Gardeners and property owners in the Sault/Algoma now have their very own Grow Me Instead Guide. Produced by Clean North, this guide spotlights 24 invasive plants known to be aggressive invaders in our area and suggests native plants to grow instead.
Sault/Algoma Grow Me Instead Guide—web version
Sault/Algoma Grow Me Instead Guide—abridged printable colour brochure
Why get rid of invasive plants?
According to Clean North communications lead Abby Obenchain, who researched and wrote the guide, invasive plant species pose a major threat to biodiversity. These plants can push out native species and dominate ecosystems. And when native plants are lost, there’s a ripple effect on pollinators, birds, and other wildlife as habitat and food sources disappear.
Invasive plants also harm the economy, recreational opportunities, and even human health. For example, Japanese knotweed can cause costly damage to pavement and foundations; non-native buckthorns can turn prized hiking areas into dense, unattractive monocultures; and giant hogweed has caustic sap that burns skin and can cause blindness.
What spurred the new guide?
Last winter, Clean North won a $1,000 Invasive Species Centre microgrant to develop an invasive plant species education program for the Sault/Algoma, including a local grow me instead guide.
Abby pursued this grant because she is an avid gardener who for years had been observing the issues invasive plants were causing in her own yard as well as local natural areas.
“Walk into any natural area in the Sault and you will see a wealth of invasive plants,” she says. “And with that comes biodiversity loss. For example, if Norway maple takes over a natural area, it can become an ecological desert. Bird fly in and then fly right out again because there’s nothing for them to eat. I felt compelled to do something to address this serious risk to local ecosystems.”
While the Ontario Invasive Plant Council has published such guides for both southern and northern Ontario, Abby felt strongly that the Sault/Algoma needed its own. “Our invasive plant situation is different from that of southern Ontario or even other parts of northern Ontario,” she notes. “The plants causing the most havoc in other cities like Toronto or Timmins are not necessarily at the top of our list here and vice versa.”
How the guide was developed
With the help of many partners and supporters (listed below), Abby set to work figuring out which species were most concerning locally—and which natives make the best alternatives. She says it was not hard to come up with a list of invasive plant species to target.
Choosing which native plants to recommend as replacements was tougher. As it turns out, many species people in our area assume are native plants are not actually native here. (Read more about the complexities of native plants here.) With help from local botanists, Abby spent a lot of time teasing out what’s actually native here in the Sault/Algoma.
Where you can start
The first step in battling invasive plants is to inventory which species are growing in your yard. Then:
- Figure out which ones are invasive (spreading rapidly is a good clue)
- Prioritize which to remove first (click here to read more about how to remove invasive plants)
- Plant native species
Two types of alternatives
While true Algoma natives are best for our ecosystems, some are challenging to source. So Abby included a second category of alternatives in the Sault/Algoma Grow Me Instead Guide: Plants native to other parts of Ontario. These species are familiar to and benefit most of our pollinators, birds, and other wildlife and may be easier to find in local garden centres or a friend’s yard.
Sourcing native plants
Finding native plants can be a challenge. They do pop up in local garden centres, but gardeners should double-check whether a plant is truly native before they buy (learn more about what’s a native plant here).
Some questions to ask when considering buying a plant:
- Is it native to Algoma, other parts of Ontario, the United States, or another continent? Again, native to Algoma is best; native to other parts of Ontario is next best. Be aware that some species native to other parts of North America can be invasive here (one example—Manitoba maple).
- Is it a true native or a cultivar? A cultivar is a variety bred for desirable characteristics like more petals; these tend to be less useful to pollinators.
- It it an invasive species? Unfortunately, many garden centres are still selling invasive species like goutweed, periwinkle, and lily of the valley.
If you are finding it tough to source native plants, Abby suggests:
- Growing your own native plants from seed via winter sowing (read more about winter sowing here)
- Joining a local horticultural society or Facebook gardening group and trading with other gardeners
- Buying from an online seller of native plants (Halton Master Gardeners has a list of such sellers on their website)
The joy of replacing invasives
Replacing invasive species with native plants can be a big job, but it’s also rewarding. “As someone who has hugely increased the number of native plants in her yard over the past decade, I can tell you that the increase in biodiversity is amazing and fills me with joy,” Abby says. “I am seeing so many more pollinators than before I embraced native plant gardening. I am hopeful that the new Sault/Algoma Grow Me Instead Guide will help guide others in our area to do likewise.”
Sault/Algoma Grow Me Instead Guide—web version
Sault/Algoma Grow Me Instead Guide—abridged printable colour brochure
Partners/supporters
- Sault Naturalists
- The Kensington Conservancy
- Sault College School of Natural Environment
- Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority
- City of Sault Ste. Marie
- Lake Superior Watershed Conservancy
- Bruce Station, St. Joseph Island, and Sault Ste. Marie horticultural societies
- Seedy Saturday Algoma
- Algoma Master Gardeners
- Johnson Farmers Market
Clean North acknowledges Valerie Walker and Peter Burtch of the Sault Naturalists, Carter Dorscht of The Kensington Conservancy, botanical consultant Susan Meades, and Elisa Muto of Sault College for going above and beyond to provide input and support.
The Invasive Species Centre and Bruce Station Horticultural Society provided funding for this work.
Want to know more?
Email us at info@cleannorth.org.
