By John Church
Kendall County Program Director
The Conservation Foundation
Do you have issues with controlling invasive plants, insects, animals and aquatic plants?
June is a good time to think about managing such pests in our own backyard. For more information on identifying and managing these pests, see the website www.invasive.org/illinois.
For many homeowners, invasive plants are the most common problem. Invasive plant control is one facet of The Conservation@Home program at The Conservation Foundation, which promotes best management practices for managing water, plants and wildlife around the home and garden.
As many people recognize, it is becoming a constant battle to keep some of our common invasive plants under control, such as garlic mustard and buckthorn. These and other invasive plants can choke out desirable plants, decrease wildlife habitat, and increase soil erosion.
Unfortunately, some of May's flowers have been the invasive garlic mustard, which have been blooming over the past few weeks. The plant sends up a straight, rather slender flower stalk with small white, four-petalled flower clusters. The flowers will eventually develop seed heads that contain millions of seeds that will spread and create new plants over the coming years. It can be found in home areas, woodlands, fencerows, or wherever conditions are appropriate.
Buckthorn tends to grow in wooded locations and the perimeter areas. It is also spread by seeds, from berries which are eaten and deposited by wildlife. It can grow to be large shrubs or almost tree-like plants. They can rapidly choke out more desirable woody plants and native plant growth on the “floor” of the woods. It is one of the earliest leafing plants in the spring and one of the latest to drop leaves in the fall, which can help with its identification.
For a listing of invasive plants in our area, see The Conservation Foundation website at www.theconservationfoundation.org/what-we-do/conservationhome/native-plants/invsaive-tree-a-shrub-list.html.
For information on the Conservation@Home program, go to the website at www.theconservationfoundation.org. Information on enhancing nature in your yard is also on the website. For other program information, contact The Conservation Foundation by phone at 630.553.0687 or 630.428.4500, or email [email protected].
Great Outdoors
19
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