The fad is still raging for native plants and many gardeners are a little confused both about what plants they should grow and whether they are harming the environment if they plant non-natives. A growing amount of research is suggesting that most non-native plants that go wild arent really that bad for the environment in the long run and that some are actually beneficial. Of course there are some bad players- plants that poison livestock for example- but in the long run research is saying that most of the worry over non- native plants pushing out natives is much to do about nothing. Gardeners should stop feeling guilty about causing environmental destruction if they choose to plant exotic plant species in the garden.
Pollinators are one of the concerns of the native plant crowd. But honey bees, one of the preferred pollinators, arent native to North America. It stands to reason that they adapted to new plants and that native pollinators adapt to exotic plants too. In fact a bee would rather find a good source of nectar and pollen in a non-native plant then spend a lot of time visiting poor sources of those foods from native plants. Some non-native plants that provide food for bees in the early spring are the dandelion, crocus, and various fruit trees that are not native plants. Without them bumble bees and other native bees would have a harder time finding good early food sources.
The worry that non-native invasive plants will crowd out native species is also somewhat dramatized, according to the newest research. When you look at a field over taken by Autumn Olive, for example, you think its a terrible thing. But the truth is that that abandoned field would have become covered with some other brushy plant if the Autumn Olive hadnt shown up. Thats what fields do- if left alone first shrubs grow and then trees. Its called succession.
And a native brushy plant may not have been better than Autumn Olive. (This is just one example.) Autumn Olive provides lots of nectar for bees, it is nitrogen fixing and actually improves the soil and it provides berries for birds and other wildlife. Trees grow faster among Autumn Olives than among many native shrubs. Eventually trees will replace the Autumn Olive, maybe native ones, maybe not. Yes, the habitat for wildlife changes in the transition from meadow to brush land but it was going to change anyway.
There are cases when non- native plants may need to be severely controlled as when an endangered native plant species may be further endangered by plants that can utilize that environment more efficiently. (And a competing native plant can also endanger a species whose environment has been altered.) But remember that the non-native species is almost always not the cause of the native plants original decline. It declined because its environment disappeared or became altered. That allowed a non-native who could utilize that altered environment to occupy it. When native plants have the right environment they are generally better able to survive than invading exotics.
For one thing our climate is changing and plant species will need to change with it. Since man has been on earth we have been responsible for altering the plant species around us, both by changing the environment and by introducing new species through our travels, both deliberately and accidently. In the vast majority of cases the new plant species have a neutral effect on the natural ecology of an area. Yes, things change, but the change is the way nature sustains life.
The time spent pulling Dames Rocket, a rather pretty plant thats considered invasive, and some other exotics, is probably wasted. They have been around for decades if not centuries and in the broad view of things have changed the environment very little. They may seem overwhelming in some areas- along roadsides and around human dwellings for example- but the roadsides arent really natural environments anyway. They have not caused the extinction of any native species. And bees like them.
Research has found that non-natives may take over certain areas but those areas are generally patchy and already becoming unsuitable for the native plants displaced. The journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has recently published research studies that conclude most non-native plants do little damage to natural environments. If suitable unspoiled native environments exist they are for the most part occupied by native plants adapted to them. There are sometimes bursts of non-native plants in an area until insects, wildlife, and diseases adapt to utilizing them and control them so that they become part of the environment and not the domineering species. But over time these bursts and pockets of non- natives do little harm to the environment.
Gardeners should be more concerned about exotic plants overpowering their landscapes than worrying about them escaping. Some plants like Japanese Knot weed and comfrey can make your life as a gardener very hard. But so can some native plants like Virginia Creeper and Black Walnuts. Of course you must respect state laws that prohibit certain plants and you shouldnt deliberately plant non-native plants in wild areas. But dont think you are doing something terribly wrong if you decide to grow plants in your garden that http://www.thetutuguru.com.au/how-to-shop-with-us/
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