They're lurking in your garden. They may look lush. They may even look pretty. But they could be weeds; weeds with the potential to wipe out native plant and animal communities. When a weed escapes the confines of your garden, its impact can be widespread on native plants and animals and they are costly and difficult to eradicate.
But how do you know what’s a weed and what’s a beauty? It’s not always easy. In fact, it’s a safe bet that there are probably weeds in your garden right now. You may be growing species’ you didn’t even know are a menace.
To help gardeners, Brisbane City Council has compiled a helpful weed ID tool. Get information about which pests you need to dig out, chop down and discourage. They are listed as an A-Z list or you can search for a particular weed.
The best thing about the online identification pages are the pictures. Every weed has a picture, along with detailed descriptions so you know which plant is which.
And if you don’t know even the common name for a plant, you can start the identification process with a search via the plant’s features, eg flower colour, leaf type etc.
Look at the weed forum for updated info and assistance in identifying weeds you may have.
Are there weeds to remove from your garden? I know there are in mine. This weekend I’ll be ripping out the fishbone fern, asparagus fern, singapore daisy, baby chinese elms (that seem to pop up everywhere and are hard to pull out), the mother in laws tongues (even though I saw them for sale recently at a nursery and they look quite trendy as a fashionable pot plant). The African tulip tree will require a tree lopper because it’s grown so large.
Read about other common garden pests such as cane toads, mosquitoes and lantana.
