Replacing Invasive Plants

Invasive Plants - Non-Native (or alien) to the ecosystem under consideration whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. (as defined by the USDA)

Why replace your invasive plants?

1. They do not tend to provide food for native insects
2. Because they aren't eaten by the native insects, they do not provide food for native wildlife like birds
3. If they fruit or seed, they may not provide food for native wildlife like birds
4. They may require more care (fertilizer, water, pesticides, etc)
5. They may not be appropriate for your USDA zone, and they may die
6. Invasive plants eventually escape our lawns and may degrade our local environments

Doug Tallamy presents other benefits of working with native plants and details some problems caused by invasive plants in his book, Bringing Nature Home.

Our yard contained a lot of Asiastic Lilies. They are quite popular, and they look like this:

I really like the look of my invasive plants, what should I replace them with? This will be the focus of many the posts, but here are some quick wins whereby you can replace your invasive plants with similar native plants:

1. Asiatic Lilies - Replace with Wood Lilies (Lilium philadelphicum), Michigan Lilies (Lilium michiganense), or Turk's Cap Lilies (Lilium superblum)
2. Purple Butterfly Bush - Replace with Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Pink Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), or Narrow-leaf Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)

We left the irises and tulips in tact for now. They were a gift from our current neighbors to the previous owners, and I don't have the heart to take them out. The tulips are also my only early bloomers, as I already pulled the daffodils. But these could be replaced with native early blooming flowers as well.