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Escarpment Magaz ine Summer 2012
Beware
– your garden may be harbouring dangerous fugitives – dastardly ones of the leafy variety.
So when tidying your garden this fall, be on the lookout for invasive plants that may be lurking behind your
bushes or creeping stealthily beneath your neighbour’s fence. Some of the villains may even have used their
good looks and promises of easy care to trick you into planting them on a whim.
Although invasive plants can have innocent sounding names like flowering rush or autumn-olive, don’t be
fooled. They definitely can harm your garden by pushing out other, treasured plants or worse, they can es-
cape and spread rapidly, taking away much needed food and shelter for wildlife. “After habitat loss, inva-
sive species are the biggest threat to biodiversity,” says Dan Kraus, the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s
(NCC’s) Conservation Science Manager. “If we don’t manage invasives, we will lose native species and
the quality of our environment will decline.”
Invasive plants grow quickly and are highly tolerant of pests and diseases. They respect no boundaries,
quickly spreading into the neighbours’ gardens, parks or even nature reserves. “They are really hardy and
competitive and do not have a lot of predators,” says Kristyn Ferguson, NCC’s Stewardship Coordinator for
the Ontario Region. “Essentially, invasive plants have everything working for them and nothing working
against them.”
But all is not lost. There are many basic things the average gardener can do to help control invasive plants
including clipping, digging, mowing and pulling. But, before heading into battle, take some time to study the
enemy. Start by identifying the intruder and researching the best control method for that species. It is also
important to see if there are special handling instructions because in a few cases, like the giant hogweed,
the villain can fight back and improper handling could result in painful burns.
Following are five invasive species you do not want to plant or stumble across in your garden. There are
plenty of native alternatives to these stowaways and some suggestions are given below. It’s well worth the
effort and your garden and nature will thank you.
invasive
plants
to avoid
5
BY CATHERINE LABELLE, NOTES FROM KATIE DUNCAN
escarpment
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