Renewed calls to ban popular garden plant

Calls to ban a popular garden plant being sold at garden centres and nurseries across the country have been renewed after images of a field full of the ‘lovely-looking’ species emerged. Gazania daisies are a highly invasive weed that has escaped from backyards and gardens and is now taking over the environment.

Recent research has revealed the plant can thrive in almost all conditions, posing a significant threat to native species, with disastrous economic implications. Recent photos from Katanning, a small town 270km southwest of Perth, show an entire field awash with the bright orange flower, highlighting just how pervasive the plant is.

“One of the most problematic aspects of this species is that they are pretty and easy to grow as an ornamental plant,” Dr Ali Bajwa, a weed scientist at La Trobe University, told Yahoo News. “The problem lies in the negative impacts on the environment. They form monocultures and choke other vegetation, especially native plants, which leads to habitat destruction.”

Dr Bajwa told Yahoo that a ban “would be the right step” in preventing the dangerous weed from taking over delicate native environments, and pointed out that the plant puts Western Australia’s iconic wildflower season at risk in the future.