Ahem, whoops
16th October 2008, ThursdayLast year I wrote about one of my favourite garden plants for wildlife, Verbena bonariensis . I did express some concern about its potential to spread, and last week my eye was drawn to a blog by Ralph Hollins who reported the plant in the countryside, far from any garden (see record for 8 October in the plants section).
With a little more web browsing I found this plant listed on the Global Invasive Species Database listed as Verbena brasiliensis. It has the potential to displace native species throughout most of its non-native range and is a significant pest species in Mid - South USA. Whether or not it becomes such a pest over here remains to be seen, but caution might be the best policy.
In my previous post I referred to its value as a nectar source. This year it has proved to be successful in attracting comma and red admiral, but once again we have seen no hummingbird hawkmoths on the plant, and only 1 painted lady. Evidently these insects have been scarce or non existant in Northiam this summer.
PS Yesterday (25 Oct) we had only our 2nd painted lady of the year. Rubbish