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What’s wrong with planting non-native plants in an urban setting?

What’s wrong with planting non-native plants in an urban setting? Why do ecologists argue for native landscaping?. Key Facts: 1) introduced species cause about 35 billion dollars in environmental damages per year (control costs, damages, etc)

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What’s wrong with planting non-native plants in an urban setting?

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  1. What’s wrong with planting non-native plants in an urban setting? Why do ecologists argue for native landscaping?

  2. Key Facts: 1) introduced species cause about 35 billion dollars in environmental damages per year (control costs, damages, etc) 2. About half of all the cases of species threatened with extinction involve interactions with introduced species (most in conjunction with habitat change) 3. ‘Accidental’ release of ornamental species account for about half of the non-native invasive plant problems.

  3. Myrtle spurge exits the garden and heads for the meadow...

  4. Example of ‘ornamental plant ‘gone wild’. Myrtle spurge, still sold nationally…is spreading across the Colorado Front Range Myrtle spurge can ‘monoculture’ and displace Native species.

  5. Same site, revisited, 40 hours of labor later

  6. Toadflax growing near Missoula, MT Dalmatian toadflax, may be controlled by a single biological control agent, the weevil Mecinusjanthiniformis.a; Far too abundant and widespread for either mechanical or chemical control….

  7. Species to watch in Colorado: Dames rocket, Hesperus matronalis, a riparian invader of Colorado

  8. Purple loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, the wetland invader Boulder Open Space is still trying to eradicate this species.

  9. Foxglove,Digitalis purpurea, recently found miles from any homestead. The next purple loosestrife in Colorado?

  10. Bouncing bet, Saponaria officinalis. Oxeye daisy, Leucanthemumvulgare

  11. This roadside scene is repeated on at least two continents… (This photo is From Australia) (Boulder County sponsored a weed pull for this species at Caribou Ranch)

  12. Common mullein, kept in gardens for medicinal reasons “It is a common weedy plant that spreads by prolifically producing seeds, but rarely becomes aggressively invasive, since its seed require open ground to germinate …it is not a very competitive species.” (This appears to be changing!)

  13. Escaped ornamentals that, by law, must be eradicated in Colorado Orange hawkweed Purple loosestrife Myrtle spurge Early detection and eradication is a strategy that ecologists and weed managers agree upon. We recommend a phase-out of non-natives wherever possible.

  14. Spotted knapweed, known as the ‘wicked weed of the west’ is the purple flowering plant shown here and has been found in small areas of the Front Range. Attempts are underway to eradicate this weed on the Front Range rather than simply control it. Other fairly abundant weeds on that eradication list include the escaped ornamental species, myrtle spurge. Myrtle spurge

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