State promoting Grow Native program

Often pretty and sometimes useful, invasive plants are taking over fields and forest floors throughout Missouri.

Invasive plants, which are defined as plants non-native to the ecosystem whose introduction may cause environmental harm, have become a prime target of the Missouri Department of Conservation and other government agencies.

The Department of Conservation is currently promoting a program called Grow Native in order to promote the planting of native plants in order to help save Missouri plants, said A.J. Hendershott, outreach and education supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation regional office in Cape Girardeau.

The program, which the Department of Conservation is starting to stress, shows Missouri citizens the many different types of native plants that can be planted and the benefits that these plants represent.

Native plants are not as invasive because they have natural predators, Hendershott said, and by planting native plants there will be a greater variety of plant species in Missouri's natural habitats.

Hendershott said it is important that people become aware of the problems that invasive plants can cause.

"If they see it they need to be committed to controlling it," he said.

Kudzu, bush honeysuckle, Japanese honeysuckle, autumn olive and crown vetch are just a few of the invasive plant species the department is trying to eliminate. These and other invasive plants are known to dominate the land around them and often eliminate native plants in those areas.

"My biggest concern is bush honeysuckle," Hendershott said.

Bush honeysuckle, once it starts growing on the forest floors, creates shade that makes it virtually impossible for new forming trees and other plants to get enough sunlight to survive, Hendershott said.

Erosion problems

For Paul Schnare, owner of Sunny Hill Nursery, plants such as bush and Japanese honeysuckle, which he sells, can be important plants.

Schnare said that these plants do a good job of holding the soil down in banks and other areas that have erosion problems.

Hendershott said that there are some native grasses that can be used as alternatives to bush and Japanese honeysuckle.Schnare said that he hasn't heard of any problems from people who have bought the honeysuckle plants, but did admit that Japanese honeysuckle can be a bit invasive.

"Japanese honeysuckle is real viny, so it will smother a lot of stuff out," he said.

Hendershott said that plants such as bush and Japanese honeysuckle may not be a problem in the average person's garden, but they often can become troublesome in open fields and woodlands because their seeds are spread by birds.

"The problem may be on large tracts, but the problem starts on private yards," he said.

Hendershott said that the Department of Conservation provides technical advice to people who's private yards are infected with these plants.

Problems areas in Cape

Hendershott said that in Cape Girardeau the main problem invasives are Russian thistle, autumn olive, bush and Japanese honeysuckle and crown vetch.

Cape Girardeau residents don't have to look far, Hendershott said -- areas like the woods near the Osage Centre are full of bush honeysuckle and Russian thistle can be seen all along Mount Auburn Road.The Department of Conservation recommends such things as pulling, burning, chemical treatments and grazing in order to control the growth of invasive plants.

The problem is not isolated to Missouri. A national council was formed to help design procedures to stop the growth of invasive plants during President Clinton's second term.

A similar program, called the Invasive Species Council, has been brought up several times in the Missouri legislature but hasn't made it through yet.

Missouri's state entomologist, Mike Brown, said that programs like the Invasive Species Council seem to be popping up as people become more aware of problems that invasive plants can cause in the environment.

"They've become popular because everyone wants to keep out bad organisms, whether they're insects, weeds or bacteria," he said.

Some invasive plants listed by the Department of Conservation, such as purple loosestrife, multiflora rose, musk thistle, kudzu and common teasel, have been declared noxious weeds by the state and are illegal to purchase or grow.

Land owners can face up to a $1,000 fine if they do not work to eradicate noxious weeds such as kudzu and common teasel from their land.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 226