Avoid This Mistake When Purchasing A Plant At A Garden Center

Visiting your favorite garden center can resemble a trip to the candy store. You're enchanted by the colorful flowers, vegetable plants, and lovely ornamentals — and you can't decide which ones to take home. Whatever your garden design preferences, avoid the mistake of putting any invasive plants in your shopping cart. They can easily disrupt your garden's ecosystem and quickly overwhelm your existing plants. Fortunately, readily available digital resources can help you avoid invasive plants' negative impacts and encourage a switch to native plants.

Invasive plants originate from a different region. You might wonder if all non-native plants are invasive, but they aren't necessarily. In their home environment, plants are integrated into their local ecosystem. This makes it less likely that they'll overrun the other vegetation. However, those constraints may vanish when the plants are shipped out of their native region. If there aren't enough competitors for resources, non-native plants become invasive, growing rapidly in their new soil and climate conditions. They produce numerous seeds that disperse via the wind, through the water, or within animal feces. Local insects and animals are less likely to feed on the invasives, and the plants often escape common local plant diseases.

With nothing to inhibit the invasive plants' growth, they often take over the neighborhood. They hog the available space, gobble up plant nutrients, and position themselves for maximum sunlight. Native plants therefore have reduced access to these growth catalysts, making it tougher for them to survive. And as collateral damage, native animals find it more difficult to find shelter in the often-dense invasive plant landscape.

Today, jurisdictions and individuals display an increasing knowledge of invasive plants' cascading effects. Each state and region maintains its own invasive plant species regulatory framework. That said, regulatory inconsistency means some invasive plant species still appear on local garden centers' shelves. For perspective, in an eye-catching study in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, researchers analyzed nursery catalog entries and Google searches. Overall, 61% of 1,285 invasive plant species in the United States were still actively marketed through plant retailers. To turn the tide, researchers recommended a stronger regional regulatory framework along with targeted consumer and grower campaigns. Similarly, an Ecosphere study noted that adjacent jurisdictions should ideally enact mutual invasive plant species regulations. When regulators implement an early-stage ban, or even a pre-entry prohibition, their efforts are more likely to meet with success.

Certain invasive plant species have become a fixture in U.S. gardens and landscapes. Popular ornamentals include Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), English ivy (Hedera spp.), golden bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea), Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora). Keeping these and other prolific invasive plants from spreading can be a challenge.

Replacing the undesirable invasive species with a similar native variety will help support your local ecosystem. Many native plants also display distinctive foliage and beautiful flowers, making them a welcome addition to your garden. Before you race to the garden center, though, decide which invasive plant attributes are most important to you. Look for native plant varieties with the same pleasing features. And if you're fascinated by birdwatching, native plants are a natural magnet for your favorite feathered friends.

As you browse through garden centers and plant nurseries and visit local parks and trails, stay on the lookout for invasive plant species. To enable easier identification, the University of Georgia's Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health has developed several mobile applications. The Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS) app displays leading invasive species' common and scientific names, descriptions, photos, and known habitats. The app makes it easy to report invasive species while you spend time in the great outdoors.

The Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health also operates the nationwide Wild Spotter Program. This digital mapping effort encourages volunteers to identify, map, and report invasive species while exploring designated public lands. The Wild Spotter app is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, and it works even without cell service.

Finally, the USDA's National Invasive Species Information Center provides comprehensive details on how to identify and avoid invasive plants throughout the United States. Equipped with these resources, you can take action to improve your regional ecosystem's health.