One Redditor recently came upon what they described as "a UN summit of worst invasives" while visiting some relatives, and turned to the r/NativePlantGardening subreddit for advice.
"Hi y'all, I went to my senior relatives house and was shocked at how BAD their backyard has gotten. In prior years it was clovers and violets," the poster wrote. "I [actually] found it comical how many terrible weeds were present. Stiltgrass, English ivy, fatoua, chamber bitter, chaff flower, spurge, persica, some tree of heaven, privet, an invasive morning glory and oddly oregano?? How do I even APPROACH an insane mix of plants like this..."
Getting rid of one invasive plant species can be a massive headache for any home gardener, let alone more than a dozen of them at once. Even many of the denizens of the subreddit dedicated to native plants were at a loss for how the original poster should proceed.
🗣️ Should we be actively working to kill invasive species?
🔘 Absolutely 💯
🔘 It depends on the species 🤔
🔘 I don't know 🤷
🔘 No — leave nature alone 🙅
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"I have no answers, only upvotes for funny titles," wrote one.
"Thank you. I was going to say 'warzone' but they superficially seem to be [getting] along oddly well as long as they murder & suppress everything native," the original poster replied.
Others, however, did have some practical advice to offer, reminding us that dealing with a range of invasive plants might feel like an insurmountable problem, but could actually be overcome — albeit with a whole lot of effort.
"Start in a small area and work your way outward. It's easier to get things under control without being overwhelmed this way," wrote one such expert. "This winter, you could cut and paint the woodies and sheet mulch everything else when you get the time, but preferably before spring when stuff starts pushing. English ivy can be tough. You could maybe lawn mow it and spray with herbicide (if you aren't opposed to it) maybe like a week before sheet mulching. Rinse and repeat until you've gotten everything under control."
Other commenters joked that, despite having identified at least 11 invasive plant species, at least the original poster didn't have to deal with the dreaded Japanese knotweed.
Whenever you are planting something new in your garden, it is always advisable to do enough research to ensure that you are going with a native species that is already adapted to thrive in your ecosystem, and won't outcompete other plant species for resources.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
