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| I hear it used -- maybe too often? -- for this plant or that. 'Oh, don't plant that, it's INVASIVE!!' Why? Just because maybe there are seedlings that come up around it? Really? Invasive? Well then, so are all our neighborhood oak trees, wild cherries and maples!! LOL!
In my garden I consider invasive plants ones that usually spread by stolen or by seed that are nearly impossible to pull up/remove/ or control, even with Round-up (read: Bermuda grass!). I suppose invasive can also mean 'spread by seed to take over our native woodland species, etc.'. What does 'invasive' mean to you? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/S 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 10:18
| Just because maybe there are seedlings that come up around it? No one says that. The standard usage is: a nonnative organism moving in to a new habitat to the detriment of one or more native species/energy flow. Dan |
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- Posted by dave_in_nova VA zone 7a (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 10:39
| Well, there is a 'standard' usage -- and there is a 'Joe, the gardener's' usage. I actually hear this all the time: 'Don't plant that, it's invasive, I did and I now have seedlings coming up all over my beds.' I do think that standard definition is a bit too narrow. I do think plants can be 'invasive' in the garden as well as in the wild. Try planting Bishop's weed and tell me it's not invasive. I'd probably use this one from US Botanic Garden: 'An invasive plant has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively outside its natural range.' BTW, what's an energy flow? |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 10:41
| I agree with Dan - there IS an accepted definition of "invasive species": "Invasive species" means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health." "Alien species" means, with respect to a particular ecosystem, any species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or other biological material capable of propagating that species, that is not native to that ecosystem." NICS, by Executive Order 13112. Plants that spread or seed aggressively in our gardens may or may not be considered 'invasive' depending on what type of threat they pose to the greater environment. Many plants that we tend to think of as 'invasive' are technically not.....just thuggish or aggressively growing/spreading plants. |
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| Can't invasive also mean native... i.e. poison ivy? Or maybe I am inferring the attribute "evil" - LOL I see the terms native/exotic as opposites and invasive/compatible as opposites. There seems to be a blending of those concepts in above descriptions. Is there always a non-native (natural habitat) component to the above defintions of invasive. I'm not sure that's required to qualify as invasive, but I am not that intimate with the natural habitats of many invasives. I tend to just use the word aggressive to describe plants that seed or run excessively and are not wanted in the garden. It seems simpler and more descriptive of my intent. Is it a matter of degree? Is extreme aggressiveness invasive? Can't invasiveness just simply mean a plant that has no boundaries... i.e. it invades all spaces if not kept in check. |
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- Posted by dave_in_nova VA zone 7a (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 12:14
| According to the Virginia Dept of Conservation and Recreation, Invasive alien plants typically exhibit the following characteristics: • Rapid growth and maturity • Prolific seed production • Highly successful seed dispersal, germination and colonization • Rampant vegetative spread • Ability to out-compete native species • High cost to remove or control |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/S 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 12:18
| BTW, what's an energy flow? Ecosystems flow energy throughout their systems in discrete cycles. Invasives change the flows. Nonetheless, some people confusing/conflating/misusing terms happens. I'll stick to the standard terms. Dan |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/S 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 12:34
| The Department also says other things about invasives, Dave. Dan |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 15:07
| according ONLY to me ... it is something that appears where i dont want it, repeatedly on the 5 acres ... but is so prolific that it really p's me off ... buckthorn, junipers, olives, and a bunch of more common weeds.. oh.. pokeweed ... ken |
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| In my gardens only, I think of invasive as those plants that take way too much time to remove from the garden, whether by roots or seeds...thugs...they want to take over the entire garden at the expense of other plants. |
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- Posted by adopt_greyhounds Zone 4b (My Page) on Tue, Jun 1, 10 at 22:46
| japanese honeysuckle, creeping charlie, bind weed. That's how I define invasive species. In my landscape architecture class they described invasive as something that will out compete the native species and eventually kill them. Like the oriental bittersweet taking over the native american bittersweet. |
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