The Earth is losing species each and every day as a result of alien invaders. The word alien as used here describes non-native species. A place that originated in Asia and which now grows in Europe and in North America is said to be a Ontario Native Plants native of Asia and a strange to its new growing regions.
Plants have been following behind people on the road for a very long time. Seeds have ingenious ways of hitching a trip on people's clothing and on animal coats. Contaminants come along side plants which are purposefully moved with people. Visiting a brand new land people would bring plant starts or seeds of favorite foods and maybe even soil from back home. Animals and water fowl transport many plants throughout their lifetimes.
However they arrive here, certain alien plants have become pests to contend with. Kudzu vines choke the daylight from trees across the highway, phragmites reeds choke out native plants at the edge of the lake, Tear-thumb or Mile-a-minute vines grow over and choke out anything within their path, purple loosestrife has replaced many wetland native species, and the list goes on. Attempting to manage the massive plant overgrowth has cost much time labor for hardly any in results.
In the gardening world there are numerous garden escapees which have naturalized to become the main landscape. Eradication efforts may prove futile as one thing the aliens have going for them is that they don't have many predators, if any. What this means is no natural way of growth control, so folks have to include the effort.
Invasive weeds are only that, invasive. In which a new plant takes root and finds little competition it probably will survive and produce offspring. It's kind of like survival of the fittest. The better that the new plant's offspring can compete with native plants, the more invasive it is. When alien plants compete so well that they displace native species, the alarm bells should stop because meaning the native plants could become endangered.
We, as gardeners, owe it to ourselves to be the main solution not the main problem. We are able to garden with native plants and have lots of success. Native plants are naturally adapted to the region and soil types which are present. They won't need lots of extra attention, like constant watering, because they're already adapted to the local conditions.
Tropical plants that ought to be residing in a jungle somewhere will need lots of extra watering in comparison to a native plant. A great example is really a moisture-loving plant called Elephant's Ear (Colocasia sp.) which can be native to tropical Asia. The most effective place for it in a North American garden could be in a water garden so it might get the moisture it takes for best growth. As it won't overwinter north of zone 6, northern gardeners must dig up the bulbs or tubers and store them for the following growing season. Elephant's Ear growing in a temperate garden won't reach its full stature unless it's artificially maintained with a soaker hose. Why don't you be a little more kind to the environmental surroundings and plant a native grass instead?
One important function that people collectively serve whenever we elect to garden with native plants is that people are in reality establishing a sort of refuge for these native plants. A refuge from which seeds or root stock can be taken to further reproduce the native plant is really a garden worth tending.
Mary Petersen is an organic gardener who loves to develop vegetables and flowers right in the leading yard. While tending her garden Mary is visible using her [http://bestcompactbinoculars.com] to look at butterflies and other cool insects. Visit her latest gardening adventure at and understand using herbs Ontario Native Plants.
