My neighbor is a sweet lady. We get along just fine except for one thing. Our ideas of having a nice yard differ significantly. She prefers large expanses of manicured grass interspersed with big, showy, non-native plants placed just so. My taste runs more toward organized chaos.
I cringe when I see new exotic plants in her yard. Even so, there’s never been any conflict between us since there’s nearly a mile of woodland and fields between our homes. Problems began, though, when her plants started spreading outside her yard and taking over the ‘wild’ area between us.
The two worst alien invaders creeping my way were:
Elephant Ear or Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta) – personally, I have no idea what the attraction is with these gigantic heart-shaped green leaves. There are no flowers; all they do is tower over all the other vegetation, smothering everything in its path. These invasive monsters have taken over a large portion of the roadside bordering her yard and have even somehow jumped across the road, taking over that side as well.
Elephant ears are considered a major invasive weed in the southeast, displacing native flora and are next to impossible to get rid of since they spread underground.
Luckily, they’re partial to the wetter areas around the ditches and aren’t spreading too far from home. Hopefully, they’ll stay in the swampy spots and leave the rest alone.
I cringe when I see new exotic plants in her yard. Even so, there’s never been any conflict between us since there’s nearly a mile of woodland and fields between our homes. Problems began, though, when her plants started spreading outside her yard and taking over the ‘wild’ area between us.
The two worst alien invaders creeping my way were:
Elephant Ear or Wild Taro (Colocasia esculenta) – personally, I have no idea what the attraction is with these gigantic heart-shaped green leaves. There are no flowers; all they do is tower over all the other vegetation, smothering everything in its path. These invasive monsters have taken over a large portion of the roadside bordering her yard and have even somehow jumped across the road, taking over that side as well.
Elephant ears are considered a major invasive weed in the southeast, displacing native flora and are next to impossible to get rid of since they spread underground.
Luckily, they’re partial to the wetter areas around the ditches and aren’t spreading too far from home. Hopefully, they’ll stay in the swampy spots and leave the rest alone.
I used to like the Daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) until they became a nuisance. The orange flowers made a lovely border along my neighbor’s fence. Unfortunately, they spread big time and have now established themselves for at least a quarter mile along the shoulder on both sides of the road and along the tractor paths leading to the farm fields.
Earlier this summer, a lovely stand of volunteer lance-leaf coreopsis beautified the grassy edge. However, within a few weeks, they fell victim to the fast-growing daylilies. There’s no stopping them!
Earlier this summer, a lovely stand of volunteer lance-leaf coreopsis beautified the grassy edge. However, within a few weeks, they fell victim to the fast-growing daylilies. There’s no stopping them!
Mimosa tree, Chinese privet, Chinese wisteria, and Sicklepod I’ve noticed a number of other invasives taking over as well. About eight years ago, chainsaws ruthlessly clear-cut about an acre of virgin woodlands. All the native undergrowth was torn from the ground as the pine trees were loaded onto trucks and hauled away to the paper mill. The felled hardwoods were left abandoned to slowly decompose.
The faster growing Mimosas (Albizia julibrissin), Bradford Pears (Pyrus calleryana), Chinese privets (Ligustrum sinense), and non-native wisteria (Wisteria sinensis), along with lots of weeds like sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) have taken advantage of the unoccupied space and created a haven for themselves.
Unfortunately, vines from native morning glories (Ipomoea) and muscadines (Vitis rotundifolia) have totally overgrown most of the other vegetation, so now it looks more jungle-like than forested.
The faster growing Mimosas (Albizia julibrissin), Bradford Pears (Pyrus calleryana), Chinese privets (Ligustrum sinense), and non-native wisteria (Wisteria sinensis), along with lots of weeds like sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) have taken advantage of the unoccupied space and created a haven for themselves.
Unfortunately, vines from native morning glories (Ipomoea) and muscadines (Vitis rotundifolia) have totally overgrown most of the other vegetation, so now it looks more jungle-like than forested.
It’s sad to watch the destruction of indigenous trees, shrubs, plants, and wildlife and be unable to do anything about it. According to the National Wildlife Federation, without native plants, there would be no web of life. Every strand in the web is vital in ways we are still coming to understand. Meanwhile, our native plant populations are declining, becoming fewer, fragmented, and imperiled by threats such as extreme weather, competition from invasive species, and development. Thirty-four percent of plants and 40% of animals are at risk of extinction, and an alarming 41% of ecosystems in the U.S. are at risk of collapse.
So please refrain from introducing non-native flora to your neighborhood and help keep our ecosystems strong with lots of diverse native plants. Thank you
So please refrain from introducing non-native flora to your neighborhood and help keep our ecosystems strong with lots of diverse native plants. Thank you
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