Re: Buddlejas, invasive and not

Shelley Harvey wrote:
> 
> Susannah wrote:
> >
> >  Buddleja davidii has begun to invade wild areas here in the Pacific
> >  Northwest of the U.S., and we are asked not to plant it.  I realize there
> >  are quite a few other Buddleja species available in the trade, and would
> >  love to try them -- but not if they seem likely to create similar problems.
> >   Anyone care to share local experiences?  Which species have you grown,
> >  have they reseeded in your garden, are any species other than B davidii
> >  common in gardens in your area?
> 
> Susannah
> 
> Buddlejas are common and popular in Australian gardens, readily
> available in nurseries, especially B. davidii, and I was often
> puzzled by articles in English garden magazines which commented that
> they (particularly B. davidii) were easily propagated by seed.  I
> have a large sprawling garden in the country, and have found
> buddlejas to be very drought tolerant, a major consideration for me,
> and have B. davidii, B. alternifolia, B. crispa, B. colvillei, B.
> weyeriana, B. globosa, and B. salvifolia (not sure that all these are
> spelt correctly!) and my experience is that B. davidii seeds madly
> about, and B. globosa suckers somewhat, but the others have been
> extremely well behaved.  I have now removed all B. davidii except for
> a hedge of "Lochinch", which is kept clipped.
> 
> I haven't checked whether buddlejas are on the noxious weed list for
> any part of eastern Australia, but I can well imagine that they could
> become a major problem in bushland in appropriate climatic conditions.

Hi Shelly
They certianly seem to establish themselves pretty freely on our side of
the Tasman, but what has made their spread so much worse has I am sure
been the fact that possums find them distasteful, while eating almost
any NZ species on sight, so in many areas with a heavy possum population
they have had almost no competition for space.

Huge efforts have been made in this country recently to reduce the
possum problem and in may areas the natural undergrowth is beginning to
come back, so probably the Buddlejas won't have it so much their own way
in future!

Only B davidii is actually on the hit list here, though a friend has
seen some evidence in his area somewhat north of here of B.globosa
beginning to establish itself in the wild. No other species, so far
seems to be any trouble at all.

Moira
-- 
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
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