Invasive Plants

Invasive Plant Control

Invasive plants cost us all. It costs us time as we try to pull them out, it costs us money to pay for removal programs and it also robs us of native species that are pushed out by these little thieves. We heard about one of the newest and most noxious of these plants, Hogweed. We met with Jennifer Goodridge from the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services.

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Jennifer is working hard to help get the upper hand on this dangerous plant. Hogweed looks like a Queen Anne’s Lace, but with a much larger flower cap. Unfortunately these plants can cause you some real pain if you touch them. The sap from the plant can cause burns on your skin and the burns will return year after year.

We all know that blackberries and wild clematis are invasives, but this one is just starting out and government experts are trying to tackle this one before it becomes a huge problem. To learn more about invasives in your area or if you think you may have a Hogweed plant in your area you can check out the Oregon Invasives Hotline. It is loaded with great information and it can put you in touch with the experts in your area.

Oregon Invasives Hotline provides a number of guides to identifying and ridding invasive plants. Familiarize yourself with the potential invasive species in the areas where you live or visit frequently. Get started with the Silent Invasion Quick Guide or the GardenSmart Oregon booklet (download a PDF copy).

You can also find a number of tips and resources to help with this informative paper about invasive plant control.

(Originally aired on GardenTime TV. See the GardenTime web site for more videos and information about the show)