how a weed spreads

Garden Plants can become Environmental Weeds because they can survive without attention including watering – these are just the properties that appeal to a busy gardener.

Plants can spread by

• ·seed being blown by wind eg Desert Ash (Fraxinus angustifolia) and Pampas grass, Agapanthus
• ·Storm water washing away piece of the plant which eventually stick in the sides of gutters, creeks or rivers, eg Pussy-willow (Salix X reichardtii),
• ·Storm water washing away seed eg Common Violet (Viola odorata),
• ·Birds eating the fleshy fruits of the plant and defecating up to 2 km away Bluebell Creeper (Sollya heterophylla), and Sweet Pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum),
• ·Animal eating the fruit or seeds and defecating later eg Cherry-plum (Prunus cerasifera),
• ·Ants carrying wattle seed to their nests – up to about 75m away eg Sallow Wattle (Acacia longifolia),
• ·Seed pods bursting & spreading seed up to 2m away eg Broom (English Broom – Cytisus scoparius or Cape Broom Genista monspessulana),
• ·Sticky Seeds sticking to animal’s fur and human’s clothes eg Wood Forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica),
• ·Ground covers creeping into neighbouring properties eg Wandering Trad …used to be called jew, but no longer an acceptable name (Tradescantia albiflora),
• Any plant which can regenerate from plant pieces eg willow, should never be planted where pieces that break off can be washed into the drainage/creek system.