A homeowner is facing a daunting task dealing with aggressive and invasive plants in their quest to create a native plant garden.
In the r/InvasiveSpecies subreddit, the hopeful gardener posted a photo of the invasive chamber bitter and spotted ladysthumb.
"Aim is to turn the backyard into a native plant garden but don't know where to start with the invasives. Help!" the original poster wrote.
The commenters were quick to offer advice and some caution when it came to dealing with the plants.
"It can be daunting, but at least they handpull fairly easily," one person wrote. "Start with the flowering plants to stop new seed. Then hit the plants with the fastest spread. Then go back and get the new flowers before they go to seed. Rinse & repeat until they're all gone."
"Ladysthumb is difficult to deal with because it produces viable seed almost as soon as it flowers. What I do is pull and bag it. If you mow it after it has flowered, you are likely just spreading the seed," another warned.
The homeowner's goal to plant a native lawn once they handle the invasive species is a wise one for their sanity and sustainability. Native lawns are easier to maintain than the classic monoculture grass lawns, requiring less water, fertilizer, pesticides, and mowing.
In fact, the California Native Plant Society said that native plants require up to 50% less water, saving approximately 8,000 gallons of water per year for a 1,000-square-foot yard. Conserving all that water also saves your wallet, cutting down on your water bills, which is especially important in drought-stricken areas.
Even Martha Stewart recently recommended switching from a regular lawn to clover, highlighting the previously mentioned benefits plus its ability to help prevent soil erosion and serve as a food source for wildlife and livestock.
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If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation?
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Making it look better 🌱 Native plants are also essential to helping support pollinators like birds, bees, and other insects. Pollinators play a key role in ensuring plants and crops are fertilized. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, pollinators are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. The more support they're offered from everyone from professional farmers to home gardeners, the better off we'll all be.
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Redditors offered another helpful piece of advice for starting a native lawn.
"Just note that you should plan on planting something native in its place because 99% of the time an invasive plant will take first, save for a few aggro pioneer natives," another gardener recommended.
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