Aug 05 2009
Invasive Species: Resources for Gardeners
Understanding what invasive species are and how to control them are increasingly important issues for gardeners. Approximately 50% of the total invasive plants introduced to the U.S. have a horticultural origin. With new introductions by the nursery industry and the hunger by gardeners to experiment with more exciting varieties in their own landscapes, horticultural-origin biological invasions are sure to continue.
Despite this grim statistic, gardeners can also be a positive part of the solution. Below are some resources to get gardeners started on solving the problem. I developed these for the 2009 OSU Master Gardener Minicollege in Corvallis, OR:
- Invasive Species: Some Facts for the Gardener (Emanuel, Jones and McMahan, 2009)
Below are other resources that I compiled for gardeners and OSU Master Gardener volunteers:
- Pacific Northwest Weed Management Handbook: weeds.ippc.orst.edu/pnw/weeds
- Oregon Invasive Species Hotline: oregoninvasiveshotline.org
- National Invasive Species Clearinghouse: www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov
- USDA PLANTS Database: plants.usda.gov/index.html
- Washington State Noxious Weed Board: www.nwcb.wa.gov/index.htm
- Idaho Weed Awareness: idahoweedawareness.net/index.html
- California Invasive Plant Council: www.cal-ipc.org
- British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Weed Management: www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weeds.htm
- Nevada Noxious Weed List: agri.nv.gov/nwac/PLANT_NoxWeedList.htm
- Be Plantwise: www.beplantwise.org/
Lastly but not least, are some published guides to Pacific Northwest and regional invaders as well as their more environmentally friendly alternatives:
- GardenSmart Oregon
- California Don’t Plant a Pest Series
- Garden Wise Western Washington Guide
- Garden Wise Eastern Washington Guide
Happy invader-free gardening! Don’t forget to pass on the word to others so that they too can be part of the solution when it comes to stopping the silent invasion of Oregon’s beautiful watersheds. Contact me here if you need more assistance.
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