That’s how an increasing number of leaders on the forefront of the invasive-plant issue perceive the nursery industry’s current position. Contrary to the doomsayers who lament the loss of certain invasive plants -- even some those plants that have traditionally been the mainstay of our businesses -- they see the possibilities.
As issues around invasive plants continue gaining momentum, it’s becoming obvious that how we choose to position our actions will either help or damage how we’re perceived. By actively demonstrating our accountability as environmentally responsible businesses, we give rise to many exciting, unexpected and profitable options.
Here are some ways the nursery industry, our businesses and each of us as individuals can use this invasive plant challenge as a catalyst to help optimize the outcomes.
Develop and introduce sterile forms of invasive species
In most situations, once a plant species is identified as invasive, all cultivars and forms of that species are deemed invasive. This is regardless of how selected cultivars may behave.
Throughout the industry there’s a groundswell of demand that non-invasive cultivars of invasive species be allowed on the market. In response, new efforts are under way to develop a system to qualify as non-invasive those cultivars that can be shown to lack invasive characteristics.
Once this system is in place, opportunities for new markets will quickly open up.
Surprisingly little research has focused on development of sterile and non-invasive cultivars. A number of projects are being conducted at the Landscape Plant Development Center in Mound, Minn., North Carolina State University and other institutions around the country. These organizations are discovering, breeding and using biotechnology to develop plants that are non-invasive.
But few focus specifically on creating sterile cultivars of invasive species. Grants and funding are available through Horticultural Research Institute (the research arm of the American Nursery & Landscape Association), USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and environmental organizations. Now is a prime time to seriously commit our attention to projects like this.
The Nature Conservancy, in conjunction with ANLA and other horticultural groups, is organizing a workshop this summer to review the effectiveness of the voluntary Codes of Conduct for the Nursery Industry developed in 2001.
Part of this meeting is expected to address the challenge and possible solutions that enable non-invasive cultivars of invasive species to be sold and used in landscapes. Once this pathway opens, tremendous opportunities to use horticultural research and marketing resources will emerge.
Select and market native plants with improve characteristics
Our industry has accomplished woefully little in the improvement of native plants. Lack of diversity in flower, foliage and growth characteristics of many natives causes most of our customers to consider them a poor substitute for more exciting “exotics.”
A significant number of new cultivars from outside the United States are native American plants developed by non-American businesses that understand the potential within those species -- and are willing to invest the resources to improve them.
Some researchers in private businesses and public institutions have programs to breed and select improved native plants, but much more focus is needed. Projects like this need not be complex or expensive.
One such program at the University of Rhode Island germinates seed from native plants treated chemically to alter their genes. Program objectives include selecting better flower colors and forms, new foliage colors, compact growth and increased tolerance to cold, wind and adverse conditions.
Jeff Adkins and his students simply grow seedlings, select for improved characteristics and then partner with companies who agree to test selections for possible introduction. Programs like this can be long term, but they generally require relatively few resources.
Aggressively promote alternatives to invasive plants
All of us have a perfect opportunity to leverage the current consumer concern about protecting the environment.
Who knows more about plants and the ways they perform than the experts in the nursery industry? Our customers consider the advice we give as highly reliable, and the true test of our abilities lies in how our plants ultimately perform in the landscape.
Along with offering appropriate alternatives, we must advise our customers how to identify and manage those invasive plants already growing in their landscapes.
We must take ownership of the invasive-plant issue and effectively frame our invasive plants story, along with the choices we offer. Doing this properly reinforces our customers’ perception that our businesses are environmentally accountable.
We also help ensure that our customers continue to feel good about the choices they’re making on their own property, and confident they’re doing the right things for the environment.
The ANLA Invasive Plant Task Force has been charged with developing and putting forth a national policy statement on invasive plants. This standard will provide a solid foundation for regional and local actions that reinforce the nursery industry’s commitment to doing the right things.
For now, the Codes of Conduct for the Nursery Industry, endorsed by ANLA, serves as an appropriate guide for any horticultural business.
Countless businesses devote vast resources to building reputations like many nursery operations have already achieved. Most companies outside the nursery industry can only dream of attaining the customer perceptions we take for granted -- like honesty, integrity, desirable products, ethical practices and superb employee relationships.
But even our stellar reputation won’t shield us should we let slip away these opportunities to take the lead with invasive plants.
The nursery industry is universally perceived as a responsible steward of the environment. The opportunities created by the invasive-plant challenge are becoming clearer. Resources are ready to help and the market is poised.
Now is the time to truly demonstrate, through our individual and company actions, that we are leading the way to make our world a better place for future generations and ourselves.
Codes of conduct
In 2001 in
St. Louis, a task force including environmentalists and members of the industry developed the voluntary Codes of Conduct for the Nursery Industry.
The codes are:
* Ensure that invasive potential is assessed prior to introducing and marketing plant species new to North America. Invasive potential should be assessed by the introducer or qualified experts using emerging risk-assessment methods that consider plant characteristics and prior observations or experience with the plant elsewhere in the world.
Additional insights may be gained through extensive monitoring on the nursery site prior to further distribution.
* Work with regional experts and stakeholders to determine which species in your region are currently invasive or will become invasive. Identify plants that could be suitable alternatives in your region.
* Develop and promote alternative plant material through plant selection and breeding.
* Where agreement has been reached among nursery associations, government, academia and ecology and conservation organizations, phase out existing stocks of those specific invasive species in regions where they are considered a threat.
* Follow all laws on importation and quarantine of plant materials across political boundaries.
* Encourage customers to use, and garden writers to promote, noninvasive plants.
- R. Wayne Mezitt
R. Wayne Mezittis a third-generation nursery grower and chairman of Weston Nurseries Inc., Hopkinton, Mass., (508) 435-3414; www.westonnurseries.com.
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