Warning: Wildflower seeds in a can
- Subject: Warning: Wildflower seeds in a can
- From: "Cindy Johnson" c*@attbi.com
- Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 17:37:14 -0500
Hi everyone,
Take a look at this warning from the local Wild Ones group. I've gone to 2 of
their meetings, held in the Nokomis Community Center. This week they just had
an excellent speaker on how to eliminate invasive exotic weeds. Last spring
they had author/photographer Evelyn Moyle with her new edition of Northland
Wildflowers, the book that she and her late husband created. Both times I was
surprised that not a lot of people were at the meetings. I think there were
only about 20 this past meeting. Does anyone else belong to the Wild Ones?
They seem like a less technical/scientific version of the MN Native Plant
Society (which is another great group) and more for the average gardener, if
there is such a thing.
Cindy
Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 4:38 PM
Subject: WO Warning re: Wildflower seeds in a can
WO'ers:
f.y.i.:
Wildflower seed mixes include some wicked bloomers It sounds easy - just buy a
can of mixed "wild flower" seeds, scatter them in your yard, wait a few days
and, presto, instant garden!
You could be making a serious mistake.
Although the wildflower seed packets have labels with romantic-sounding names
such as meadow mixture and wedding wildflowers, and others tout backyard
biodiversity and refer to Earth Day, the flowers that will grow from this seed
may not be friendly, according to Wild Ones Natural Landscapers.
University of Washington researchers recently planted the seeds from 19 such
packets. They found that each packet contained from three to 13 invasive
species and eight had seeds for plants considered to be noxious weeds in at
least one U.S. state or Canadian province.
What makes it more difficult for conscientious gardeners is that one-third of
the packets had no listing of contents and a little more than another third
had inaccurate lists. Only five of the 19 correctly itemized everything.
"I can't recommend using any wildflower seed mixes," says Lorraine Brooks, who
did the work at the University's Center for Urban Horticulture while earning
her bachelor's degree.
The seed mixes in this experiment were produced at or distributed from a
variety of U.S. and Canadian locations. Firms with catalog or website sales
can sell these wildflower mixes to gardeners all across North America without
regard to state and province weed laws.
Brooks found the least unruly of the wildflower mixes was a packet from which
only 30 of the 106 plants that sprouted and produced flowers were invasive.
That's 28 percent of what grew.
From another packet all the species identified were invasive in at least one
part of the country and, although the three species in the packet labeled
"native" were native to North America, they probably were not native to all
regions. For example, only one species was believed to be native to the
Pacific Northwest and it represented one percent of what grew. Among the worst
mixes were two that each contained two noxious weed species.
Wild Ones Natural Landscapers stresses that the best sources of native plant
seeds are reputable local dealers who sell seeds and plants which are, in
fact, native to the gardener's own area.
Many province, state, county, and local weed control boards have lists of
invasive species and noxious weeds. Gardeners should check to see which plants
are considered to be "noxious" in their communities.
Gardeners might be surprised at the flowers and seeds, readily available for
sale, that are considered invasive or noxious. For instance, the wildflower
most commonly observed as part of the mixes was the popular bachelor's button
(Centaurea cyanus), germinating in beautiful hues of pink and blue from
three-quarters of the packets tested. Bachelor's button might be fine if kept
confined to one's own yard but it's invasive. That is, it outcompetes other
plants when it gets into native woodlands, wetlands, and prairies or
grasslands.
Toadflax, with yellow flowers tinged with orange that resemble snapdragon
blossoms, was found in four of the wildflower mixes. Only one listed it.
Yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) is listed as a noxious weed in Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, and 11 other states and provinces. Colorado, for example,
classifies it among the top-10 prioritized noxious-weed species, those that
are most widespread and cause the greatest impact.
Even labels that refer to wildflowers as native should be avoided because
everything is native to someplace, but that place may not be where you live,
Reichard says. Just think about the differences in plants between sandy soil
and clay soil. Or, between the grassy and forested areas.
The 19 packets tested were distributed by firms including Burpee, Ed Hume,
Lake Valley Seed, Lilly Miller, Molbak's, Napa Valley Wildflower, Nature's
Garden Seed and Sundance. Seventeen of the mixes in the experiment were
purchased and two were gift items.
There are, of course, many other firms that distribute wildflower seed mixes
not tested as part of this experiment. Handed out as favors or fund raising
thank-yous by environmental and charitable groups, and bearing labels that
refer to pastures, meadows and native flowers, these mixes may even make
people think they are suitable for areas next to woodlands, wetlands or
prairies. Wild Ones says that planting them near these areas would be a big
mistake. We really want to keep what little native woodland, wetland and
prairie remnants we have left in tact.
Wild Ones Natural Landscapers is a not-for-profit educational organization.
Its mission is to help its members and the community learn about the benefits
of using native species in landscaping. For more information about invasive
non-native species or for information about Wild Ones Natural Landscapers,
call toll free 877-FYI-WILD or see the website at www.for-wild.org.
ADDITIONAL PRESS RELEASE INFORMATION:
For more information about local information and concerns related to this
article, please feel free to contact our Wild Ones chapters throughout the
USA:
State/Province ChapterName Last Name First Name City Home Phone E-mail
IA Wild Rose Taliga Christine Iowa City (319) 339-9121 Ctaliga@ia.usda.gov
IL Greater du Page Whitney Richard S Glen Ellyn (630) 858-8632
Whitney@inil.com
IL Rock River Valley Stenger Tracy & Sheila Rockton (815) 624-6076
Tsstenger@inwave.com
IL Lake-To-Prairie Handelsman Mary & Joel Round Lake (847) 546-6622
Maryh@plantnatives.com
IL Lake-To-Prairie Aull Janice Lake Bluff (847) 295-6847
Janice.aull@abbott.com
IL Greater du Page Clancy Pat Lisle (630) 964-0448 Clancypj2@aol.com
IL North Park Nature Center Porter Bob Chicago (773) 381-3228
Bobporter@cityofchicago.org
KY Louisville Brown Portia & Jerry Louisville (502) 454-4007
Wildones-lou@insightbb.com
KY Lexington Turpin Russ Lexington (859) 277-2953 isotope909@aol.com
MI Kalamazoo Small Tom & Nancy Kalamazoo (616) 381-4946 Yard2prairy@aol.com
MI Detroit Metro Wheeler Carol Ferndale (248) 547-7898 Wheecarol@aol.com
MI Cadillac Ruta Pat Tustin (231) 829-3361 Pat_ruta@hotmail.com
MI Flint Knag Ginny Grand Blanc (810) 694-4335 Mtknag@ameritech.net
MI Red Cedar Ritzenhein Mark Okemos (517) 336-0965 Mritz@acd.net
MI Calhoun County Case Marilyn A Albion (517) 630-8546 Mcase15300@aol.com
MI Oakland Whitman Maryann Oakland (248) 652-4004 Maryannwhitman@comcast.net
MI Ann Arbor Lowry John & Karen Whitmore Lake (810) 231-8980 John@kingbird.org
MI Central Upper Peninsula Lempke James R Gladstone (906) 428-9580
Jlempke@chartermi.net
MN St Cloud Shirley Greg St Cloud (320) 259-0825 Shirley198@charter.net
MN Otter Tail Terry Karen Fergus Falls (218) 736-5520
Karen.terry@dnr.state.mn.us
MN Twin Cities Rice Martha F Edina (952) 927-6531 Jcrmfr@msn.com
MN Arrowhead Andrews Carol A Duluth (218) 730-9954 Carol_andrews@hotmail.com
MO Mid-Missouri Beamer Lesa Columbia Wildonesmo@yahoo.com
MO St Louis Woodbury Scott Gray Summit (636) 451-0850 Scott.woodbury@mobot.org
OH Greater Cincinnati Brannen Donald J Milford (513) 248-8227 Wmsolar@aol.com
(Don Brannen)
OH Columbus Hall Michael R Blacklick (614) 939-9273 R2wildland@aol.com
SC Foothills Goforth Tom Pickens (864) 878-1786 Tgoforth@innova.net
WI Madison Yahr Laurie Madison (608) 274-6539 Yahrkahl@aol.com
WI Partners at Large VanBuecken Donna Appleton (920) 730-3986
Woresource@new.rr.com
WI Root River Area Calvert Nan Racine (262) 681-4899 prairiedog@wi.rr.com
WI National Wild Ones Powelka Joe Sun Prairie (608) 837-6308 Powelka@itis.com
WI Fox Valley Area Niendorf Carol Omro (920) 233-4853 Niendorf@northnet.net
WI Door County Stiefel John Bailey's Harbor (920) 839-9796 Jstiefel@itol.com
WI Menomonee River Area Koel Jan Menomonee Falls (262) 251-7175
Jdkoel@voyager.net
WI Milwaukee-North Boyer Dorothy Cedarburg (262) 375-3913
Dorothy.boyer@pwssd.k12.wi.us
WI Centrol Wisconsin Dieterich Dan J Stevens Point (715) 344-1063
Dan.dieterich@uwsp.edu
WI Green Bay Mistark Chuck Marinette (715) 582-0428 Chuck.mistark@omnova.com
WI Root River Area Freeman Carla Caledonia (920) 382-6415
Carla.freeman@alverno.edu
Additional information regarding this study on the noxious weeds and invasives
that grew:
Researchers identified 84 species when growing 19 packets of wildflower seeds
from across the nation.
The four listed as noxious weeds in at least one state or Canadian province
were common yarrow, Achillea millefolium; dame's rocket, Hesperis matronalis;
redroot pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus; and yellow toadflax, Linaria
vulgaris. Noxious weeds fall under the control of various national, state and
local agencies.
Thirty-six other species that grew are considered invasive in one or more
regions of North America. If invasives are not on noxious weed lists where a
consumer lives, then it is up to individual gardeners to weigh the
responsibility of using such plants.
As the U.S. Department of Agriculture says about the list of invasives it
maintains, "These plants are invasive or have a high potential to become
invasive in all or part of their U.S. range. Most are introduced to the United
States, but some are harmful pests in parts of this country, and valuable
natives in others." As for plants with invasive tendencies that are used
outside their range, UW's Reichard says, "Repeated studies have shown that
species that are invasive elsewhere tend to be invasive when introduced to new
areas."
The list of noxious and invasive species that grew during the experiment was
compiled using lists for various parts of the country as there is no single,
national list of invasives. See
http://admin.urel.washington.edu/newsinfo/ss/plantchart.htm for complete
information.
Web sites for more information:
On Washington State's Noxious Weed Control Board Web site read "Meadow in a
Can: Does it Really Work?" at
http://www.wa.gov/agr/weedboard/education/meadow.html
Nature Conservancy's Wildland Invasive Species Team explains what happens when
invasives get into wildlands at http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/common.html
For some listed invasive species go to the "Invasive & Noxious" section of
http://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi?earl+noxious.cgi
Find state noxious weed sites and lists at
http://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/tax/taxweed.html
Wild Ones Natural Landscapers' provides many links for various organizations
and types of information on invasive non-native plant species throughout North
America. Go to www.for-wild.org
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