Sustainable Living & Climate Action

What are NATIVE plants? What are INVASIVE plants? And what about everything in between?

Why does it matter? Maybe you have heard that baby birds need to eat caterpillars, and caterpillars grow almost exclusively on native plants. Many of our long-loved plants have evolved on a different continent with different ecosystems and different soils. If you are like me, you are trying to be more aware of these things, yet are often confused. Here is a quick effort at clarifying, as best as I can, the various categories of plants we come in contact with.

Native Plants:

Native to where? While some people may be trying to only use plants native to CT, most of the native plants we want to nurture around here have evolved in the New England and Northeast region since the last glaciation and definitely prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Cultivars

Cultivars are plants that have been modified in some way through breeding, etc. Cultivars of native plants may or may not provide the ecological benefits of the original native, and you should do more research before purchasing.

Aggressive Plants

Any native plant that likes where it is and spreads easily, often by more than one method, can become aggressive. Many plants spread by both seeds and rhizomes (underground stems) and can be very difficult to remove from an area. But at least you know if native plants spread beyond your garden, they are good to go and probably help the wider ecosystem.

Invasive Plants

Any Non-Native plants that spread very easily by seeds and underground root growth, outcompeting other plants and taking over natural areas, like woodlands, meadows, and along waterways and roadsides. They cause economic and environmental harm.

Naturalized Plants

Plants that arrived at some point from Europe, Asia or elsewhere and have become established in natural areas without taking over these areas are called naturalized. However, naturalized plants can become invasive over time and under shifting conditions. Some of these are called Potentially Invasive.

Many of us are not sure which plants are native and which are invasive. Don’t assume that a plant that comes up in your yard without your help is native. It is just as likely to be non-native and invasive. Here is a list of plants officially listed as invasive and not legal to sell or share. https://cipwg.uconn.edu/invasive_plant_list/ It’s a place to start. Many other plants are recognized by different organizations as invasive, and if you Google a plant to find out if it is native or invasive, you may get some differing information, but it does help. There are also plant identification apps. Some are free, and some charge an annual fee. I am not sure at this point which are the best. Many of us purchase native plants each spring from the North Central Conservation District at https://conservect.org/northcentral/. If you get on their mailing list, you will receive info in time to order and add natives to your landscape next spring. Another extensive website is https://ipm.cahnr.uconn.edu/connecticut-native-availability/.

Hopefully, little by little, you can experience the joy of making your garden a more helpful part of the natural ecosystem and local food web, while feeding caterpillars to the baby birds.

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