Growing Invasives 8/8/21
I posted on Instagram recently about having ordered some Acacia saligna seed and later found it was on an EU list of banned plants for growth, propagation and sale. I’ve taken the decision to destroy the seed, but thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss further since I know the idea of ‘invasive species’ can be a contentious one.
I knew A. saligna was an invasive in South Africa where I spent five weeks on a fynbos nature reserve and saw for myself the potential damage this species can inflict on local habitats where it forms thickets that essentially eradicate all species beneath it and changes the physical and chemical composition of the delicate soils that fynbos species are so finely attuned to. I was surprised though to find it on the Irish invasive species list as a ‘potential’ threat. It has recently become a hefty problem in Spain and Italy and although Ireland is a long way off from a Med climate, I took the decision to destroy the seeds as who knows where climate change is taking us and also, the stand of A. saligna pictured (above) was growing in an area that was standing in flood water from the winter rains so extreme wet obviously doesn’t phase it too badly! (Ireland). This was an area the conservation team were in the process of reclaiming from land that had been overrun through bad management, by invasive trees and grasses. As much as I love Acacias, I couldn’t live with myself if I thought I’d been responsible for bringing another Rhododendron ponticum into the country.
Interestingly, other things on the ‘Potential Invasives’ list are things like Egyptian Geese, Raccoons, Muskrats, Coati and Coypus (the latter seen in the Lee apparently!)… Although the chances of an actual invasive threat may be small, the list brings up an interesting debate about the responsibility of gardeners, growers and sellers of plants, of how important it is to think about what future impact we may be having on the wider environment when bringing in plants for our gardens or producing plants for sale. We only have to to look at some of the usual lads for a reminder (Japanese knotweed, Rhododendron ponticum, Himalayan balsam) to remind us to be a bit responsible with our horticulture. It’s worth having a look on the Irish Invasive Species List just to make yourself aware of any potential (or actual) invasives you may be growing so that you can make an informed decision on how to manage them.
