#but I still need a name for the third swamp milkweed.......

[anipgarden]

Catch me out here making posts on how to collect milkweed seeds because I'm hoping at least SOMEONE out there has good luck

*collapses to the ground* my fuckin swamp milkweeds got Heat Waved and barely even flowered, let alone got pollinated.... I'll have to see if my root stock ones or Swampy even come back next year, but this year definitely isn't the Year of the Ani Swamp Milkweed Success

[nativeplantenthusiast]

Replacing Invasives! Native Alternatives for Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

Phragmites, or “Phrag” as it is often called, is not one of the plants that gets introduced to the U.S. for the purpose of planting in gardens and landscaping.  Phrag (after working with it so much I always just call it Phrag) is the more typical type of invader.  It is believed to have arrived as ballast on ships coming from Europe in the late 1700s to early 1800s. (Source 1)  While this current species of Phragmites is an invasive nuisance, there are records of a native species that permeated most of North America for thousands of years.  Because it is not mainly spread through the landscaping market, there is more labor that needs to go into stopping the spread and reducing its grip on landscapes. This post is less about how to replace this species, unless you own a plot of land with Phrag on it, and more a view into what a serious invasive species is capable of and how to deal with it.

As its name suggests it is a common reed that is found in areas where there are higher levels of water saturation in the soil.  Meaning mostly the edges of streams and in wetland areas, or that’s what would be typical at least.  As long as there is enough water while the plant is growing it is capable of growing almost anywhere and in almost any soil.  This species ranges all the way up to northern Canada and reaches down into southern Texas, it really only needs water.  Where you would be most likely to see this plant is in your car going down the highway, areas of high human traffic spread invasives easily and roads cause a lot of excess runoff and pooling around the sides.  Major roadways that have poorly maintained/ not well manicured edges can very easily be filled with Phrag for miles.  

Not only is Phrag a very prolific invasive, but it is very difficult to remove from a site completely.  My first job in the field of Invasive and Exotic plant removal was working with almost nothing but Phrag for about 3 months.  If anyone has experienced working with this plant they will tell you that it is not a pleasant experience.  Most people I met thereafter would be surprised and remark at how bad their own experiences with it were.  There are a few reasons as to why this species is so difficult to deal with, number one being its rhizomes.  What rhizomes do is very similar to a root, it serves as the base of the plant and extends in/along the ground to absorb water and nutrients.  The problem comes with the fact that the rhizomes can spread as far as they want and sprout any number of shoots up while they go, and so even if you think you’ve sprayed an area there can still be rhizomes underneath nearby native species or stretched out meters away from the shoots.  We would usually spray any surface rhizomes we found to help spread the intake of herbicide to the plant, the rhizomes can form a sort of colony and at times if you spray the reeds the herbicide may not absorb into the whole system.  The second aspect that is very difficult to deal with is how dense the stands of reeds can get with these colonies, and also how tall they are.  The species can reach heights of 15ft and spraying into these stands is both uncomfortable and hazardous for the applicator.  When necessary applicators will need face shields and full suits of protective clothing to make sure they aren’t being covered in the herbicide as they move through the reeds.  When an area of land is very heavily invaded by Phrag there is often a call for prescribed burnings in that area to help cut down the amount of Phrag and give native species a chance to repopulate.  However, the third aspect of what makes this species hard to remove is the fact that it is very hardy and needs several years of treatment to ensure it is removed (this is not an uncommon facet of invasive plant removal, but I find Phrag holds on much longer than others). I did not go much into detail on how this species is bad for the areas it invades, but I feel that my descriptions of dealing with it form a clear picture of what this species does to a landscape.  

The University of Texas at Austin Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center gives recommendations as to what plants can be grown in same type of habitats as Common Reed; Inland Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is a short clumping native grass whose leaves will turn bright yellow in the fall, Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is a milkweed species that lives in wetlands and has large deep pink flowers that form large clusters.  As always with picking out native species to plant you should refer to your specific location and native species, feel free to search the USDA or other sites for what species live in your area.

If you want to know more or want to share pictures from your gardens feel free to message me and we can talk about plants!

Source 1- https://www.invasive.org/alien/pubs/midatlantic/phau.htm