With spring around the corner, tulips and daffodils are starting to pop up but so are plants that aren’t supposed to be, at least not around here.
The Bulkley Valley Genealogical Society is preparing for their annual plant sale and asking for donations of perennials however, they want to make sure people know what they are donating.
The Northwest Invasive Plant Council is working hard to stop the spread of weeds and flowers that aren’t native to the area and is asking that gardeners avoid bringing them to the sale.
NWIPC central assistant, Steven Kiiskila, said it can be tricky to know which weeds don’t belong here.
“They can establish really quickly in an area, because they aren’t native, so they don’t have natural predators, they have no competitors, so they can usually outgrow the native plants,” he said.
“That really threatens biodiversity and reduces forage for wildlife and livestock and reduces habitat.”
He said they can do a lot of harm.
“It’s a huge worldwide threat. Some plants are spread intentionally. For example, people come from Europe and like a certain plant, like common tansy, it’s really huge in Terrace, it’s just starting to establish in Smithers. But people brought it over, it’s a medicinal plant that they use. What we try to do is prevention, that’s the biggest thing because sometimes elimination is impossible.
“For example the dandelion was introduced. That one isn’t that bad but invasive plants usually are a big threat. Certain groups make lists of threats to the planet and invasive plants spreading is in the top five.”
Kiiskila said another one of the plants the council is trying to get a handle on is hawkweed.
“You’ve probably seen the orange and yellow hawkweed around. It actually looks nice, some people have it in their yard but it is really hard to control without an aggressive spray program. One thing with the hawkweed is that if it gets into farmers’ fields it’s not palatable for livestock. There are a lot of people with livestock in the valley so that can be a problem.”
He said all invasive plants should be removed. The weeds should be dug up and put in a heavy duty garbage bag and disposed of that way. Kiiskila said he doesn’t suggest composting them.
If gardeners are unsure they can contact the NWIPC or download the Report-A-Weed app on their smart phones.
Invasive plants aside, the genealogical society is hoping for a lot of donations.
One of the organizers, Bev Davidson, said all of the money raised goes to the society to help pay their rent and keep their library and technology updated.
This is the only fundraiser, along with the raffle done on the same day, the society does annually.
The plant sale will be held on May 24 in the Goat Statue Parking Lot in Smithers.
Viewing begins at 8 a.m. and the sale runs from 9 a.m. to noon.