Oh dear, I'm harboring an invasive species

I wrote about it last year when it was being considered, but the city of Chicago has formally passed its ban on terrestrial invasive plants (there already was a ban on a number of aquatic invasive plants).

Many of us have at least some of these plants in our gardens, often without knowing it. For example, I had a patch of pretty yellow spring flowers that I always enjoyed until I was working on an invasive species story one time and realized they were in fact invasive lesser celandine. I promptly grubbed them out and replaced them with native wild ginger, which seems to be willing to thrive just about anywhere in my shady garden.

My bigger problem is privet. We have a hedge of it all along the front of our building, as do about half the homes in Oak Park, it seems. Many people don't realize that this dirt-common hedge plant has berries that can be eaten, carried away and, when nature calls, planted by birds, and can threaten natural areas by out-competing native plants. I'm only about a mile and a half from a forest preserve.

If we had the budget, I'd try to make a case to the condo board to remove the whole hedge and replace it. As it is, my best strategy is to keep the thing sheared so it doesn't flower and bear berries. Sheared hedges are not my thing, and shearing hedges is definitely not my thing. But it's what I can do to keep mt privet hedge from being an invasive threat.

Find the full list of plants banned in Chicago here.

Got a garden question? I recommend you call or e-mail the Plant Clinic of The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, the Master Gardeners of the University of Illinois Extension or the Plant Information Service of the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.

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