A disgruntled gardener posted on the subreddit r/invasivespecies about an unwelcome resident on their new property — a stubborn Chinese wisteria plant that didn’t seem like it was willing to go.
Wisteria is a tough opponent in the fight against invasive species, and getting rid of it is an enormous chore.
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
“I’ve been trying to nurture the native plants in the woods … This wisteria will be the death of me. We’ve cleared most of the tick infested woods but this last stand remains. We hack and squirt, dig, foliar spray. I feel like we’ve just angered it.”
The Long Island Conservancy explains how truly arduous the process is to eradicate wisteria, which crowds out other plants and steals their sunlight and nutrients. The conservancy likens invasive plants to a game of Jenga, writing, “Remove a species and it destabilizes the local food web. Remove enough species, and the whole thing collapses.”
To remove it, the website recommends doing so in winter, not using herbicide, chopping the wisteria off at the root, and then trying to really get rid of all the roots if possible, noting that this can often take years to accomplish.
Besides getting rid of wisteria where it gets out of control, it’s important not to plant it at all, despite how pretty it is with its showy purple flowers. Planting native plants and flowers is a more responsible practice — and can be just as eye-catching. And much like replacing a lawn with native grasses like clover and buffalo grass, a native flower garden saves money on water and maintenance because the plants are well-suited to their natural environment.
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Many commenters shared the OP’s frustration with both wisteria and other people’s misunderstanding of the beautiful plant’s dangers.
“It’s a battle. I have some also right by my front porch. It is so resilient, I’ll cut it all back then new shoots within the next few days,” wrote one person.
Another said, “Yeah it’s so pretty & smells so nice when it blooms, but otherwise it’s the devil,” to which another commenter replied, “Not so pretty when it takes a tree down onto the road!”
Someone else just sent courage and strength, writing, “Godspeed.”
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