Jump to UGA Extension Homepage keyboard_arrow_down

More from UGA Extension:

Publications People Events County Offices Careers 4-H About

About Us:

UGA Extension agents, staff and trained volunteers keep local communities informed through county Extension offices. We offer reliable information and programs in the areas of agriculture, food, families, the environment, and 4-H youth development. Let us help you learn, grow, and do more!

Cultivating Cherokee County

UGA Extension

Menu
  • Home
  • UGA Extension-Cherokee County
Posted in Uncategorized

THINK AGAIN – Beware of Invasive Plants

May 1, 2018 | Written by jfuder

By Mary Tucker, Cherokee County Master Gardener
Excerpt from article in Feb/Mar 2011 issue of Gardening with the Masters

Anytime you are evaluating an introduced plant for your landscape, consider the following:

  1. if it naturalizes or self sows;
  2. how far it spreads; how fast it grows
  3. how its seeds are dispersed and if they will be carried by wind or eaten and spread by animals;
  4. if it will be so hardy or drought tolerant that it will out-compete other vegetation.

If you have any doubts about a plant, simply avoid using it in your garden.

Don’t assume that if a plant is sold in a reputable nursery or recommended by an “expert” that it is not invasive. As I researched this article, I looked in national gardening catalogs, local nurseries, respected magazines, and well-known reference books to see how many of these problematic plants were touted. I was saddened to see invasive plants virtually everywhere I looked. And even worse, there was rarely mention of their invasiveness. I even saw them listed in “environmentally conscious” literature on xeriscaping. I know they are recommended because of their drought- tolerance, hardiness, rapid growth, etc., but that is just what makes them so invasive.

On the other hand, there are invasive plants that are marketed to the unsuspecting consumer because of some feature they possess. Unfortunately, the consumer often thinks only of the beauty or utility of these specimens in their own garden and does not know about or consider the impact they may have on the surrounding environment.

We each have a responsibility to educate ourselves. Once you have you will be a more responsible gardener of your own property and of your neighbors.  For a list of invasive plants go to https://www.gainvasives.org/

 

 

Posted in live plant nursery, Master Gardeners, nursery, Uncategorized. This entry was tagged Invasive plants. Bookmark the permalink.
Next: A Hallmark of Spring – The Piedmont Azalea

Subscribe to our newsletter

* = required field

About Cultivating Cherokee County

The UGA Extension: Cultivating Cherokee County Blog is written by Josh Fuder, the Cherokee County Extension Agent for Agricultural and Natural Resources. The blog is intended to be a place where citizens can learn about gardening, agriculture, home landscape issues and find out about learning opportunities within the Cherokee Cooperative Extension office.

Recent Posts

  • THINK AGAIN – Beware of Invasive Plants
  • A Hallmark of Spring – The Piedmont Azalea
  • Herb Gardening
  • Climbing Roses for the Southern Garden
  • Birds in Winter

Categories

  • Annual Plantings
  • Arboretum
  • Archaelogy
  • Backyard Birding
  • Backyard Poultry
  • Bees
  • Beneficial Insects
  • Birds
  • Cherokee County
  • Children's Garden
  • Compost
  • Conifers
  • County Fair
  • cover crops
  • day lillies
  • Edible Landscape
  • entomology
  • evergreen
  • Farm stand
  • Farmers Markets
  • Flowers
  • Fruit
  • Grants
  • growers
  • Herbs
  • History
  • Home Gardening
  • Home Landscape
  • IPM
  • live plant nursery
  • local business
  • Master Gardeners
  • nursery
  • Organic Gardening
  • Perennial
  • Plant Profile
  • Potato
  • Rocks
  • Roses
  • Scholarship
  • Seed Catalogs
  • Seed Library
  • Seed Saving
  • Shrubs
  • Soil
  • Tomato
  • Trees
  • Uncategorized
  • Vegetables
  • Vermiculture
  • Winery
  • Worms

Archives

Tags

annuals arborvitae Bees Beetles Beneficial Insects Cherokee County conifers cover crops Cox Arboretum cucamelon daylillies deer resistant plants Edible Landscaping entomology Evergreen Shrub Farmers Market farm stand Fragrant Plants fruit on potato fun plants Hellebores herbs home gardening local growers local produce master gardener North Georgia nursery Osmanthus perennials playground grants poisonous plants Pollinators potatoes rabbit resistant screening plants Seed Catalogs Seed Library seeds Soil Supreme Court Tomato trees vegetable gardening Vegetables
Back to Top
Extension Logo

UGA Extension © 2012-2019. All Rights Reserved.
The University of Georgia is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Institution.
Privacy Policy