Published: March 14, 2007 09:01 pm      

Workshop roots out problem

Ironton — Invaders could be taking over your own back yard.

Invasive plants, that is. Innocent looking things like kudzu and Japanese honeysuckle may look pretty, but they’ve got an agenda: To overwhelm every other growing thing in their path.

The Ohio Invasive Plants Council and the Iron Furnace Cooperative Weed Management Area are jointly presenting a workshop on invasive plants Wednesday at Ohio University Southern.

The workshop will introduce the community to some of the more common — and potentially damaging — plants out there.

The all-day workshop, which will be broken down into three sessions, is just as pertinent for Kentucky as it is on the Buckeye side of the river, said Chad Kirschbaum, a botanist at the Wayne National Forest.

That’s because all through the region the plants threaten to choke out native growth, he said.

The first session, from 10 a.m. to noon, will feature Jennifer Windus of the Ohio Division of Wildlife with an overview of invasives in Ohio; Kirschbaum and Chris Smith of the Ohio Division of Wildlife on control methods used on public lands in southern Ohio; and Frank Porter of Porter Brook Native Plants on alternative plants for gardening, pasture and erosion control. Participants may examine some of the plants.

The afternoon session from 1 to 3 will feature a repeat of Windus's presentation, Chris McCullough, Hamilton County Master Gardener, on ways for private landowners to remove invasive species, and Jarel Bartig of the Wayne National Forest on fighting invasive species.

The evening session from 5 to 7 will include Judith Dumke from Chesapeake introducing invasive plant species; Greg Ressler from Townsend Chemical Division on basic control methods and herbicide safety; and Porter and Bartig repeating their presentations.

Activities for children will be available to participants at no charge.

Invasive plants are a threat almost anywhere, in yards, pastures, woods and roadsides, in the country and in the city alike, Kirschbaum said.

Home gardeners, for instance, may be surprised to learn that the honeysuckle on their garden fence most likely is Japanese honeysuckle, a nonnative species. “It’s been part of the community for so long people don’t even know it,” he said.

People may think they can contain it in their yard, but birds can disperse it for miles, he said.

Multiflora rose, a dense thorny plant, plagues hunters and outdoors enthusiasts because it makes walking in the woods difficult, Kirschbaum said. There are those who claim it and Japanese honeysuckle provide food and cover for wildlife, but studies show there’s less nutritional value in either than in native species, he said.

Kudzu is perhaps the best-known and recognized of the invasive species because it can cover a hillside — or a house — in short order. “If you don’t control it, it gets out of hand,” he said.

Many nonnatives were established by well-meaning gardeners who used them as ornamentals. They spread because the animals, insects and diseases that would check their growth in their natural habitat don’t exist where they’re transplanted.

Thus they compete for water, nutrients and sunlight, eliminate native plants and leave thick stands of a single species instead of the diversity essential to a thriving ecosystem, he said.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.