Daphne is a bitch
Invasive daphne
By Darren Bond
Humans are perhaps the ultimate invasive species, but here on Hornby Island, as in many rural settings, there lurks an attractive yet harmful plant. It would appear that plants like to live out beyond, too.
Daphne (daphne laureola) was likely brought as an ornamental addition to a country garden. As often seems to be the case – think blackberry and English ivy – it has thrived and taken over wherever it finds a conducive spot without natural predators.
We hadn’t really noticed it much, even up to recent years, but it has seemingly really multiplied in the past while. At first it seems like a welcome bit of greenery with nice leaves, making friends with its neighbours under the trees. I tried pulling one up and realized what a tough little sucker it was.
A few months ago, we asked a local resident what it was. She replied, daphne, and set us straight on its reputation.
Now it seems that we have a multi-year job on our hands to get rid of it and perennial surveillance to keep it in check. Getting rid of daphne is a bitch.
It’s quite toxic and apparently not good for people with respiratory problems. Advice on best practices is that you should start with isolated little plants to avoid letting them get started in the first place. Then, you work from the outside in in patches so as to control the spread. You need to wear long clothes and gloves. Cutting should be done below the level of the dirt to prevent them from starting up again. You should take them away (to where?) but not in the closed environment of the car.
After all this, it is deemed a good thing to replant with native plants, such as Oregon grape or salal. (This I have already thought about and want to explore further as I touched upon in another posting.)
Gee. Why don’t the bloody opossums – another invasive species – eat the daphne?
This is all too stressful. Maybe it’s time to call the whole project off and move to the serene safety of the city.
What do you think?
Going native
Camassia Quamash. Photo from Wikipedia
We went for a walk after dinner along the road which winds above the ocean on one side and fields on the upper side. At one point, my favourite on the walk, there is the most delicious breeze of sweet fragrance that blows down from up the hill towards the water. In the late summer it’s because of the blackberries, invasive and tasty as they are.
Tonight, the source of my pleasure was a large swath of Nootka roses. This is the perfect time of year for them. While a simple flower compared to the modern varieties, this one holds it own in understated colour, shape and bouquet.
More importantly, it reminded me that this is indeed a native plant and does very well on its own. What else can we learn from this for our new home…
With just a few Google searches, I realized that there are dozens if not hundreds of native plants: trees, shrubs, grasses, flowers. Why go for the same varieties that are used over and over – terrific as they are – when something local would be just as beautiful with a little pruning (unless this is politically incorrect) and would probably be much happier and less reliant on careful fertilization and watering? Does this give me brownie points towards a smaller carbon footprint?
Just a few of the obvious choices (because we already know and love them) would be:
- arbutus
- dogwood
- Oregon grape
There seem to be lots of others with complicated Latin names that I’ll have to investigate at one of the specialty nurseries that carry native plants. One, for example, that looks nice is called, Camassia Quamash. (It turns out, from Wikipedia, that it’s very nutritious and was a good food supply to the Lewis and Clark expedition. Interesting.)
So, more food for thought, figuratively and apparently literally.
