Garden escapees
Lantana
© Colin Wilson
Escaped invasive garden plants are the biggest source of agricultural and environmental weeds, costing farmers many millions of dollars each year. Just one escaped invasive garden plant - Lantana - now degrades over 4 million hectares of Australia's environment.
The CSIRO report Jumping the Garden Fence, commissioned by WWF-Australia, found that many escaped invasive garden plants are still advertised for sale.
How you can help
- When you are buying plants for your garden, be sure to check the Ninety invasive garden plants by State/Territory list before buying to be sure you're not purchasing an invasive species.
- If the plant you were planning to purchase is on the list, buy a similar, non-invasive plant instead. See the Resources section for fact sheets on alternative species.
- Familiarise yourself with the over 1,000 invasive or potentially invasive garden plants on the National List of Invasive Garden Plants.
Resources
The Nursery Industry Association of NSW has published Grow Me Instead (PDF 1.3 MB), a booklet that identifies and describes replacement species.
The Nursery Industry Association of SA, with others, have also produced the Alternatives to invasive garden plants (PDF 334.1 KB) fact sheet for the Greater Adelaide Region.
The Weeds Australia website has lots of information about invasive species.
The Weeds CRC is a Cooperative Research Centre that is working to reduce the risks posed by current and new weed incursions through programs in research, education and information delivery across Australia.
Visit Bushland-friendly gardens: plants to avoid in your region which helps you to make more informed, environmentally friendly choices about the plants you use in your garden, nursery or parkland.
