Using Native Plants

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I have gone back and forth about whether I should seek approval to remove this tree on grounds that it is invasive.


[/ QUOTE ]That depends--how many seedlings have you had to deal with so far?

We had a big mimosa in the herb garden at the UNC Bot Gdn that sent its seeds everywhere, and those roots ran deep. hard to manage, given the no-poison philosophy of this native plant garden.

I had to wait for the curator to leave before it was killed. In retrospect, maybe inoculating it with Fusarium perniciosum wilt woulda been the way to go--hey, it's natural!

Good luck with yours.
 
I mostly deal with seedling in adjacent shrub/flower beds along the front side of surrounding buildings. It hasn't seemed to procreate into the sourrounding natural area/woodland. I have heard that A. julibrissin cannot compete with the native hardwood canopy on the east, so it doesn't necessarily pose a threat to the the oaks/hickories/etc. Apparently, it's more a threat to plants on the "edges" or in the transition areas from forest canopy to lower growing trees/shrubs/grasses in the natural setting. Seems like that's actually worse than competing with the forest canopy, because aren't "edges" where the most biodiversity is present?
 
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Apparently, it's more a threat to plants on the "edges" or in the transition areas from forest canopy to lower growing trees/shrubs/grasses in the natural setting. Seems like that's actually worse than competing with the forest canopy, because aren't "edges" where the most biodiversity is present?

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Yes and yes; seedlings need sun and they filled the ditches where native perennials were being cultured, and they were a major PITA.

Edges = "ecotones", transition areas...
 
Robert, my first choice would be to remove the mimosa and replant an appropriate native plant. For $12 you can buy the book I linked to at the beginning of this thread and use the information to educate the bureaucracy on the benefits of using natives.
 
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