We took a drive the other day and I noticed all the white flowering trees along the way. Most of them were Bradford pear trees; they sprout up all over because the birds eat their berries then spread them when they pass the seeds. The Bradford Pear tree has been declared an invasive species because of its propensity to spread unchecked. It has been used for years lining roads in developments and though the flowers are pretty they are a scourge.<\/p>\n
We live next to a neighboring property with a 15-acre field. The previous owner let the grasses grow tall then had the grass cut and baled so that the area remained grass which didn\u2019t have weed trees and bushes growing in it.<\/p>\n
The new owners\u2019 just cuts the edges of the field and are letting most of the lot grow wild. At the edge of their property there are invasive roses and as the roses spread I have to cut them back which is a thorny problem. Of course when they bloom in the summer the smell is wonderful. These multiflora roses were brought over from Korea to be a wind break between fields, but it was quickly found that the birds eat the rose hips then spread the seeds so it was declared as invasive<\/a>.<\/p>\n There is also honey suckle, and though some honey suckle is native, several species have been imported from Asia and are quite invasive<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the same land there are other invasive species cropping up. Last year there was a new flowering bush growing at the edge of our property that smelled wonderful when it bloomed, it has long sharp thorns. Last spring I did some research and found that the bush is autumn olive another invasive import from Asia. Autumn olive trees were planted for soil erosion, but its prolific fruit and seeds have disrupted native ecosystems<\/a>.<\/p>\n English Ivy is another invasive species that is very hard to eradicate. Butterfly bushes are beautiful sweet smelling invasive species. We had them at our previous house and I can attest to how much they spread by seed. Both Canadian and bull thistle are invasive species that spread when they go to seed.<\/p>\n A beautiful flowering plant that you see by the side of the road is the purple loosestrife, another invasive species. Many local environmental organizations like the Lehigh Valley Sierra Club arrange work parties to eradicate purple loosestrife but it continues its spread.<\/p>\n For years I had thought that wineberries, small red berries similar to raspberries, are native, but I recently learned that they are another invasive import from Asia. The edge of our lawn is always crowded by the spreading thorny canes. Our grandchildren like to come over and pick them. The birds eat them and spread their seeds.<\/p>\n In the insect word, we are close to the area where the spotted lantern fly came to the United States. A\u00a0 stone quarry near Boyertown imported some building stone from China and there were eggs from the spotted lantern fly on the stone. When the eggs hatched in spring the nymphs emerged and eventually became adults that spread and laid new eggs. So far they have spread to 18 states. They harm trees and vines as they suck their sap harming fruit trees and grape vines which are amongst their favorite targets.<\/p>\n