native plant

Some native plants get aggressive

Bee on white snakeroot

We’ve had a bit of rain this year, and most plants are acting like giddy teenagers after a six-pack of energy drinks. That includes native plants. 

Who’d have thought a native plant would fail to mind its manners? In fact, when some natives get aggressive, they outcompete non-native invasive weeds. In the horticultural world, this quality is sometimes called “competitive exclusion.”

How native is that native plant?

US Native Plant tag

Native plants went mainstream over the past five years as many people embraced the value of these plants to beneficial insects that pollinate our landscape and farms, especially to feeding specialists such as the monarch butterfly. We’ve begun to understand that when native plants thrive, they occupy places that might otherwise be taken over by invasive species. Furthermore, many native plants are easier to grow when they are well selected for a location. 

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