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> INVASIVE EXOTIC PLANTS
Warning
Restonians!
Watch Out for Invasive Exotic Plants
What are
Invasive Exotic Plants?
Invasive
Exotic plants are non-native plants, usually from Europe or
Asia, that are capable of spreading far from their original
planting sight and overwhelming other plants. The environmental
controls that kept their populations "in check"
back in their native countries do not exist here. This means
that they are able to grow and reproduce with great speed,
out-competing and literally "growing over" the plants
around them. Their extensive root systems monopolize the soil's
moisture and nutrient content, while their prolific above-ground
growth chokes the stems and shades the leaves of slower, less
aggressive plants.
This creates
problems in any landscaped setting, whether it's your front
yard, cluster-common ground or someone's garden. The problem
becomes especially serious when these plants spread into nearby
natural areas. This happens when birds, wind, or water carry
seeds over, sometimes, great distances. Creeping, underground
root systems of plants like English Ivy or Bamboo can also
travel outside of their intended sites, as roots don't recognize
property boundaries. Many of these plants are stoloniferous,
which means they spread by sprouting new shoots from their
roots. Over three or four years, a single English Ivy or Bamboo
plant can spread out up to twenty-five feet, becoming very
difficult to remove.
Invasive
exotics like Multiflora Rose, Autumn Olive, Bamboo and
Norway Maple, can virtually take over a small woodland pushing
out native wildflowers, ferns, shrubs, and young trees. When
native plants are pushed out, so are the wildlife that depend
on them for food and shelter. Invasive exotic vines such as
English Ivy, Kudzu, Japanese Honeysuckle and Chinese Wisteria
are also a problem, choking out the trees they climb and serving
as egg-laying sites for gypsy moths.
We've
made a list of invasive exotics which are currently a problem
in this area. Because of the combined damage these plants
do to landscaping efforts and our native ecosystem, we strongly
advise against using any of them. We've become used to using
many of these plants because they're inexpensive, grow fast
and have certain aesthetic qualities. There are, however,
many attractive, hardy, low-maintenance plants that you may
not be familiar with that could serve as refreshing alternatives.
If you'd like some advice on choosing alternatives to any
of the plants on this list, please give us a call at 437-7658.
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