Had this genius plan to give our new garden in southern ME to recover from winter/prior drought/general abandonment, might actually have discovered nothing but invasives. Anyone recognize specific trauma plants?
Do all of these need to be removed? Or am I hosed no matter what? Any removal I should prioritize?
(Not pictured – silver almond, multi flora rose and burning bush – most of which seem to have been on purpose 🙁 )
by Curious-Injury8631
12 Comments
I think the pink one is Japanese spiraea. It’s not native anywhere in the US but is only considered invasive in Alabama I think. We have them all over our neighborhood. It’s probably not a “must remove”
First pic looks like Joe pye weed and third American elderberry, both native. I recognize the look of a few others but can’t remember if they’re native or their names. I tried the same thing in my yard and discovered probably 80% of growth was non-native :-/
The second picture is native to your state, I believe. Daisy fleabane. Considered a little weedy but I personally think it s cute. And bees love it in my yard.
You might have a few decent things going on.
1. i believe this is japanese spirea. it’s not native to north america but I don’t think it’s invasive. i have one that’s well behaved and attracts pollinator attention so it’s low on my priority list personally.
2. some type of fleabane. some fleabanes are native to your region and beneficial, i can’t ID this one specifically.
3. i’m too beginner so confirm by other responses but some type of prunus, maybe a choke cherry or chokeberry?
4. kind of looks like a sad canada goldenrod… which are close enough to your region that i personally consider it a good friend
5.
6. this looks similar to bee balm but something about it is off…
7. yup that’s buckthorn. it’s a bit of a pain to kill (you need to use an appropriate herbicide or have a lot of time on your hands for mechanical killing that takes 2 years) but you don’t have too much so it’ll be doable.
8. invasive thistle, wear thick gloves and pull by the base of the stem after a nice heavy rain. it has a DEEP taproot so pull it carefully.
whenever i don’t know plants i use the app picturethis. it’s not 100% accurate all the time so i confirm its IDs elsewhere, but it generally tells you what the species is and where it is native/invasive. *edited formatting
#7 is the super invasive oriental bittersweet
3: looks a lot like elderberry to me, possibly red-berried elder but based on flower cluster shape I’m leaning towards common elderberry
7: that is round-leaf bittersweet, it shows no mercy and will choke out anything it gets its tendrils around, also easily sends up new shoots from the roots and the roots are long(but a very vibrant shade of orange)
ID app says 5 is green bulrush, which is in the sedge family. This one appears native to the US.
Download iNaturalist and it’ll give u an idea about what plant is what.
Yeah – bittersweet checks out.
Encouraged to know not everything is that bad though !
Kind of figured it was bittersweet – she’s climbed all the way up the biggest pine tree in the yard and seems pretty content to stay there…
1 is a spirea. There are native and non native spirea in your area. 2 is a fleabane (native), 3 is an elderberry (likely native–there is a European species sometimes cultivated), 4 is in aster family likely native (I would lean a goldenrod but you really need the flower), 5 is a sedge (Cyperus–it’s difficult to id sedges to species).
To the best of my knowledge…
1 – Spiraea japonica (not native but rather polite)
2 – Erigeron annuus (native)
3 – Sambucus candensis (native)
4 – Solidago rugosa (native)
5 – Scirpus atrovirens (native)
6 – I don’t know!
7 – Celastrus orbiculatus (invasive AF)
8 – Lactuca canadensis (native)
1 is a spiraea, not the native species.
2 is Philadelphia fleabane, native.
3 is elderberry, native and very desirable.
4 is either goldenrod or joe pye weed, or some other Asteraceae type plant. Probably native, but keep a look out for flowers.
5 is sedge, probably native.
6 is maybe buttonbush, but I’m not 100% sure. Keep an eye out for flowers. If it is buttonbush its native, if it’s not then we’ll see.
7 is round-leaved bittersweet, one of the worst invasive species. It’s a vine and chokes everything out. You’ll have to find where its in the ground and rip it all up.
8 is some kind of wild lettuce I think. Not the kind you can eat. But it should bloom and pollinators like it. Most likely native if it’s wild lettuce, keep an eye out for flowers. If it’s not native or if it’s not lettuce then it should be easy to rip out anyways.