joene's garden » Invasives

Ornamental grass Miscanthus self-sows into a Gardening Oops.

joenesgarden — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 02:26:52 +0000

Ornamental grass Miscanthus self-sows into a Gardening Oops.

You may be surprised to learn that a miscanthus grass is on the Connecticut Invasive Plant List. The miscanthus in your yard may not be the specific one listed as invasive in Connecticut, but it still may be one that self-sows like the many miscanthus growing on my little piece of Earth. Self-sowing miscanthus are the topic of my November 2012 Gardening Oops – GOOPs for short.

I usually post on the first of each month about a GOOPs/gardening faux pas/gardening mis-step I've made. Super storm Sandy, as it is now being called, had another schedule in mind, so this month's post is a tad late.

I started planting ornamental grass varieties many years ago. Living in an area heavily foraged by deer, I thoroughly enjoy that ornamental grasses are not deer candy. In fact, I have never seen even the slightest deer nibble on any ornamental grass. I have, however, found one ornamental grass family, specifically miscanthus, very readily self sows.

The invasive miscanthus variety listed as invasive in Connecticut is Miscanthus sinensis 'Andersson'. I don't have this variety planted. However, I do have Miscanthus sinensis 'Arabesque' and 'Gracillimus' in multiple locations and, if I didn't deadhead the flowering bracts of these, I'd have many more miscanthus growing.

I discovered the prolific self-sowing habits of these miscanthus varieties quite by accident … I found young shoots while weeding. At first I thought the shoots were weeds then, as a few here and there managed to elude one of my many weeding sessions I realized what was growing was not a weed, but a young miscanthus.

Now if you've tried to dig out a mature miscanthus, you know what a good hold their roots have on the soil. These babies are not easy to eradicate once they have a foothold. So a few years back I started deadheading the miscanthus in my yard. I'm still able to enjoy the airy, red hue of the seed bracts when they are fresh and look like this:

But when the bracts begin to whiten, and resemble the mature seed head of a dandelion puff, off go their heads.

This is why.

This unwanted volunteer grew from a seed dropped by its parent plant growing just a few feet away. It is definitely not in a desirable spot, but serves as a good example of why I deadhead miscanthus each autumn. Even with my vigilance it's obvious one seed head slipped the jaws of my pruning shears and spread its progeny.

And, remember, none of the miscanthus varieties planted in my yard are the variety listed on the invasive plant list. Let this be a warning … not my first, but a continued one … that any type of miscanthus will self-sow and could become a problem child. This is why all my miscanthus now look like this:

I can still enjoy how the grasses sway in the breezes – Sandy's gusts really had them swaying – but I no longer need to worry that their prolific blooms will become a similarly prolific «weed» issue.

Have you had this experience with miscanthus? Do you have a different GOOPs to share? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to stop back again on December 1 for another GOOPs installment. Barring any weather issues, the December GOOPs should go up as scheduled.

Many thanks to Laurrie who posts a GOOPs every month … even when I miss one. Read Laurrie's November GOOPs.

Categories: GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Invasives, Perennials & Annuals, Techniques.
Tags: gardening in Connecticut, gardening oops - GOOPs, miscanthus, ornamental grasses.

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joene's garden

What a plant needs to do to be a Connecticut invasive

joenesgarden — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 03:36:52 +0000

What a plant needs to do to be a Connecticut invasive

What a gardener refers to as invasive might really be no more than a garden thug – a plant that doesn't understand how to play nicely with its neighbors and aggressively crowds other plants. Garden thugs may be a pain in the root to neighboring plants, or a pain in the gardener's back - or more southerly bit of human anatomy - but a plant thug may not pass the nine point test required to be named a Connecticut invasive.

To date, 97 different plant species have been added to the Connecticut Invasive Plant list. Each meets the following criteria – all nine of them. The plant

is nonindigenous to Connecticut – it was not here before European colonization;
is naturalized or has the potential to become naturalized – it's happy here;
has the biological potential for rapid and widespread dispersion and establishment – it can spread easily;
has the biological potential for excessive dispersion – it can spread excessively;
has the biological potential to exist in high numbers outside of intensely managed habitats – for example, in woods, fields, wetlands;
it can be found in wide regions or in particular habitats within Connecticut;
it has grown into large stands;
it can out-compete other plants;
and, it has the potential for rapid growth, high seed production and dissemination, and establishment in natural communities.

This photo of Japanese barberry overtaking a forest floor is a good example of a Connecticut invasive.

Japanese barberry, garlic mustard, Oriental bittersweet, Russian and Autumn olive, Winged euonymus, a.k.a. burning bush, ground ivy, many honeysuckles, moneywort, Japanese knotweed, multiflora rose and sheep sorrel are some of the invasive plants common to Connecticut gardens, as is mugwort, the most recent addition to the Connecticut Invasive Plant list. (The October 2012 update lists mugwort. As of the date of this post, the October 2011 online version, does not.) Many of these plants are so invasive they are found in every Connecticut county.

Of the 97 plant species considered invasive in Connecticut, 80 are illegal to import, move (unless for research, control, or education purposes), sell, purchase, transplant, cultivate, or distribute, according to information provided to attendees at the Invasive Plant Symposium held October 25, 2012 at the University of Connecticut. Notice I said just 80 of Connecticut's invasives are prohibited. This means 17 can still be sold and purchased, planted and distributed in spite of their invasive label.

Becoming familiar with the Connecticut Invasive Plant list is one way for Connecticut gardeners to garden thoughtfully. It's much better to identify a plant as invasive before giving it a chance to do its invasive thing in your garden or on your property. It's also valuable to know how to recognize invasive plants when they first show themselves. Eradication is so much easier when plants are young.

Gardeners can learn to identify many invasive plants by clicking the plant names listed at Invasipedia! Plants are listed there by their botanical names so be sure to have a nearby reference copy of the invasive plant list, which refers to plants by their botanical and common names. You can also just Google the botanical name of a plant to quickly see descriptions and photos.

There are good identification guides, some with color photos, as well as control and disposal information available through the Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group website. After all, once you identify an invasive plant on your property it's important to know how to remove it or control its spread.

I have my list of 'favorite' invasives - Japanese barberry; Oriental bittersweet; Autumn olive which produces 80 pounds of bird-favored fruit per year which birds then 'distribute' in excreted seed form; mugwort; multiflora rose; plus my two more recent faves, Japanese stilt grass and sheep sorrel. A good portion of my gardening hours are spent controlling this group. I strive to get to know my problematic plants when they are young, so one or two small troublemakers don't become enormous pains to parts of my anatomy. But control also requires vigilance – you have to keep continuous watch for the invasives common to your property. They love to visit again and again and again.

Categories: Gardening, Gardening Education, Invasives.
Tags: Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group, gardening in Connecticut, Japanese barberry.

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joene's garden

Japanese Stilt Grass, a Prolific Invasive Plant in Connecticut

joenesgarden — Fri, 25 May 2012 23:15:37 +0000

Japanese Stilt Grass, a Prolific Invasive Plant in Connecticut

The transition area between our front lawn and adjacent woods is a 'wild' area filled with woodland grasses, ferns, and mosses – lovely and very low maintenance, until now. Last July I identified Japanese stilt grass in a section about six to eight feet wide and long. Japanese stilt grass is a truly scary invasive that is overtaking roadside edges, drainage culverts, and wooded areas in my neighborhood and elsewhere in Connecticut.

Japanese stilt grass spreads by seeds and possibly resprouts from rootlets not completely removed when pulling the plant.

This is what Japanese stilt grass looks like now, at the end of May on my Connecticut property.

Here it is even closer.

It doesn't appear to be troublesome at first. It looks unassuming in the foreground below.

It's actually a rather attractive low-growing plant that holds a lime-green shade all summer long. But don't be fooled by its mild-mannered look. Left alone it will fill in so thickly that native grasses and other plants will be smothered. In the same area it looked like this last August.

Normally, Japanese stilt grass germinates in June. This year it germinated in May. Normally Japanese stilt grass blooms in August. This year watch for it to begin blooming in July. One plant … one of these thin stalks of greenery … typically produces about 100 seeds. Seeds remain viable for about seven years. Do the math. One stalk can cause 100 more stalks any time during the next seven years.

It has, does, and will spread.

We followed advised control steps: weed whacked it before it began to bloom and let it dry and remain in place. Any raking disturbs underlying soil and brings seeds to the surface to sprout. We left the area alone till Autumn. No new plants showed up. Then we spread wood chips harvested from some of the felled trees on our property.

This year the stilt grass is back, presumably from seeds that must be in the soil. There must have been some in the area in previous years that went unnoticed and seeded. I'm pulling as much of the stilt grass as possible without moving the wood chips aside. I don't plan to let it get as thick as it was last year. Continued pulling will have to continue throughout the growing season.

Pulled plants should be placed in a container and sent away with the trash. Ideally, to be sure the plants are degraded fully, let them sit in a plastic bag in the hot sun for a few days before throwing the bag in the trash. Do not compost Japanese stilt grass. It is not clear that home composting gets hot enough to kill it off. Do not throw Japanese stilt grass into the woods thinking it will die off; it may regrow from rootlets.

If you find this plant in flower beds, do not ignore it. It will quickly become a major problem. Read UConn's Invasive Plant Worksheet for more information.

Garden thoughtfully …

Categories: Gardening, General, Invasives.
Tags: gardening in Connecticut, invasive plants, Japanese stilt grass.

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