[AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid

[dogwood farm]

Tracy,

Unusual but not unheard of for us to have frost in May.  A lot of
people are getting ready to plant tomatoes in the ground.  My dad
would not plant them in the ground before May 15.

Mulberries also are a shrub, but these have to be cut back every year
because they become top heavy and fall right over.

Susan
dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com

On 5/9/20, Tracy Carcione via AG-EQ <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Susan.
> 29 in Virginia?  Wow.  There was a skim of ice on top of my rainbarrel lid,
> but no frost.  My tomatoes are still hanging out in my greenhouse tent,
> waiting for warm weather.  Guess I better check how my potatoes are doing.
> They were coming up pretty well.  They don't mind cool weather, but this is
> cold.
>
> Mulberries!  They always sound great, when I read about them, but I thought
> they were small trees, not bushes.  My blueberry bush in the sun has lots of
> flowers.  Its friend in a shadier spot, not so many.  My fig in the
> greenhouse has lots of tiny fruit set, which is exciting.
> Tracy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm via
> AG-EQ
> Sent: Saturday, May 09, 2020 6:46 AM
> To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
> Cc: dogwood farm
> Subject: Re: [AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>
> Hi Tracy,
>
> The blackberries that come up where we don't want them have not
> produced berries because they seem to be more brier than anything
> else.  Plus, we try to attack them before they get big enough to
> produce, although that does not always happen.
>
> We have wild blackberries along a hedge row fence line that splits the
> original property from the section my cousin sold.  These blackberries
> produce well and I believe these were bird planted from cultivated
> stock.  My husband has also planted 2 blueberry bushes this year and
> we have a few mulberry bushes as well.  The mulberries did not get
> trimmed back last year and they are a bit over flowing with berries
> waiting to ripen.
>
> The weather is so weired right now.  I am glad we planted tomatoes in
> pots this year.  When my husband left for work this morning, the temps
> were 29.  He took the pots last night and placed them up under our
> high porch and put paper bags over the blueberries.  I feel sorry for
> people in Buffalo, they had snow yesterday and they are calling for it
> again today.
>
> Susan
> dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com
>
> On 5/8/20, Tracy Carcione via AG-EQ <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> Can't you eat the wild blackberries?  Or is it like my raspberries--good
>> in
>> one place, not so good in another?
>> Tracy
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm
>> via
>> AG-EQ
>> Sent: Friday, May 08, 2020 8:42 AM
>> To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
>> Cc: dogwood farm
>> Subject: Re: [AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>>
>> Hi Tracy,
>>
>> When I lived in Virginia Beach the biggest nuisance plant I had was
>> wild cucumber vines in my front yard.  I lived in a townhouse and my
>> front yard was the size of a postage stamp.  I had a few small
>> boxwoods, one hydrangea and a beautiful red rose.  The wild cucumber
>> vines had a foot hold under the boxwoods and were extremely difficult
>> to cultivate up.  Their vines were fine and seemed to grow over night.
>> They were easy to pull off the boxwoods and smelt like cut cucumbers
>> when they were torn up.
>>
>> One larger problem we have here on our 30 achers is wild blackberries
>> and paradise trees.  They pop up everywhere due to the birds and are
>> extremely difficult to get rid of.  The paradise trees spring up
>> around fence lines and just inside my chicken coop enclosures.  The
>> birds sit up on the wires and drop their seeds.  The wild blackberries
>> constantly want to get in our flower and herb beds and for some
>> reason, they really like it around my bee hive.
>>
>> Susan
>> dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com
>>
>> On 5/7/20, Tracy Carcione via AG-EQ <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>> The invasive plants I hate the most are the wild morning glory
>>> (convolvulus?) and the celandine poppy.  The wild morning glory comes up
>>> everywhere on one side of my yard and twines itself around everything.  I
>>> pull it out, and back it comes.  It doesn't even have nice flowers.  The
>>> celandine poppy is nice, so I let it go a year.  What a mistake!  It
>>> spreads
>>> like mad, and it's hard to grub up.  If I don't get it by the roots, it
>>> comes back and sends out runners.
>>> Ugh!
>>> Tracy
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm
>>> via
>>> AG-EQ
>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2020 4:18 PM
>>> To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
>>> Cc: dogwood farm
>>> Subject: Re: [AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>>>
>>> Hi Tracy,
>>>
>>> I don't mind the Virginia creeper too much, except for the fact that I
>>> get a mild skin reaction to its sap.  My husband really likes his rose
>>> of Sharon.
>>>
>>> My biggest headache is when I stupidly planted 7 wisteria vines along
>>> a 50 foot fence that I had 10 feet from my chicken coops and on the
>>> opposite side of the fence, my husband planted rose of Sharon.  The
>>> nitrogen from the coops made the wisteria vines turn into the monster
>>> vines from hell, almost turning that area into the little shop of
>>> horrors!  The wisteria rarely bloomed and it grew so quickly that it
>>> started taking over my double chicken coops.  The vines wove so
>>> thoroughly threw the 50 foot fence, u could hardly see the fence for
>>> the vines.  Also, they decided they did not like the rose of Sharon
>>> plants and twisted themselves around them to the point they bent a few
>>> over and even killed one shrub.
>>>
>>> I know that nature abhors a vacuum, but can she not fill my open
>>> spaces quite so fast? LOL
>>>
>>> Susan
>>> dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>> On 5/5/20, Tracy Carcione via AG-EQ <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>>>> That was interesting.  I have some of these buggers, though my English
>>>> ivy
>>>> is not running too badly amok.  Still, I may try pulling it out and
>>>> leaving
>>>> the Virginia creeper, which does a lot of the same things without
>>>> getting
>>>> too rambunctious about it.
>>>> Personally, I'd add Rose of Sharon to the list.  It's pretty, and the
>>>> bees
>>>> use it some, but I pull out lots of seedlings every year.  Which is how
>>>> I
>>>> got my bush; I didn't pull out the seedling that landed in my yard.
>>>> Tracy
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm
>>>> via
>>>> AG-EQ
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2020 12:52 PM
>>>> To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
>>>> Cc: dogwood farm
>>>> Subject: [AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>>>>
>>>> 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>>>> Written by David Beaulieu, garden writer
>>>>
>>>> An invasive plant can be defined as any plant that grows where you
>>>> don't want it to and does it in a way that makes it hard to control.
>>>> It doesn't have to be a weed, and invasive plants are by no means
>>>> always ugly specimens. A lot of it depends on the setting. For
>>>> example, bittersweet vines in some settings can be quite beautiful and
>>>> desirable, but if they take over your woodland garden, they are a
>>>> nuisance indeed. And some plants begin as perfectly desirable
>>>> landscape species that you plant deliberately, such as obedient plant
>>>> (Physostegia), only to prove their invasive nature in a year or two
>>>> when you discover their rampant growth characteristics.
>>>>
>>>> Some invasive plants listed are quite attractive. Consider burning
>>>> bush (Euonymus alatus) for example—an exotic (or "alien") shrub from
>>>> Asia. Few shrubs put on a better fall foliage display. Another fall
>>>> star is the vine, sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora). A
>>>> summer standout is Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius). But attractive
>>>> invasive plants are like some of the good-looking people one meets
>>>> (you know the type): Once you get past the exterior and learn more
>>>> about them, you no longer want them to hang out. Looks, after all, can
>>>> be deceiving.
>>>>
>>>> Many invasive plants can be thought of as exotic specimens "gone
>>>> wild"—as in "out of control." The following list of 16 invasive plants
>>>> comprise an introductory collection, but it is by no means an
>>>> exhaustive list. Remember, too, that invasives tend to be defined
>>>> regionally. Some species that pose no problems at all in some areas
>>>> behave in true invasive style in other regions. Some plants are
>>>> seriously invasive in the warmer climates where they are perennial but
>>>> are no problem at all in colder regions where they are killed off each
>>>> year.
>>>>
>>>> 1. Bittersweet
>>>> There are three "bittersweets," and it is important to distinguish
>>>> between them: oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), American
>>>> bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), and bittersweet nightshade (Solanum
>>>> dulcamara). It is the Oriental bittersweet vine that is sure to make
>>>> most lists of worst invasive plants in North America. The other forms
>>>> can also be invasive but are less so than oriental bittersweet.
>>>> American bittersweet is the form with attractive red/orange berries
>>>> that are often used in decorative displays. All forms of the plant are
>>>> toxic, however, and should be avoided in the landscape.
>>>>
>>>> 2. Wisteria
>>>> As with bittersweet, so with wisteria: The North American grower must
>>>> distinguish between American wisteria vines (Wisteria frutescens) and
>>>> their Chinese counterparts (Wisteria sinensis var.). While both types
>>>> are robust growers, it is the Chinese wisteria that poses a truly
>>>> invasive danger south of USDA hardiness zone 4.
>>>>
>>>> 3. English Ivy
>>>> If you wished to crowd out weeds in an area of your landscape, you
>>>> would expect to be delighted to hear about English ivy (Hedera helix),
>>>> a vigorous, attractive ground cover that tolerates shade. That
>>>> description fits English ivy perfectly. But that's the problem:
>>>> English ivy is too vigorous, earning it a spot on the list of worst
>>>> invasive plants. It easily escapes landscape cultivation and is
>>>> regarded as a seriously problematic invasive, especially in the
>>>> Pacific Northwest.
>>>>
>>>> 4. Sweet Autumn Clematis
>>>> Like the preceding three vines, sweet autumn clematis (Clematis
>>>> terniflora) is another of those "good-looking" specimens that can
>>>> overwhelm a landscape. It is especially problematic in the East and
>>>> lower Midwest. While this plant does have a very sweet odor, that's
>>>> the only thing pleasant about it. Clematis paniculata is sometimes
>>>> sold as sweet autumn clematis, but this is a less invasive vine that
>>>> comes from New Zealand. It is C. terniflora that you need to be
>>>> careful with.
>>>>
>>>> 5. Ajuga
>>>> The mat-forming ajuga (Ajuga reptans), also known as bugleweed, is
>>>> another popular ground cover that can turn thuggish (lily of the
>>>> valley is another). Because ajuga has pleasing purple blossoms and the
>>>> ability to suppress weeds, it is often planted in shady areas as a
>>>> ground cover. Many homeowners, though, come to despise it when it
>>>> begins to take over a garden or lawn.
>>>>
>>>> Ajuga is especially problematic in warmer climates where there is no
>>>> winter frost to kill the plants back annually.
>>>>
>>>> 6. Barberry
>>>> The barberry shrubs (Berberis spp.) have assaulted North America from
>>>> two sides. One type, Berberis thunbergii, is from the Far East; the
>>>> other, Berberis vulgaris, from Europe. These invaders have come armed
>>>> to the teeth, bristling with the thorns that have made them so useful
>>>> in many a hedge. B. thunbergii, usually known as Japanese barberry, is
>>>> so invasive that much of the Midwest has placed it on a list of
>>>> dangerously invasive plants, strongly suggesting that it should never
>>>> be planted at all.
>>>>
>>>> 7. Burning Bush
>>>> In autumn, burning bush (Euonymus alatus) puts on a show for the ages,
>>>> bearing red or pinkish-red leaves. Colorful reddish-orange berries
>>>> accompany the striking foliage. So why is burning bush one of the most
>>>> hated exotic plants among gardeners "in the know"? This shrub is
>>>> considered dangerously invasive across much of the northern United
>>>> States from Maine to Minnesota, as well as in the Southeast.
>>>>
>>>> 8. Lantana
>>>> Lantana (Lantana camara) is a broadleaf evergreen shrub native to
>>>> tropical areas, and it is a notable invasive in Florida and Georgia
>>>> and across the South all the way to California. But it poses no danger
>>>> in colder climates north of zone 9, where it is often used in hanging
>>>> baskets. In warm zones, however, it can easily escape gardens and
>>>> naturalize in dangerous profusion.
>>>>
>>>> 9. Butterfly Bush
>>>> Butterfly bush (Buddleja spp.) is among the worst invasives in the
>>>> Pacific Northwest, where growing conditions resemble its native
>>>> habitat. It also an invasive problem in areas of the Southeast. In
>>>> areas colder than zone 6, it is less problematic, since the plant dies
>>>> back to the ground each winter. An alternative plant to grow for
>>>> attracting butterflies is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).
>>>> Butterfly bush is so-named because it attracts butterflies (as well as
>>>> other pollinators), but to humans, the plant is somewhat unpleasant in
>>>> odor.
>>>>
>>>> 10. Common Privet
>>>> As with barberry, a privet hedge is a familiar sight. That very
>>>> familiarity of privet (Ligustrum vulgare) may make it difficult to see
>>>> such exotic plants as invasives, but this species is on official lists
>>>> of problematic plants in much of the Midwest and Northeast from
>>>> Pennsylvania north to Maine. Privet's popularity is based on the fact
>>>> that it responds well to pruning and tolerates the pollution that
>>>> typically plagues plants in urban settings. But privet shrubs grow so
>>>> fast that they can easily escape the boundaries of cultivation and
>>>> become naturalized in the wild.
>>>>
>>>> 11. Norway Maple Trees
>>>> Full-sized trees can be invasives, too, as in the case of Norway maple
>>>> (Acer platanoides), which is considered invasive in much of the
>>>> Northeast, and dangerously so in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and
>>>> Massachusetts. Originally planted as a landscape species, its seeds
>>>> easily disperse on the wind to naturalize in other environments.
>>>>
>>>> 12. Japanese Knotweed
>>>> Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is a clumping perennial plant
>>>> that has virtually no redeeming landscape value. The best that can be
>>>> said for its appearance is that it produces a fluffy-looking flower in
>>>> early autumn (thus one of its alternate common names, "fleece
>>>> flower"). The opinions of 19th-century plant collectors
>>>> notwithstanding, most 21st-century Westerners agree on this one:
>>>> Japanese knotweed is an ugly nuisance and an easy pick as one of the
>>>> worst invasive plants. It is considered invasive in every state,
>>>> though is more so in its natural hardiness zones, zone 5 to 9.
>>>>
>>>> 13. Kudzu
>>>> Kudzu vine is in the pea family. So far, so good, right? After all,
>>>> you're familiar with peas from your experiences at the dinner table.
>>>> Along those lines, kudzu has even been employed as livestock feed. But
>>>> this perennial vine from Asia is one of the very worst invasives of
>>>> all time, and is sometimes ruefully called "the vine that ate the
>>>> South." It is an enormous problem in all Southern states. Initially
>>>> planted to shade porches on southern plantations, the plant quickly
>>>> spread to surrounding territory, where it now gobbles up nearly all
>>>> that it touches. It grows well in both sun and shade and is
>>>> dangerously invasive throughout the South and Southeast and well up
>>>> the Atlantic seaboard.
>>>>
>>>> A recent control effort involves bringing goats into areas infested
>>>> with kudzu and turning them loose to eat their fill.
>>>>
>>>> 14. Tansy
>>>> Tansy, unlike the exotic plants considered above on this invasive
>>>> species list, is an herb—albeit a poisonous one. Tansy's toxicity
>>>> belies a rich tradition of medicinal and culinary usage. But there's
>>>> more to worry about than just its toxicity: Tansy plants are invasives
>>>> that spread via both seeds and rhizomes.
>>>>
>>>> 15. Purple Loosestrife
>>>> Purple loosestrife is an invader of wetlands. Many people who have no
>>>> clue about the name of the plant have nonetheless seen it innumerable
>>>> times and remarked upon its beauty. In fact, it is a lovely plant when
>>>> massed together—which is the norm, since this is a plant that spreads
>>>> incredibly vigorously.
>>>>
>>>> Purple loosestrife is thought to arrive in North America as seeds in
>>>> soil used as ballast in sailing ships in the early 19th century. Now,
>>>> 200 years later, it is found in every state in the United States,
>>>> except Hawaii and Alaska. The plants take over wetlands by forming
>>>> dense root mats that choke out native plants, degrading wildlife
>>>> habitat. Since 1992, the governments of Canada and the United States
>>>> have used to European beetles, Galerucella calmariensis and G.
>>>> pusilla, to feed on the plant—an experiment that appears to be
>>>> successful.
>>>>
>>>> 16. Japanese Honeysuckle
>>>> Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is another attractive,
>>>> sweet-smelling specimen that turns out to be a sinister foe. This
>>>> vigorous, fast-growing twining vine has fragrant yellow flowers that
>>>> appear from June to October, and it grows to 30 feet. When planted
>>>> deliberately, it is used as a ground cover, but it is considered an
>>>> exotic invasive across the entire Midwest.
>>>>
>>>> If planted in the garden, great care should be taken to keep the plant
>>>> in check, including aggressively cutting it back regularly. When it
>>>> escapes, this plant can break tree limbs with its heavy weight and
>>>> kill shrubs and trees by girdling them with strong vines.
>>>>
>>>> Susan
>>>> dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com
>>>>
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>>>
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