Aussies urged to check their own backyards as popular plant 'infests' major city
Aussies have been urged to inspect their own backyards as an escaped garden plant continues to wreak havoc in a major city. Spanish Moss, a hanging plant that thrives in warm, humid environments, is exploding in Sydney after months of heavy rainfall, prompting a warning to residents from local councils and landcare groups.
The ornamental, which is native to tropical and subtropical America, is a common addition for those with a green thumb, but there are concerns gardeners are unaware of just how quickly it can spread and overwhelm larger trees.
'Bush regenerators are raising the alarm as Spanish moss spreads more widely,' Dr Carol Booth, the Invasive Species Council's policy director, told Yahoo News.
'It's an epiphyte — a plant that grows on other plants — and it can infest dozens of native tree species. We've seen turpentines, brush boxes, lilly pillies and cheese trees all severely impacted. It can grow thickly, smothering trees, blocking sunlight, breaking branches and sometimes killing the host by preventing photosynthesis.'
Recently, Willoughby City Council in the city's lower north shore urged residents to keep an eye out for the plant, noting it is 'becoming a problem'. 'Please remove it if you can, don't purchase or share the plant. Help protect our trees!' it said online.
Nearby Lane Cove Council has issued a similar warning stating Spanish Moss 'is becoming increasingly common in the Sydney region' and 'threatens the local critically endangered Sydney Turpentine-Ironbark Forest and Blue Gum High Forest communities'.
'If you have Spanish Moss growing in your garden, it is recommended that you remove it and dispose of it in your green waste,' the council said.
The plant is increasingly being recognised as an environmental weed — particularly in the Sydney region — but it's not currently declared under any laws, Dr Booth said. It has established in the wild in parts of Queensland and NSW, including the Lismore area and Lord Howe Island.
'It spreads readily through fluffy wind-borne seeds or fragments carried by birds, wind or human movement. That makes it particularly hard to contain once it's in the landscape,' Dr Booth told Yahoo. 'Despite the risks, it remains a popular ornamental plant that can be legally sold across the country.'
And it's far from the only one, with experts sounding the alarm over another nasty weed — gazania — earlier this month. Despite the South African native flower emerging as a serious invasive threat to native grasslands and grain-growing regions, it's still being sold at nurseries.
Escaped garden plants are the primary source of new weeds in Australia, with a whopping three-quarters of all environmental weeds starting out as ornamentals. This has prompted the Invasive Species Council to campaign for stricter regulations on the nursery industry to stop the selling and spreading of such plants, which contribute to over $5 billion in losses each year.
'More than 30,000 plant species have been imported into Australia for gardening, but fewer than a quarter have been assessed nationally for their weed risk,' Dr Booth said. 'Some of our worst invasives — like lantana and blackberry — were once common garden plants.
'Unless governments act, we'll keep selling the next potentially disastrous plant, putting our bushland and protected areas at risk.'
🌼 Imported flower escalating $5 billion threat in Australia
🌳 Woman's 'incredible' 500-year-old discovery hidden behind invasive weed
🌸 Desperate plea over invasive plant threatening 'beauty' of Australia
Anyone who finds Spanish moss in their garden is encouraged to remove it, even if they don't live near bushland.
'It can be removed by hand, though this can be difficult on tall trees,' Dr Booth said. 'Herbicides may also work, but there's a risk they could harm the tree it's growing on — so mechanical removal is the safer option where possible.'
Residents who are unable to extract the plant themselves can contact their local council for advice.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Push for major change on Aussie tourist island after 25 years: 'Once-in-a-generation'
Just off the coast of Brisbane's north lies Bribie Island, a 34km stretch of land that has seen a rapid transformation in recent years. With its pristine beaches, growing population and rising property values, the island has become a hotspot not just for tourists, but for investors and sea-changers alike. Yet, tucked away from the beaches, shops and golf courses is a huge pine plantation that takes up nearly 20 per cent of the island. It's been a working forest for decades, but it's also sitting on land that would be worth millions on today's market. For the first time in 25 years, the trees are about to be harvested — and that's opened the door for a different conversation. Many locals are calling for change. Rather than replanting rows and rows of introduced pines, they want to bring back native forests and parklands to "restore the heart" of the island. And with the harvest beginning in July, they feel like this could be a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to restore the land before more pines are planted and a new cycle begins. "This is the best opportunity that we'll have to negotiate a better outcome for the environment," Richard Ogden, president of the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association Inc (BIEPA), told Yahoo News. "Bribie is really trying to step up and do what's necessary to protect and conserve nature for future generations." BIEPA say the plantation is impacting the natural landscape of the island in several ways: Inadequate control of feral pigs with the plantation Drifting herbicide damaging native vegetation Pine 'wildlings' invading other areas of parklands Fears of pollution from fertiliser Big trucks loaded with logs could damage the Bribie Island Bridge Several weeks ago, HQPlantations (HQP) sent a letter to residents advising of the upcoming harvest. The population has grown by more than 50 per cent since the last harvest took place, with BIEPA fearing that some new residents may not even be aware that industrial forestry operates on the island. In a new statement on their website, HQP said they have modified their plans to minimise impacts to residents and road users. The pines will be harvested over the next 10 years at a rate of approximately 100 hectares per year. While HQP didn't respond to Yahoo's questions about future plans for the land, it confirmed in the statement that it would be replanting pine seedlings in accordance with its licensing. The company has a 99-year lease with the state government that began in 2010. HQP manages 310,000 hectares of plantation forests across NSW and Far North Queensland, planting up to 10 million seedlings annually. The Bribie Island site consists of 2,500 hectares of sustainably grown timber. Richard and his fellow volunteers at BIEPA understand that HQP are running a business and is not breaking any laws, but they feel that the goal of a restored forest can still be achieved. "What we'd like is for the state government to turn that back to a national park over time, but the only way that they (HQP) would probably agree to that is if the state government makes available an equivalent amount of land on the mainland," Richard said. "We do like to see the plantation operators as neighbours and companions, and we like to see ourselves as valuable community partners. "We're coming at it from a point of view of, obviously, conserving nature for the future and putting Bribie's nature first. But we also understand that there's a commercial imperative, and we have observed that there are very real perspectives on this, that it could very well be in the economic best interests in the future to move the plantations from Bribie. "But as we understand, it's probably going to take a number of years. It could be a decade or even two decades before that actually became complete." A spokesperson for the Department of Primary Industries said the plantation is essential to supply timber for the housing market. "A sustainable local timber supply is required to manage the growing demand for housing and meet the Queensland Government's commitment of constructing one million homes by 2044," they said. "Converting this plantation area to another use would require a change to the underlying State Forest tenure, and a compensation payment to HQP, which has a 99-year lease agreement. Further enquiries regarding plantation-harvesting operations on Bribie Island should be directed to HQP." The City of Moreton Bay said it is committed to "protecting and enhancing its natural areas and wildlife habitats". "While these activities are a matter for the Queensland Government, Council remains focused on 'Going Green as we Grow', playing its role in managing and protecting its natural areas while planning for urban growth," a spokesperson said. The council's Environment and Sustainability Strategy 2042 aims to maintain the region's current native vegetation cover of 42 per cent, with a view to increasing it over time. "Council also has a Land Buyback for Environmental Purposes Program to acquire, restore and rehabilitate land across the City to conserve ecological communities and wildlife habitats for the benefit of our communities," the spokesperson said. On June 24, HQP is holding a community drop-in session for anyone looking for more information about the upcoming work. Find those details here. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
3 reasons your hydrangea won't bloom and when to prune for the best flowers
If you gathered in one large room, all the plant pros from all over the world and asked them to name the number one question they are asked by customers, that normally diverse and typically quite contrarian group would find themselves in unanimous and surprising agreement. Questions related to how to prune a hydrangea, why one either does or does not flower from one year to the next, could fuel a reality TV show ... maybe even to rival "Game of Thrones." Here are three reasons why you hydrangea may not be blooming: Improperly Timed Pruning: By far the most common reason for some hydrangeas to not flower is pruning at the wrong time of year. Hydrangeas come in a variety of types. Some set their flower buds in the fall for the following spring. If you prune that type in winter, there won't be many/any left to flower in spring. This is the case for the popular bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla,) the type that typically has glossy, bright green leaves and either pink or blue flowers in summer. The always popular oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia) falls into this same category of old wood bloomers. (Note: a few of the newer varieties of H. macrophylla actually produce flowers both on last year's growth and current season's growth so will bloom in spring even if you prune them hard in winter, but all flower better if you skip the winter prune.) More: Should I use landscape fabric in the yard or garden? Here are 3 things to know Hydrangeas that flower on the current season's growth (sometimes called new wood flowering) can be cut all the way to the ground in winter and they will still bloom the following spring after the new growth is produced. The native smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens) and the panicle/tree hydrangea (H. paniculata) both fall into this category. Winter/Cold Damage: Some hydrangea species can handle a whole lot of cold without even the least of a shiver. When I lived in Bangor, Maine it took no time at all to see that both the smooth hydrangea and panicle hydrangea were (and still are) staples in the landscape. They can handle cold. Big leaf hydrangeas, on the other hand, are best considered snowbirds. They can handle some winter cold but what they don't like is the up and down temperatures of a continental climate. A few warm February days during winter can cause a bit of a false start for big leaf hydrangeas. And once those buds (that contain the flower initials formed last fall) start to swell even a bit, any temperature below freezing will result in a total or partial loss of flowers for the coming season and will leave you with a big green bush with no flowers. If the cold is borderline, sometimes you'll just get a few flowers near the ground where they were either protected from the freeze by snow cover or from a bit of warmth radiated up from the ground beneath. More: How to keep deer out of the garden: 8 things to try Too Much Shade: Many of us who start off with a sun garden know that it won't often last very long. Trees grow. Other large shrubs grow. Over time, a once floriferous hydrangea can lose its flower power as maturing plants in the vicinity start to suck up the essential sunlight. All hydrangeas are quite shade tolerant — meaning they can survive quite nicely in even a moderate amount of shade. But as the amount of incident light decreases, so does the flower production. The solution is to move your hydrangea to a sunnier spot or open up the tree canopy with some strategic tree pruning. There is also a short list of other reasons for a gradual decrease of hydrangea flowers. Of course the ever-present white tailed deer that so many of us battle in our gardens can chow down on your hydrangeas, meaning no buds make it to flowering stage. Poor mineral nutrition, moisture stress, and a host of other cultural insults can keep hydrangeas from flowering but those are minority cases. First things first. Like most plants, hydrangeas do not need to be pruned. If left unpruned, they will be just fine. After flowering, some people like to remove the old blooms (which is completely fine) while others like to leave them in place for little winter texture. But in both the old wood and new wood blooming hydrangea species, no pruning is necessary. If you just let them do their thing, they'll do their thing. Old Wood Bloomers: If big leaf hydrangeas are pruned at the wrong time of year, they won't flower the next year. But that doesn't mean you can't prune and still have flowers. If you want to prune to encourage tighter branching or maintain a slightly smaller plant, prune as soon as the current crop of blooms start to fade. The goal is to encourage lower buds to break and produce new shoot growth before the end of the growing season, with enough time for a new crop of flower buds to form. A thorough watering regime post pruning will help make sure that new growth forms. My general rule of thumb is to do this kind of pruning before the middle of July. Other than the bigleaf hydrangea, oakleaf hydrangea (H. quercifolia) and the less common climbing hydrangea (H. petiolaris) fall into the same group of old wood bloomers. More: How to properly plant a tree: here are 6 things to know New Wood Bloomers: These are far less fussy. If you wantm you can clean them up by removing the spent flower heads about any time of the year. Whole plants (young or old) can be cut to the ground in winter (which will create a plant with fewer but larger blooms), or they can be left to their own devices with no pruning. The no pruning approach will generally produce a plant with a greater quantity of smaller blooms. Worldwide there are somewhere around 80 or so species. Most are shrubs. Some approach tree status. A few are climbing vines. And if you're lucky enough to have a specimen or two of the rarer species in your garden, all you need to know to determine the best pruning time is whether it blooms on new or old wood. But then if you do have some of those plant geek species in your garden, you're probably already getting the pruning question from your friends and neighbors. Maybe you need your very own television series. Paul Cappiello is the executive director at Yew Dell Botanical Gardens, 6220 Old Lagrange Road, This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Reasons your hydrangea won't bloom and how to fix it
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
WisDOT shares the importance of burn management
(WFRV) – According to experts with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, prescribed burns and burn management play an essential role in the well-being of native plants in the state. In a release shared by WisDOT on social media, burn management is said to be a cost-effective and efficient way to manage plants while also preventing the spread of invasive species. Packers to participate in separate joint training camp practice sessions with Colts and Seahawks Just this past spring, officials say crews completed a controlled burn in Dane County at the World Dairy Wetland Site near I-39/90. Two months following the controlled burn, native plants were seen growing in abundance. The following are said to be benefits of controlled burns: Stimulates the growth of native plants Improves habitat Helps prevent invasive species Releases nutrients into the soil For more information about prescribed burns and their benefits, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
