Connecticut ranks 4th for invasive plants

There are creeps then there are plant creeps. A plant creep wants to upset the environment, ultimately usurpring economic stability on a region. Lawn Love has come out with a list showing we are ranked fourth for invasive plants. The top five in order are California, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and North Carolina. (Note: our geographical proximity to New York and Massachussetts obviously means greater overlap in areas such as northwestern and southeastern Connecticut.)

The breakdown is as follows:

No. 4: Connecticut | Overall score: 65.87

Number of Invasive Plant Species (National Invasive Species Information Center): 47 | Rank: 10

Number of Invasive Plant Species Reported (University of Georgia): 702 | Rank: 18

Percentage of Sunshine: 58% | Rank: 29

Average Monthly Inches of Precipitation: 3.6 | Rank: 17

National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils Membership: 0 (No) | Rank: 1

UConn has put out a helpful list of reported invasive plants. Listed by common name, they include: the American water lotus, the Amur maple, the Rugosa rose (see picture), the Brittle water nymph, the Common reed and Garlic mustard, just to name a few of over 100 invasive species.

Why are invasive plants bad? How is any invader unwelcome? Think of the guy who crashed your party then ruined it with his drunkeness. That is the invader. In the age of climate change and roiling temperatures and extreme weather, the invader is becoming more common. According to the Nature Conservancy, a plant like the aforementioned garlic mustard, is an interloper in part because its "roots release chemicals that alter the important underground network of fungi that connect nutrients between native plants, inhibiting the growth of important species like trees."

Key insights from Lawn Love are:

"North Carolina fights against the highest number of invasive plant species, 53, according to the National Invasive Species Information Center. Virginia (No. 7) and Kentucky (No. 9) follow closely with 52 and 51 invasive species, respectively." But not all non-native species are classified as "invasive". Some plants "can be dormant for hundreds of years before becoming invasive and wreaking havoc on the environment. Most dormant invasive plants take an average of 40 years to become an issue."

Asked how to slow the spread of invasive plant species in their area, Bethany Bradley, Professor of Environmental Conservation at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, told Lawn Love: "Not planting them is by far the most important way to stop invasive plant spread. If you already have some invasive plants in your landscape (not uncommon), you can also work to slow their spread by cutting them back, smothering them, or using herbicides. Most homeowners use way more herbicide than recommended though, so be careful about herbicides also affecting non-target native plants."

Bradley says if one wants advice on managing invasive species, check with one's local university extension office or from area NGOs that specialize in conservation.

For more information from Lawn Love and to read the entire article, see: https://lawnlove.com/blog/states-with-most-invasive-plant-species/

Image: By Ryan Hodnett - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99478944

According to AI,the Rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa), also known as the beach rose, can be found here "along the rocky coastline from southern Connecticut to Stonington, Maine. It can also be found in coastal beaches, dunes, and roadsides."