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Are Your Garden Plants Going Bush?
Many common garden plants can invade our bushland and recreation areas in
the ACT and region.
When Is A Garden Plant A Weed?
Weeds are plants growing in locations where they are not desirable or wanted. Many commonly
grown garden plants have already spread from the confines of our yards, ponds and aquariums into
rural, natural and open space areas causing environmental damage and requiring expensive control
actions. These plants are referred to as ‘garden escapes’.
Garden escapes may be either natives that have been planted outside their natural range, or plants
which have been introduced from overseas. Some garden escapes are already well established in
natural areas, but others are in the early stages of invasion and could become widespread unless we
stop them now.
How Do Garden Escapes Spread?
Most garden escapes invade our open space and natural areas by the spread of seed. Your garden
may be a major source of garden escapes which are being spread without you realising it. Birds can
spread seeds in their droppings after eating the fruit from berry-producing plants like privet and
cotoneaster species. Wind and water also disperse seeds. Some garden escapes establish and
reproduce from stems, bulbs or corms after being dumped as garden waste on roadsides, parkland
or bushland.
Weed Swap Program
The Australian Native Plants Society and the ACT Government offer a free Weed Swap Program
twice a year in spring and autumn. You can dig up your garden escapes and swap them for a native
plant.
Garden Escapes – A Serious Threat
We are fortunate in the ACT and region to live close to natural areas and our visitors also admire the
reserves and open spaces that make Canberra the ‘Bush Capital’. If we want to protect these natural
areas and open spaces, we must be responsive to the potential harm that garden escapes can inflict
on our native flora and fauna.
Garden escapes may cause problems by smothering native plants, preventing natural regeneration
or by changing the natural balance of resources for native animals such as birds, mammals, reptiles
and invertebrates.
Controlling garden escapes is an important part of managing our natural heritage and costs the
community millions of dollars every year. This brochure has been produced to help you identify
plants that can escape from your garden. If we act now, we can keep our natural areas intact. Every
individual and corporate citizen has an important role to play.
You can help by removing these plants from your garden or avoid planting them.
Control Methods
Most weeds included in this brochure can be controlled by hand pulling, digging out or cutting down.
Registered herbicides are available for spraying leaves or painting stumps. Contact your local ‘Bush
Friendly’ garden centre for information on chemical control.
It is important to dispose of garden waste in a manner so as not to spread weeds further. Seed-free
foliage can be safely composted or delivered to green recycle centres. Seed heads, bulbs, corms and
stems that regrow should be sealed in a bag and disposed of responsibly.
Alternatives for Garden Escapes
An important part of preventing garden escapes from invading our bushland and recreation space is
to remove those plants with the potential to escape from your garden and replace them with plants
that do not pose a problem. Your local ‘Bush Friendly’ nursery can advise you on replacement plants
for garden escapes suited to your situation and requirements.
Not the Only Ones
The garden escape species included in this brochure are not the only problem plants in the Canberra
region. The following plants also have the potential to escape from your garden if left unchecked.
Though these plants are not a major problem in the Canberra region at the moment it is
recommended that these species be treated with caution.
Gazania Gazania species
South African Daisy Osteospermum species
Chinese Pistachio Pistachio chinensis
Butterfly Bush Oenothera species
Olives Olea species
WA Bluebell Creeper Billardiera heterophylla
Bush Friendly Nurseries
Many nurseries in the ACT and region have agreed to be ‘Bush Friendly’ and help prevent the spread
of garden escapes by not selling any plants included on this brochure. Please support those nurseries
that support the scheme and purchase your plants from nurseries displaying the ‘Bush Friendly’ sign.
Aquatic Weeds
Parrots Feather
Species: Myriophyllum aquaticum
Family: Maloragaceae
Origin: South America
Dispersal: vegetatively and from aquarium escape
Invades: rivers, wetlands and lakes
Cabomba
Species: Cabomba caroliniana
Family: Cabombaceae
Origin: North America
Dispersal: by vegetative parts
Invades: rivers, wetlands and irrigation channels
Salvinia
Species: Salvinia molesta
Family: Salviniaceae
Origin: South America
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Dispersal: vegetatively spread by water and aquarium escape
Invades: rivers and wetlands
Delta Arrowhead
Species: Sagittaria platyphylla
Family: Alismataceae
Origin: USA
Dispersal: mainly by seed
Invades: lakes, reservoirs, ponds
Water Hyacinth
Species: Eichornia crassipes
Family: Pontederiaceae
Origin: South America
Dispersal: by vegetative parts
Invades: rivers, wetlands and irrigation channels
Alligator Weed
Species: Alternanthera philoxeroides
Family: Amaranthaceae
Origin: South America
Dispersal: vegetative parts spread by water, wildlife and by people. Sometimes mistaken for the
garden plant Mukunu-wenna.
Invades: rivers and wetlands and irrigation chanels
Creepers And Climbers
English Ivy
Species: Hedera helix including the Canary Island subspecies
Family: Araliaceae
Origin: Europe
Dispersal: by birds and vegetatively from dumped garden refuse
Invades: dry forest, heathland, river corridors and neighbours gardens
Japanese Honeysuckle
Species: Lonicera japonica
Family: Caprifoliaceae
Origin: Eastern Asia
Dispersal: by birds and vegetatively from dumped garden refuse
Invades: moist sites in forests, woodlands, gullies and neighbours gardens
Wandering Jew
Species: Tradescantia albiflora
Family: Commelinaceae
Origin: South America
Dispersal: vegetatively from dumped garden refuse
Invades: wet forests, gullies and neighbours gardens
Blue Periwinkle
Species: Vinca major
Family: Apocynaceae
Origin: Mediterranean
Dispersal: vegetatively from dumped garden refuse
Invades: moist forest gullies and neighbours gardens
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Herbs And Grasses
Common Horsetail
Species: Equisetum arvense
Family: Equisetaceae
Origin: northern hemisphere
Dispersal: from spores and rhizomes
Invades: wetlands, low-lying wet areas and grasslands
Pampas Grass
Species: Cortaderia selloana
Family: Poaceae
Origin: South America
Dispersal: seed, underground roots and vegetatively from dumped garden refuse
Invades: dry forests, woodlands, grassland and heathlands
Bamboo
Species: Phyllostachys aurea
Family: Graminae
Origin: South-east China
Dispersal: vegetatively from dumped garden refuse, running rhizomes
Invades: wide variety of plant communities and neighbours gardens
Mexican Feather Grass
Species: Nassella tenuissima
Family: Poaceae
Origin: South America
Dispersal: seed
Invades: dry and wet forests, woodlands, grassland and heathlands
Shrubs And Trees
Cootamundra Wattle
Species: Acacia baileyana
Family: Mimosaceae
Origin: limited localities in New South Wales
Dispersal: seed spread by birds, ants and water
Invades: dry forest and roadsides, particularly disturbed sites or after bushfire
English Broom
Species: Cytisus scoparius
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: Europe
Dispersal: seed spread by machinery, water, animals and people
Invades: river corridors, dry forests, woodlands
Cape Broom
Species: Genista monspessulana
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: Europe
Dispersal: seed spread by machinery, water, animals and people
Invades: dry forest and woodland
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Lombardy Poplar
Species: Populus nigra ‘Italica’
Family: Salicaceae
Origin: Italy
Dispersal: by suckers and vegetative parts moved by water
Invades: river corridors, gullies and moist sites
White Poplar or Cottonwood
Species: Populus alba
Family: Salicaceae
Origin: Europe, Western Asia, North Africa
Dispersal: by seed, suckers and vegetatively
Invades: rivers, wetlands, moist sites and neighbours' gardens
Tree of Heaven
Species: Ailanthus altissima
Family: Simaroubaceae
Origin: China
Dispersal: by suckering and seed
Invades: dry forest and woodland
False Acacia
Species: Robinia pseudoacacia
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: Eastern North America
Dispersal: by water and vehicles and suckers
Invades: native grasslands, dry forests and neigbours gardens
Nettle Tree
Species: Celtis australis
Family: Ulmaceae
Origin: Mediterranean to South-western Asia
Dispersal: by birds
Invades: dry forest and woodland
Common or Black Alder
Species: Alnus glutinosa
Family: Betulaceae.
Origin: Europe and Asia
Dispersal: seed spread by wind and water
Invades: cold damp sites around lakes and river corridors
Privet
Species: Ligustrum lucidum and Ligustrum sinense
Family: Oleaceae
Origin: China
Dispersal: by birds
Invades: moist sites and river corridors
Radiata or Monterey Pine
Species: Pinus radiata
Family: Pinaceae
Origin: South-western North America
Dispersal: seeds spread by wind
Invades: wide variety of plant communities
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Willows
Species: Salix species
Except S. babylonica, S. x calodendron and S. x reichardtii
Family: Salicaceae
Origin: Western Asia, Europe, North and South America
Dispersal: seed and vegetatively
Invades: river corridors and wetlands
Firethorns
Species: Pyracantha species
Family: Rosaceae
Origin: South-western China to Eurasia
Dispersal: by birds
Invades: forests, woodlands and parklands
Gorse or Furze
Species: Ulex europeus
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: Europe
Dispersal: spread by vehicles, ants and water
Invades: wide variety of plant communities
Box Elder
Species: Acer negundo
Family: Aceaceae
Origin: North America
Dispersal: seed spread by wind
Invades: river corridors and woodlands
Hawthorn
Species: Crataegus monogyna
Family: Rosaceae
Origin: Europe
Dispersal: by birds
Invades: forests, woodlands and creek corridors
Spanish Broom
Species: Spartium species
Family: Fabaceae
Origin: Mediterranean and Canary Islands
Dispersal: spread by ants, water, machinery, vehicles and soil
Invades: dry forests
Cotoneasters
Species: Cotoneaster species
Family: Rosaceae
Origin: Eurasia
Dispersal: by birds
Invades: forests, woodlands and parklands
Service Tree
Species: Sorbus aucuparia and Sorbus domestica
Family: Rosaceae
Origin: Western Asia, Eastern and Southern Europe, North Africa
Dispersal: by birds and suckers
Invades: woodlands and river corridors
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Spanish Heath
Species: Erica lusitanica
Family: Ericaceae
Origin: Mediterranean
Dispersal: by seed
Invades: forests and damper sites in woodlands. Looks very similar to a native heath plant
Garden Escapes In The Australian Capital Territory And Region
What you can do
 Make your garden ‘Bush Friendly’ by removing from your garden, any plants named in this
brochure.
 Encourage friends and neighbours to do likewise. Avoid planting potential garden escapes.
 Choose plants from your local ‘Bush Friendly’ nursery which has agreed not to sell these plants.
Look for the ‘Bush Friendly’ sign.
 Join your local ParkCare or Landcare group to assist in a united effort to control garden escapes
in your local area.
 Do not dump garden prunings or refuse on roadsides, open spaces or in parkland areas.
 Take care not to spread plants via seeds in compost or mulch.
 Never dump aquarium or pond plants in waterways or wash down drains.
Further Information
Canberra Connect: 13 22 81
ACT Parks and Conservation Service
Territory and Municipal Services
Website: www.tams.act.gov.au
Australian Native Plants Society website:
www.nativeplants-canberra.asn.au
PO Box 217 Civic Square ACT 2608
www.weeds.org.au
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