Re: invasives

How awful! I dread the day a house is built in the hayfield across the street from my house. The upside is I am the vice-chairman of our historic zoning board, and our entire town is on the National Register of Historic Places. 
zem
----- Original Message ----- From: "Daryl" <pulis@mindspring.com> 
To: "gardenchat" <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] invasives



I remember driving outside of London (never got into the city itself) and
seeing Buddleias everywhere there was untended land.  They were apparently
having a real problem with them on railroad beds too, and when trains went
over, could ignite.
I'm definitely with you on residential developments. We've been in one of the fastest growing areas for years, and sometimes made number one on the list. There's a C-store where I used to look out my window at cows and ponies. :-( 

d
----- Original Message ----- From: "Zemuly Sanders" <zemuly@comcast.net> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 12:04 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] invasives
I do know that Buddleias are considered weeds in Britain, at least the area 
around London.  I guess my problem is that so often lists of invasives are
so generalized that they include plants that are not a problem all over. I wish Box Elder trees were placed on a "destroy on sight" list here. I must 
pull out many hundreds of seedlings every year.  I also wish residential
developments were placed on the invasive list. They are destroying all our 
natural beauty, IMHO, not to mention the animals whose habitats are being
destroyed.
zem
zone 7
West TN
----- Original Message ----- From: <pulis@mindspring.com> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 7:42 AM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] invasives



No, I haven't, but I will ask the library to get it for me on
inter-library loan.

While it is true that in many countries, plants have traveled freely,
there are still many parts of the world that have been relatively
(emphasize Relatively) free from intrusion. Some of these have extremely
tight import restrictions and eradication programs today.

I hope that Ms. Baskins distinguishes between  "native" and
"naturalized." Some of our common weeds were brought here by the
colonists for food or as medicinals. As such, they've been here for a
long time. That doesn't mean that they're not changing, or even damaging, 
local ecology.
Privet, one of our most expensive and damaging pests, was in this country 
by the mid-1800's . It was first noticed as a pest in 1950, and now is
costing millions of dollars per year in removal costs. It severely
damages the eco-system around woodland streams, and its removal is not
only difficult, but wholesale removal leaves streambanks in danger of
erosion, with severe sedimentation downstream.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not a "natives-only" nut, but I think we all need 
to be more aware of the potential for some plants to get out of control,
and to educate ourselves about the habitats that can be damaged by our
choices. I used to pooh-pooh the invasive plants lists until I discovered how plants travel, and that they're tied more to the site than the state. 

I'm betting that Callery (Bradford-type) Pears and Crapemyrtles will be
the next big pests in my part of the world. Chinese Hollies and Eleagnus
are starting to pop up everywhere, too, in addition to the
before-mentioned Nandinas and Mahonias. Duchesne and Japanese Bamboo
Grass (Microstegium- not Bambusa) are also a threat. Buddleias weren't a
problem until a couple of years ago. They're starting to spread, too. And 
then there's Ivy...

d
----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Hodges" <andreah@hargray.com> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 11:54 AM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] invasives



Daryl-have you read "A Plague of Rats and Rubbervines" by Yvonne
Baskins? It's one of my assigned readings for my oral defense. LONG book 
but interesting so far. I had no idea that pretty much very little in
most countries is a true native for centuries past.
A
----- Original Message ----- From: "Daryl" <pulis@mindspring.com> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 06, 2008 6:51 AM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Lonicera fragrantissima



A common misconception is that invasive plants are only invasive in an
area immediately surrounding them. This is rarely the case. Nandina and
Mahonia and Callery Pears are popping up all through the woodlands of
Georgia, and even plague my landscape. They're all escapees from
landscape plantings.

Many people think of Kudzu as being the premier invasive. It's not
nearly as bad as those plants that have berries or seeds that the birds 
eat spread like a metastatic cancer.

Some plants do both, of course -think of Japanese Honeysuckle and
Privet and Oriental Bittersweet.

We don't always see where they're going, since many of them need
disturbed soil in which to take root, and that soil may be many miles
away.  Some need the moisture  provided near creeks, and often pop up
along streams in the woods, far from where we see them. Others may be
held in check by local climate conditions, but take over when spread to 
other areas.

d  (Member of the Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council and instructor on
Invasives and Their Control).
----- Original Message ----- From: "Zemuly Sanders" <zemuly@comcast.net> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 6:15 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Lonicera fragrantissima



Apparently that's not happening here.  The plant I got mine from is
ancient and only has suckers as far as the branches extend, which is
about 10-12 feet.  Sometimes I think the plant police get a little
hysterical. I've never heard of it being considered a pest in this
part of the state.
zem
----- Original Message ----- From: "Daryl" <pulis@mindspring.com> 
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, January 05, 2008 8:46 AM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Lonicera fragrantissima
You should know that this plant is considered a pest in many parts of 
the country, including Tennessee. I've never seen a berry on mine,
but I've kept an eye out.

d

U.S. Weed Information:
Lonicera fragrantissima Lindl. & Paxton

January jasmine
sweet breath-of-spring


This plant can be weedy or invasive according to the authoritative
sources noted below. This plant may be known by one or more common
names in different places, and some are listed above. Click on an
acronym to view each weed list, or click here for a composite list of 
Weeds of the U.S.

     SEEPPC        Southeast Exotic Pest Plant Council. 1996.
Invasive exotic pest plants in Tennessee (19 October 1999). Research
Committee of the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council. Tennessee.


d

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