Plant Me Instead!
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PLANT ME INSTEAD! CENTRAL DISTRICTS Acknowledgements Thank you to the following people and organisations who helped with the production of this booklet: Albert James (Manawatu District Council), Sally Pierce (Environment Network Manawatu), Kelly Stratford, Margaret Metcalfe and Graeme Lacock (DOC), Garry McGraw (Tararua District Council), Geoff Wilkinson (Palmerston North City Council), Ross I’anson and Christine Godetz (Rangitikei District Council), Peter Shore (Horowhenua District Council), Elaine Iddon and Craig Davey (Horizons Regional Council), Chris Hayvice (Ruapehu District Council), Anwyl Minnaar, Forest & Bird, Team Te One, and Castlecliff Coastcare for input, information and advice; John Barkla, Jeremy Rolfe, Trevor James, John Clayton, Peter de Lange, John Smith-Dodsworth, John Liddle (Liddle Wonder Nurseries), Geoff Bryant, Clayson Howell, John Sawyer and others who provided photos; and Sonia Frimmel (What’s the Story) for design and layout. While all non-native alternatives have been screened against several databases to ensure they are not considered weedy, predicting future behaviour is not an exact science! The only way to be 100% sure is to use ecosourced native species. Published by: Weedbusters © 2010 ISBN: 978-0-9582844-7-9 Get rid of a weed, plant me instead! Many of the weedy species that are invading and damaging our natural areas are ornamental plants that have ‘jumped the fence’ from gardens and gone wild. It costs councils, government departments and private landowners millions of dollars, and volunteers and community groups thousands of unpaid hours, to control these weeds every year. This Plant Me Instead booklet profiles the environmental weeds of greatest concern to those in your region who work and volunteer in local parks and reserves, national parks, bush remnants, wetlands and coastal areas. Suggestions are given for locally-sold non-weedy species, both native and non- native, that can be used to replace these weeds in your garden. We hope that this booklet gives you some ideas on what you can do in your own backyard to help protect New Zealand’s precious environment. For more information on these weeds, including control and disposal, check out: www.weedbusters.org.nz Know what’s weedy Groundcovers and fillers ...........................…. 1 Grasses, bulbs and ferns …........................... 14 Climbers and vines ….................................... 21 Shrubs, trees and palms …............................ 33 Look for the kiwi – NZ’s iconic bird – it is used to mark native alternatives. GARDEN ESCAPEE Elephant’s ear (Alocasia brisbanensis) Large, robust plant with thick, fleshy underground stems, milky sap and large, erect, bright green, leathery leaves. Stems are thick and trunk-like in mature plants, with the lower part often lying along the ground. Produces glossy scarlet or orange, bird- spread berries and it also spreads by root fragments. Shades out native ground cover species and seedlings. C.Lewis PLANT ME INSTEAD... Chatham Is. forget-me-not (Myosotidium hortensia) Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) www.cfgphoto.com www.cfgphoto.com Also consider: Harakeke (Phormium tenax) Piu piu (Blechnum discolor) Also consider: Leopard plant (Ligularia tussilaginea) Dutch irises 1 Groundcovers and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Giant lily (Cardiocrinum giganteum) A member of the lily family reaching to over 3m tall. After winter dormancy the bulbs quickly form clumps of large heart-shaped fleshy leaves which each produces a single tall flowerstem in late spring and summer. New plants may not flower for 3-7 years. Large seedpods are produced after flowering. Department of Conservation PLANT ME INSTEAD... Winter rose (Helleborus orientalis) Parataniwha (Elatostema rugosum) www.cfgphoto.com Department of Conservation Also consider: Hosta species Heartland saxifrage (Bergenia cordifolia) Also consider: Ligularia species Kiokio (Blechnum novae-zelandiae) Kakaha (Astelia fragrans) Groundcovers 2 and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Snow poppy (Eomecon chionantha) Invasive perennial with long underground root systems and round, leathery leaves with waxy margins and reddish stems containing orange sap. White flowers with yellow centres are followed by wind-spread seed. Shade tolerant, and smothers small native plants as well as preventing their germination. S. Brill PLANT ME INSTEAD... Rengarenga (Arthropodium cirratum) Speedwell (Veronica prostrata) www.cfgphoto.com C.Lewis Also consider: Parahebe catarractae ‘Snowcap’ Panakenake (Pratia angulata) Also consider: Hosta species Winter rose (Helleborus orientalis) 3 Groundcovers and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Mexican daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus) Vigorous groundcover with small green leaves and pink to white flowers almost all year round. Seeds prolifically and can form dense smothering mats in natural areas crowding out native species. C.Lewis PLANT ME INSTEAD... Chamomile sunray (Rhodanthe anthemoides) Hell’s bells (Anaphalioides bellidioides) www.cfgphoto.com J.Barkla Also consider: Verbena cultivars Also consider: Rauhuia (Linum monogynum) Parahebe species Groundcovers 4 and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Hemp agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum) Erect, woody perennial herb up to 2 metres tall with small reddish-purple flowers that develop into thousands of tiny wind-spread seeds. Forms dense stands that compete with and eventually crowd out native weed in lowland wetlands and stream and lake margins. Can also change the nutrient structure of the soils where it grows so other species cannot grow there in future. www.cfgphoto.com PLANT ME INSTEAD... Parataniwha (Elatostema rugosum) Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) Department of Conservation www.cfgphoto.com Also consider: Kiokio (Blechnum novae-zelandiae) Kakaha (Astelia fragrans) Also consider: Primulas 5 Groundcovers and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Artillery plant (Galeobdolon luteum) Vigorous perennial groundcover with yellow flowers, hairy purplish stems, and leaves with silvery-white patches. Mainly spreads by fragments and can quickly form thick, invasive, smothering mats that prevent native plants establishing. C.Lewis PLANT ME INSTEAD... Mondo grass (Ophiopogon ecklonii) Panakenake (Pratia angulata) ww.cfgphoto.com J. Rolfe Also consider: Liriope muscari ‘Stripey White’ Tiarella wherryi ‘Spring Symphony’ Also consider: Alpine hard fern (Blechnum penna-marina) Parahebe (Parahebe linifolia) Groundcovers 6 and fillers Common ivy (Hedera helix) GARDEN ESCAPEE Chilean rhubarb Gunnera tinctoria & Gunnera manicata Perennial with large, rough, rhubarb-like leaves to 2 metres across on prickly stems. Cone-shaped flowerheads produce small, bird-spread seeds. Invades coastal cliffs, stream margins, wetlands, and slip faces, with the large leaves shading out native species. C.Lewis PLANT ME INSTEAD... Puka (Mertya sinclarii) Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) www.cfgphoto.com C.Lewis Also consider: Harakeke (Phormium tenax) Chatham Island forget-me-not (Myosotidium hortensia) Also consider: Hosta species and cultivars Leopard plant (Ligularia tussilaginea) Bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) 7 Groundcovers and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Ivy (Hedera helix) Vigorous, evergreen, creeping vine that can climb to 30 metres. Inconspicuous flowers are followed by black, fleshy fruit spread by birds. Stems or fragments touching the ground can also take root. Completely carpets the forest floor and can climb to the tops of trees, clinging with small aerial roots. Smothers native species and prevents native seedlings establishing. Department of Conservation PLANT ME INSTEAD... Climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea petiolaris) White rata (Metrosideros perforata) www.cfgphoto.com J. Taylor, DOC Taylor, J. Also consider: Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla) Also consider: Scarlet rata (Metrosideros fulgens) Puawananga (Clematis paniculata) Groundcovers 8 and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Yellow & kahili ginger (Hedychium species) Herbaceous perennials with large, branching, tuberous roots that form mats up to 1 metre thick. Hedychium gardnerianum spreads by seeds and root fragments, while Hedychium flavescens spreads only by root fragments. Forms dense colonies in natural areas smothering native plants and preventing native seedlings establishing. J.Boow (left), T.Senior (right) T.Senior J.Boow (left), Yellow ginger (H.flavescens) Kahili ginger (H.gardnerianum) PLANT ME INSTEAD... Parataniwha (Elatostema rugosum) Winter rose (Helleborus orientalis) Department of Conservation www.cfgphoto.com Also consider: Kakaha (Astelia fragrans) Rengarenga (Arthropodium cirratum) Also consider: Libertia perigrinans Siberian bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla) 9 Groundcovers and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum) Hardy, rapidly growing shrub with yellow flowers followed by red bird-spread berries that ripen to black. Leaves may turn red and fall in the autumn. Tutsan can withstand a range of conditions, including shade. It crowds out species that are lower growing. C. Lewis PLANT ME INSTEAD... Orange blossom (Choisya ternata) Rock daisy (Pachystegia insignis) J.Liddle C.Lewis Also consider: Winter rose (Helleborus orientalis) Also consider: Long-leaved pimelea (Pimelea longifolia) Groundcovers 10 and fillers GARDEN ESCAPEE Pink ragwort (Senecio glastifolius) Herbaceous perennial growing to 1 metre tall with lacy foliage and pink daisy-like flowers followed by wind- spread seed. Invades a range of habitats, forming large infestations that crowd out desirable species. PLANT ME INSTEAD... Hebe cultivars Kingfisher daisy (Felicia amelloides) C. Lewis J. Liddle Also