasselflower
Fuzzy Deutzia
Garden Speedwell
Garlic Mustard
Goosegrass
Grape Hyacinth
Green Carpetweed
Green Foxtail
Hairy Bittercress
Hedge Mustard
Himalayan Blackberry
Indian Shot
Japanese Barberry
Japanese Holly
Japanese Honeysuckle
Japanese Privet
Japanese Quince
Japanese Spindletree
Lady’s Thumb
Lemon Grass
London Rocket
Mexican Tea
Mile-a-Minute
Mouse Ear Chickweed
Mulberry Weed
Multiflora Rose
Narrowleaf Plantain
Orange Daylily
Orchard Grass
Oriental Arbor Vitae
Oriental Bittersweet
Oriental Lady’s Thumb
Panic Veldtgrass
Perenial Rye Grass
Peruvian Daisy
Petty Spurge
Porcelain Berry
Privet
Prostrate Knotweed
Purple Dead Nettle
Seashore Bent Grass
Smooth Crabgrass
Spanish Bluebell
Spiny Sowhistle
Summer Ragwort
Swamp leatherflower
Sweet Briar
Sweet Wormwood
Tall Fescue
Tall Flatsedge
Thyme-leaved Speedwell
Tree of Heaven
White Clover
White Goosefoot
White Mulberry
White Vervain
Wintercreeper euonymus
Now this was only what was growing in my yard. No bamboo, and killed off what spread from my neighbor’s wisteria, for now at least.
Yes, I know. Having some pictures of the plants in question would help, as well as instructions for removal. Let’s consider this a “living document” then. Other plants will be added. Note too that these plants rank differently depending on invasiveness. Many of these plants here listed commit most of their damage taking up ecological space where a native plant would contribute to the local foodweb while these imports – escapees from our gardens often – contribute little or nothing.
When we grocery shop, we are challenged to find organic food, food with real nutritive value. It is the same with plant shopping. It is very hard to find local organic plants, plants that really contribute to the local environment. So our yards become progressively more lifeless — not just because our yards are being overwhelmed by invasive plants, but also because ornamentals are left alone to ‘look pretty’ because they are alien to the local environment. Useless, but reliably green and plastic looking.