Baby's breath plant in winter
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The Hidden Downsides Of Adding Baby's Breath To Your Garden
By MICHELE WANKE
Baby’s breath is trending right now, but you may
want to think twice before planting it, as the plant is invasive due to its ability to produce thousands of seeds.
According to the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board, a single baby's breath plant averages 13,700 seeds, which can spread easily in the wind and traverse
great distances.
Baby's breath has an extensive taproot that's painstaking to remove once it's established, and given its prolific reproduction powers, it often overcomes native plants.
When the plant is exposed to sandy soil and full sun, its downsides are amplified since the two factors feed and anchor the plant's entire root system,
causing robust blooming.
Baby's breath is listed as a noxious weed in California and Washington because it's difficult to control, and it has threatened Michigan’s dunes by suffocating native plants.