Look out! Those invading plants don’t belong here! How to know and grow your native landscape By Amy Ney
I
very difficult and costly to remove. Plant diversity is greatly f you’ve been to the mountains, you’ve probably seen reduced, sometimes to just a single invasive plant. kudzu vines literally smothering a forest edge. Or oriInvasive plants fall into every category, from trees to ental bittersweet winding its way around trees inside grasses. Purple blooms of the princess tree or paulownia the forest, literally choking them to death. Both are can be seen throughout western North Carolina in April excellent examples of invasive, exotic plants — species that and May, creating thousands have been introduced to a of tiny wind-spread seeds region, either on purpose or per pod which continue the accidentally, and have spread spread of this invasive. Leaves out of control. Because of the winged burning bush invasive plants are out of turn scarlet in the fall, maktheir original locale, the ing invasive forest colonies native control mechanisms easy to spot, although hard (competing vegetation, to remove. English ivy, periinsects, diseases, animals or winkles and big blue lilyturf weather patterns) are not in or creeping liriope are all place. These plants can take commonly used groundcovover the landscape, pushing ers which can spread out of out the native plants that control from even the most feed and shelter our native dedicated gardener. These are wildlife. They also disturb just a few of the many spethe beauty of the native cies which are permanently landscape in our national changing the face of our parks and forests and other Eastern redbud is a native species and can substitute for the landscape. recreation areas and can be non-native princess tree. Carolina Country AUGUST 2011 17