Invasiveness and Honeysuckles
- To: m*@ucdavis.edu
- Subject: Invasiveness and Honeysuckles
- From: L* P*
- Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 12:07:24 -0700
Ooops, whatta goof with that command message..and ~big blush...I am a small
systems admin and ~really ought to know better. Because I have a close
relative who is seriously ill, I will be off and on the laptop for a time.
At least on this list I won't get chastised, or otherwise be "labelled" as
hasty or careless for simply hitting the wrong key and I appreciate that
collective patience ~very much. Instead I got the nicest and most
encouraging note from a fellow-traveller in Medit-PlantLand. Thanks! My
readied note now has the correct address.
In this challenging time how lucky I am to have not only 'net friends but
also a wonderful family, AND a cat-loving house and garden sitter at the
ready.
Plant invasiveness is a real dilemma. Climate often is a determining
factor, but should plants that are invasive in milder climates be banned
from other regions where they are very manageable? How far do we go with
this? No easy or pat answers here.
As population and development booms we have taken so much habitat away from
birds and other critters. One of my primary gardening goals is to create
not only a place of peaceful beauty but also to share it with many birds
and critters. This leads to selecting plants that provide abundant fruits
and nectar. This year three species of hummingbirds have nested in my
garden.
However I don't want to grow or enable plant bullies. Bullies do "get
their way" and are often "successful" plants, but in that process they
suppress or even destroy much delicate beauty. Growing aggressive plants
is easier in the sense that they "work" but they are not as effective in
the long run.
How do plant explorers or those of us who trial the fruits of their travels
prevent the introduction of seriously aggressive plants ?
Dr. Burkutenko offers the following honeysuckles in her list and I am
trying some VERY cautiously. I did do some research on them and have found
nothing yet about invasiveness for the following listings:
She lists:
"Lonicera edulis:(Honeysuckle) Blue delicious oblong berries of this shrub
are the favourite and most valuable berries in our [Siberian] region"
Has anyone grown this? It sounds like such a wonderful bird plant!
"Lonicera chamissoi: Transparent red globose double berries are not edible.
Very ornamental shrub due to fr. and pink big fls. Forests of East Asia.
Lonicera chrysantha: Ornamental shrub up to 4m with yellow fls 1.4-2cm long
in lvs axils. Fr.5-9 mm across, red. Collected in Ussuri.
Lonicera maackii: 5m shrub, fls 2cm long, white, axillary. Ornamental. Ussuri
Lonicera maximoviczii: 3.5m shrub, fls purplish-violet, 1cm, fr.double,
bright red."
The rest of the above are "in the trade" or have been. Some of them are
grown at the Arnold arboretum but not widely available. All are quite
cold-hardy and wildlife-friendly. However I am wondering about
invasiveness. Does anyone have any experience with any of the above? I
have plenty of room, so if they are merely space-hogs or
"attention-getters" that is ok. I just don't want to enable a serious bully.
As I look out the window L. tartarica 'Arnold Red' is resplendent with
bright rosy bloom and the hummingbirds are busy working it over. In some
areas this cultivar can also be a grabby pest. Although it does need a lot
of space and attention here it behaves itself pretty well. So many of the
central Asian honeysuckle species are summer drought tolerant which also
makes them tempting for larger spaces.
All the best, Louise
Corvallis ORegon US
Siggie wisdom..a little poem today
True worth is in being, not seeming,
In doing each day that goes by,
Some little good not in dreaming
of great things to do by and by,
For whatever men say in their blindness,
And in spite of the fancies of youth,
There is nothing so kingly as kindness,
And nothing so royal as truth. --Author Unknown
