Why eliminate invasive plants from Your Guide to PLANT WISE Gardening INVASIVE - AVOID USE 4 Make good choices. Purchase and grow non-invasive exotic PROHIBITED PROHIBITED your garden? NOXIOUS or regional native plants. Do your research. Ask your local COMMON BABY’S NOXIOUS BIGHEAD KNAPWEED NOXIOUS HIMALAYAN BALSAM NOXIOUS OXEYE DAISY Some plants from other parts of the globe originally introduced garden centre or ask a local horticulture expert. Check out Centaurea macrocephala Impatiens glandulifera Leucanthemum vulgare as garden flowers for landscaping, or their medicinal or food BREATH abinvasives.ca and Alberta Native Plant Council anpc.ab.ca. Gypsophila paniculata Long-lived perennial which outcompetes Fast-growing annual. Can reach an impressive Perennial plant introduced as a pond value, have jumped the garden fence to become invasive in the native vegetation. Reproduces by seed. size, rapidly out-competing other plants, ornamental. Pale yellow flowers. Has Ornamental perennial used in floral natural environment. Invasive plants are spread by people and 4 Replace existing invasive plants in your garden with non- Yellow florets on a large flower base or “big especially in riparian areas and along shorelines. tuberous roots and reproduces by seed arrangements. In winter, stems break our activities. These plants have no natural predators to stop their invasive plants. head”. Difficult to remove once established. Orchid-shaped flower resembling a British and fast-moving rhizomes. Forms dense off, blowing around in the wind, like spread, so they survive, thrive, and dominate, in the wild. These Brought in as a garden ornamental. policeman’s helmet. Mature, brittle seed thickets which increase sedimentation and 4 Treat and remove existing invasive plants using species- tumbleweeds, spreading seed to pastures alien invaders cause environmental and habitat degradation, social capsules explode upon contact, catapulting completely changes the habitat. (Caution: appropriate methods. Check out AISC’s factsheets for and natural areas. Widespread infestations seeds 6 metres or more. Shallow root system Oxeye Daisy seeds are often found in S. Schumacher S. Wikimedia and economic loss, impact biodiversity and some are a hazard to Leekie J. Hanna D. across Canada and northern United States. makes it easily controlled by hand-pulling. Wildflower mixes) human and animal health. control methods BEFORE you start: abinvasives.ca. 4 Properly dispose of invasive plants. Remove invasive While only a small percentage of introduced ornamental plants NATIVE & ORNAMENTAL ALTERNATIVES NATIVE & ORNAMENTAL ALTERNATIVES NATIVE & ORNAMENTAL ALTERNATIVES NATIVE & ORNAMENTAL ALTERNATIVES have become invasive, effective action needs to be taken to avoid plants before they flower to prevent seed spread. Check with planting species known to escape the garden bed. Choosing suitable your local landfill for disposal programs or double-bag invasive German Statice Black-eyed Susan Smooth Blue Alpine Aster non-invasive alternatives can help prevent future spread and serve species destined for the landfill. Never dispose of invasive Goniolimon tataricum Rudbeckia hirta Aster alpinus plants in natural areas or parks. Never compost invasive plants! Beardtongue to protect and preserve Alberta’s natural environment. Prickly heads of tiny white flowers. Low Bright-yellow, 5-8 cm wide, daisy-like flowers Penstemon nitidus Branching stems, single daisy-shaped, clear 4 Trade only plants and seeds you know are non-invasive. rosettes of leathery green leaves. Branching with dark centers occur singly atop each Incredibly blue, tubular flowers rise above white, yellow-eyed flowers on low clumps of heads of flowers bloom July – August. stem. It is covered with hairs that give it a bright green leaves. Blooms in late spring/ Alberta’s Weed Control Act 4 thick, pale green/grey leaves. Flowers late BCLNA Avoid collecting pretty “wildflowers” from roadsides or For rock gardens, xeriscaping, edging or slightly rough texture. Blooms late summer May to early July depending on elevation. early summer. Grow in rock gardens or used The invasive plants featured in this brochure either entered Alberta natural areas. Many are overly aggressive invasive plants. containers. Excellent as fresh or dried and into the fall. A great selection for large Excellent for rock gardens. Best in gravelly, for edging. Self-seeds to produce successive accidentally as a contaminant of seed or soil or were introduced as Allow true native plants to thrive in their natural setting. flowers. Popular for wreaths. Attracts or small landscapes. Annual to short-lived well drained soil. Attract butterflies and generations. Zone 3 an ornamental. The invasives in the latter group are no longer sold butterflies. CAUTION: All plant parts perennial. Zone 3 hummingbirds. Zone 3 S. Collet S. T. Tannery 4 Avoid pre-packaged wildflower mixes unless the contents poisonous if eaten. Zone 3 A. Altherr commercially but are still present in Alberta gardens and traded are identified and contain only non-invasive species. Ht. 25-40 cm; W. 30-45 cm Ht. 30-90 cm; W. 30-45 cm Ht. 20-30 cm; W. 15-25 cm Ht. 20-30 cm; W. spreading through plant swaps, local plant sales, and other unregulated activities. It is contrary to the Weed Control Act to grow the species 4 Encourage others to plant non-invasive plants and to replace Common Yarrow Globeflower Gas Plant White Swan Coneflower featured in this brochure. Some species are categorized as Noxious existing invasive plants. Achillea millefolium Trollius chinensis Dictamnus albus var. purpureus Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ and as per the Alberta Weed Control Act must be controlled, 4 Mulch and/or use ground covers in open garden areas to Herbaceous perennial with broad, flattened An extremely popular perennial that bursts Long-lived, unique perennial. Lemon scented, A white-flowered variety of the common R. Mueller R. while others are categorized as Prohibited Noxious and must be prevent invasive plants from establishing. heads of flowers and feathery leaves. into colour in late spring and early summer and glossy green leaves. Bushy, upright clumps. purple coneflower. The 8 cm diameter flowers eradicated. The Alberta Weed Control Act was put in place to Commercial varieties with varying flower has contrasting deep green leaves. Easy care, Spikes of spidery-looking mauve-pink have white rays and coppery conical centers protect Alberta from these invasive species. Fact sheets on all 4 Report invasive plants on EDDMapS using your computer or colours are also available. Zone 3 it grows well in a sunny or part-shaded border, flowers. Flowers early summer. Worthwhile on long stems making them ideal cut flowers. for cutting. Attracts butterflies. Zone 2 AVOID USE regulated plants, Noxious and Prohibited Noxious, can be found at smartphone. Go to eddmaps.org/alberta/ to join for free! also at the edge of moist woodland. Flowers Blooms profusely all summer long and is (Invasive) will last a few days when cut. perfect for beds, borders, and naturalized N. Bakker N. www.abinvasives.ca. Zone 3 areas. Drought, deer, heat, humidity, and poor N. Laforest N. KloosterW. A. Korzun Dame’s Rocket Fotoculus soil tolerant. Zone 3 Hesperis matronalis What is Canada doing about invasive This guide shows you what plants to avoid and examples of good, non- Ht. 60-90 cm; W. 60-90 cm Ht. 75-90 cm; W. 45-60 cm Ht. 60-90 cm; W. 45-60 cm Ht. 60-90 cm; W. 45-60 cm invasive alternatives to consider for your Alberta garden. Choose the right plant for the right place. Russian Sage Prairie Coneflower Cardinal Flower Tufted Fleabane alien plants? Salvia yangii Ratibida columnifera Lobelia cardinalis Erigeron caespitosus This booklet references the United States Department of Agriculture GROW ME INSTEAD Garden Phlox In Canada, organizations responding to invasive alien plants (USDA) Cold Hardiness Zone System and reflects the local knowledge Upright bush. Fragrant, grey-green foliage. This perennial coneflower is a valuable An eastern North American native herbaceous A single plant will produce numerous white or (Ornamental) Phlox paniculata include federal, territorial, provincial, and municipal governments, and experience of the Alberta nursery industry. Lavender blue blossoms. Flowers July addition to any dry, sunny border perennial that grows well in wet or even light pink daisy-like flowers in groups of 1-4 at universities, colleges, botanical gardens, herbaria (collections to October. Good for cut flowers/dry being drought tolerant and suitable for boggy soils. Flowers are brilliant vermillion the ends of upper branches. Foliage and stems of dried plants), non-government environmental organizations, LEGEND PLANT SPECIES NATIVE DROUGHT TOLERANT arrangements. Attracts butterflies. Zone 4 xeriscaping. The flowers resemble small red, produced through summer into fall on are covered with stiff hairs. Drought and heat TO ALBERTA hats, with yellow reflexed ray petals and flowering stalks a metre in height. Cultivars tolerant. Great for rock gardens and dry sunny youth groups, businesses, and First Nations groups. Responses to LOW WATER FULL SUN large greenish-brown columnar centers. with green or bronze-purple leaves and white garden beds. Zone 3 Grow Me Instead profiles are recommended invasive alien plants have included surveys, mapping, management MODERATE WATER Attracts bees, butterflies and birds. or pink flowers are available. Zone 2 B. Shrader B. C. Lewis M. Parseyan programs, monitoring, and regulations. Preventive