Appreciation post: Learning from my mistake with native plants

I planted non-native species that spread too fast, and now I see how it hurt the local ecosystem.

3 comments

3 Comments

Try pulling the worst offenders first and replacing them with natives that look similar. I had mint take over a shady corner, so I dug it all out and put in some native bee balm instead. It took a couple of weekends of solid work, but the bees love it now and it stays where I put it. Getting advice from a local plant nursery really helped me pick the right stuff.

wendyrivera2mo ago

Wow, mint really spreads that quickly? @the_sarah, I can't imagine digging all that up.

ninasmith2mo ago

I read an article about how butterfly bush, which a lot of people plant for pollinators, can actually crowd out the native plants caterpillars need to eat. It was eye-opening (the author called it a "fast food" stop that doesn't support the full life cycle). Now I always check if a pretty plant is listed as invasive in my state before buying anything.