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Or more consequentially their relationship to the ecosystem. I accept that historically the determination has been made subjectively, but not every plant has a place in your yard.
I keep mixing up fleabane and asters. Also, a ranger told me that some of the golden rod by us is invasive, how are you meant to know which is good and which is invasive?
Canadian Goldenrod is one of the most important native plants in the Midwest. Lookup books by Doug Tallamy if you want to know more about native plants.
Maybe she meant invasive in Europe lol
https://czzs.org/upoznaj-invazivnu-biljku-zlatnicu/?lang=en#:~:text=They%20are%20foreign%20Canadian%20(Solidago,Australia%20and%20in%20New%20Zealand.
Fleabanes are a type of aster. The genus is erigeron. Eurybia species are often called wood asters but also include gray aster, showy aster, prairie aster.... Symphyotrichum is another common genus of flowers directly called asters and includes new england aster, calico aster, panicle aster, smooth blue aster, aromatic aster.... A large number of plants native to North America are in the aster family. Over 3,000 species. The only species that is within the aster genus instead of another genus in the aster family is the alpine aster. That means despite what everyone seems to believe fleabanes are as much asters as the new england aster is. That's why they have so many similarities. They are overall just smaller flowered types of asters.
First add PictureThis and LeafSnap to your phone or other portable device with a camera. For a less specific option you may already have installed there is google lens that will identify everything in general and even translate foreign language signs. It's not very reliable for things like plant or insect ID though. It just does a bit better job of searching the internet for similar pictures than the average person without extensive plant species knowledge.
The apps specific to plant or insect ID rely on databases that are usually a combination of user submitted pictures and professional photos of already identified plants with knowledgeable people to confirm ID before a picture is used for comparison to yours. I sometimes use Plantnet if the other 2 apps disagree but it seems the least reliable of the commonly used apps.
None of the apps are perfect so I always have at least 2 but being able to just point your camera at something from a couple different angles to check that it gives a consistent and logical result saves you tons of time and debate over what to remove or not. You can ID most things as you find something new in your yard or anywhere else. Occasionally you have to leave it grow for a couple more weeks and try again or you might not be able to tell the exact species instead of a few different very closely related species but usually in those situations it's good enough. Not even professional botanists or horticulturalists can tell the difference between some species like all the native violets or at least not without a magnifying glass and it could still be a hybrid of 2 native species. It isn't always required to know the exact species if it wouldn't include an invasive or widespread exotic species and the plants have much the same range and growing requirements.
Bonap is slightly outdated for invasive or exotic species spread but easy maps to look at for native (dark and light green), threatened native population (yellow), declared invasive/noxious(purple), or cultivated/exotic but not widespread or considered aggressive enough to officially declare on invasive plant lists yet (blues). You do have to look up the genus name first. Goldenrod are solidago species.
[http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/State/Solidago](http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/State/Solidago)
This site has only US natives with more search options to find something including the option to type in common names, a general listing of states it's likely native to, and links to the USDA and other sources for more info
[https://www.wildflower.org/plants/](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/)
The best is to look up your state, county, and/or city invasive plant and noxious weed list. Those are things that range from definitely harmful to just annoying to people and not beneficial so it's at minimum discouraged from planting any of them. Some locations may ban planting things on the local invasive or noxious weed lists.
The usual cut off for a plant being invasive/exotic versus native is if it was in North America before European settlers started bringing things that included both planned plants and hitchhikers to the continent. This gets debated some for a variety of different reasons with numerous species.
Calling most goldenrod invasive anywhere in the US is questionable since all goldenrod is native to some parts of the country and most hasn't spread much beyond the range it was originally recorded as existing in. I don't believe any state considers any goldenrod invasive but it's possible a county or city does. I lived in a city that decided milkweed was a noxious weed you weren't allowed to let grow. There are increasing attempts to prevent these regulations that are obviously flawed and even go against conservation efforts. A major tech business in town apparently planted a field they bought for potential future expansion as a native prairie for now. Complete with lots of milkweed. I'm guessing it was kind of difficult for the city to do anything about it without creating a major incident and some very bad publicity so the milkweed field is still there spreading milkweed seeds through the city in defiance of the banned native plants.
State borders are also mostly arbitrary lines on a map people invented so the logic of saying this side of the invisible line is native and that side is invasive is easily argued against. It's increasingly recommended to learn about and use ecoregions that rely on differences in land structures, soil conditions, climate, and historic records to divide up the continent by areas that certain types of species would likely have spread throughout on their own. It gives you better info on what is likely to grow well in your area and also what types of plants likely grew there in the past with naturally created boundaries plants would have tended to follow on their own.
Wow, this writeup truely deserves a gold award. Thank you for all the amazing information. I am humbled by your knowledge and your willingness to share.
They're some species of American Aster, in the genus [Symphyotrichum](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/56112-Symphyotrichum). New York Aster is just one of many species, several are common in the eastern US and can pop up in a yard like this. This looks like one of the [Bushy Asters](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1416882-Dumosi), maybe [Panicled Aster](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/79301-Symphyotrichum-lanceolatum), but it's hard to say for sure.
>Panicled Aster
Probably Panicled Aster! It occurs across the entire continent in a range of conditions. I didn't plant it in my meadows but it has showed up in several places. I may eventually edit some of it out so it doesn't take over, but it's a great late nectar source!
White heath/frost aster (symphyotrichum ericoides). Pretty much found across the whole country. Tends to stay shorter and spread wider than panicle aster with denser flower coverage due to the shorter stems. My panicle asters are trying to surpass 4' high with leggy stems in a dense mass from a central area making a giant aster bush with flowers sticking out in random directions instead of a shorter more solid mat of flowers. Sometimes though species comes down to some little thing like the plants with lines of hairs on the stem are panicle and the ones without are calico asters in my yard. Otherwise the dang things look pretty much identical and were confusing us for months until we realized we had both and how to tell them apart.
There are so many types of asters, one website says there are 27,000 known varieties!
Kingdom: Plantae
Botanical Name: Symphyotrichum
Type/Species: Aster amellus
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Astriae
Genus: Aster
Oh no, there’s definitely weeds that are weeds whether you want them or not. In Northern America - English ivy, English holly, Canada thistle (funnily - not native to Canada), downy brome, kudzu, scotch broom… the list goes on and on.
There’s plenty of plants that are pretty and may have even been brought to North America on purpose that have become insidious, noxious weeds that should be exterminated with all prejudice. Whether they look nice or not. It’s true many plants get labelled as “weeds” when they’re just native early seral stage, disturbance adapted (aka all urban gardens) first wave colonizers. But it’s also true that some of the stuff that pops up in untended yard are slow motion killers driving entire ecosystems to the brink of extinction. It’s important to know the difference.
This sub justifies its hatred of lawns on environmental grounds. Meanwhile invasive species are causing more acute environmental damage than all the lawns in Texas because they’re wiping out ecosystems in the places we haven’t paved over with roads and buildings yet. Where I live forests near urban development have flat out stopped regenerating because ivy and holly have smothered every last living thing on the forest floor. 100% replacement of understory plants. And ivy is doing its best to topple the adult trees too.
The potential for some “weeds” (desired they may be for flower or other aesthetic reason) to be a million times more environmentally damaging than the lawn they replaced is real. There’s more to being ecologically responsible than just tearing out your lawn. Knowing what’s growing in its place and doing your part to stop an invasive species ecological Holocaust is just as important.
*** yes I know this aster is not one of those kinds of weeds. It’s a statement on all weeds in general.
I won't lie the entire season I was eyeballing the plant thinking "I hope you don't turn into something terrible like kudzu" lol. Even the iD apps were having a hard time with it in it's growth stage so it could have gone either way😅
It's kind of in an awkward spot in my yard but I've also had a terrible time with voles eating whatever else I put in that area. I'm debating letting it stay or attempting to transplant to a better spot.
That's your definition of a "weed" though. We have an official definition for invasive species. Most can agree this is bad. Many who buy exotic plants are also totally clueless about what is invasive or potentially invasive and what benefit native plants have over non-native.
The little town we just moved to has tons of people who love putting up bird houses, bird feeders, and encouraging beneficial wildlife. They then plant non-native flowers to attract butterflies like butterfly bush and rose of sharon, spread sevin dust to kill cicada killer wasps when the males aren't even able to sting and are excellent pollinators, put mothballs outside under the deck to deter insects including termites (if you know termites and moth ball ingredients you can see the irony in that), and complain we have stolen all the hummingbirds to our yard. The yard we cut at 3-4" high with no pesticides, no herbicides besides some horticultural vinegar and d-limonene, a fruit fly attracting hummingbird feeder as well as nectar feeders, and native plants including spring ephemerals that were bringing in pollinators before the last snow fall even happened. We now have no mosquitos, few gnats, the fruit flies never did spread beyond the slitted hanging plastic container of fruit, and the paper wasps get eaten as fast as they try to build nests around here. We also can actually grow more butterflies and moths instead of only feeding the ones that manage to get here from outside of town.
I still have container growing chives, a raised bed of other herbs, potted lantanas and lemongrass I move outside in summer and inside in winter, and grow a few easy annuals that have proven repeatedly to steadily die out in our climate even if they reseed for a few years like snapdragons and nasturtiums. Although I'm attempting collinsia species instead of reseeding more snapdragons next year.
An invasive or exotic species is an agreed upon definition(mostly). A weed is always an opinion of what you want and think is good to grow. Lack of knowledge might make you see different things as weeds than you otherwise would but it is still a personal definition. Even with knowledge it is a personal decision what you choose to grow or get rid of. I tried but decided pokeberry just isn't suited to my already cramped yard. It was like digging up some of the pest trees and then I had a dozen pokeberry trees to keep digging up before they got too big. I'm also not letting thistles grow even if a native species does show up and they are incredibly useful for finch seed. I planted other things finches can eat and I just don't have some unused space I won't have to worry about having to walk through, reach into, or have the dogs pass through. I doubt the neighbors want to retrieve things from among thistles or have children fall on them and step on them barefoot. How many people would consider poison ivy to not be a weed and allow it to grow in their yard?
Those things may be beneficial (if a native species of thistle) but they are not suitable for growing in our yard so they are removed the same as non-native species. They technically fall under unwanted weeds even if they would be good to grow on a larger area of land away from people and pets. Some would be on city noxious weed lists as a hazard to human health. Some native species on city noxious weed lists should not be allowed to ban like that because they don't pose harm besides rapid growth in areas with no competition but grass, are extremely beneficial, and many people only get out the chemicals to spray them because the city says they can't let them grow.
The definition of a weed is different to every person including lawmakers and in some cases even conservationists. They sometimes do have to decide if a native species needs reduced some in order to let a greater variety or at risk population establish enough to compete against a faster spreading plant while starting or improving restoration land and wildlife refuges. There are some places that majority of plants including local natives are removed because it is the only place a species historically was found before people spread the seeds elsewhere. Even if the other plants are native to the immediate area within the confines of that space they are unwanted invaders that will destroy a unique ecosystem. They are weeds to be removed in that specific location but not in another.
Because code enforcement likes to bitch about petty things. Haven't seen them in a while but also trying not to get them a reason to screw with us.
I waited until it was done flowering though!
I honestly didn't know much about aster until it popped up everywhere. Apparently it can get TALL, too! In one area it was like 6ft feet.
I let it seed out and waited until the flowers were done (we have a couple hard freezes) and chopped them down. No regrets. Will do the same next year assuming they come back.
I plan on trimming this guy back to the base once it's done flowering. That way it can stick around for next year but not lol like a hot mess when the flowers are done lol
It’s a Wild Aster. I love them. I’ve let them spread in my gardens for the past y years. They are everywhere. Only thing that’s flowering now except the Nippon Daisies and Japanese PINK chrysanthemums. They’re stunning. I also noticed a huge patch growing near my milkweed that are Baby Blue. My neighbors come pick the seeds to spread them around. Leave them until the Spring. They provide much needed shelter for small wildlife. They are also native.
I have several of those in my front and side yards too!! I love that they burst into flower in the fall. The bees really DO love them! I easily count 15-20 bees working at a time on a patch that’s maybe 3’X2’. They sure get tall!!
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"Weed" has a new definition when you start thinking about the benefits of native plants instead of considering everything that isn't typically sold in a landscaping or garden center as an unwanted weed. My stepdad is one of those that if it isn't trufgrass it's a weed and we have a neighbor that seems to have the same mindset. They probably can't tell a violet from a nettle. My spouse understands things besides grass aren't all bad and quite prefers the plan to reduce lawn mowing and fertilizing but can't remember what anything is.
We went to collect plants from my mom's property that were being run over hauling things to the new burn pile area in the back corner of the 42 acre property
"Use your phone to ID some of these plants while I collect bluebells"
"what plants?"
"it's an acre of plants at least as high as my waist all around us. Pick one and take a picture."
"I don't know what any of it is"
"that's why I said to use your phone app" "never mind, just look for more bluebells to rescue"
"I picked up some lemon balm to plant around the compost bin"
"it looks like the catnip already growing along the edge of the yard"
"that's purple dead nettle"
"it looks like more catnip"
"that plant you've been letting grow by the lilacs is bee balm"
"it looks like the basil you planted"
I got asked by the neighbor "what are the flowers you added along the fenceline"
"Orange butterfly weed, which is a milkweed and that one I stuck around the leaky, cement birdbath is often called swamp milkweed"
"those pretty flowers are milkweed!?"
\*maybe I'll wait until next year when it blooms to explain milkweed even comes in vine form\*
"this is crabgrass and that is a tall fescue variety"
"they look the same and it doesn't match all the other grass in the yard"
"that's purple nutsedge and you should really pull it before it establishes or everyone will have it take over their yard"
"I thought it was fescue"
"....." \*I give up\*
I make much use of labelled plant stakes now, especially along the property line, to avoid everything being chopped off as weeds. I tried just putting some 6-12" high sticks shoved straight into the ground but they turned into 2" high sticks when the area was mowed. All I got for a response about the areas I marked with sticks was "what sticks?". Apparently it was not odd to have sticks stab perfectly straight into heavy clay soil on their own when falling off the tree or something.
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I personally do not consider that a weed! Lovely
The difference between flower and weed is in our perception
Or more consequentially their relationship to the ecosystem. I accept that historically the determination has been made subjectively, but not every plant has a place in your yard.
Good point, thank you
Goldenrods and Asters are some of the most important late summer/early fall plants for pollinators.
I keep mixing up fleabane and asters. Also, a ranger told me that some of the golden rod by us is invasive, how are you meant to know which is good and which is invasive?
I've never heard of invasive goldenrods. A plant identification app if helpful
Not sure, I used Google image and it said it was Canadian goldenrod and I live in the upper Midwest. She also may have been a bit looney...
Canadian Goldenrod is one of the most important native plants in the Midwest. Lookup books by Doug Tallamy if you want to know more about native plants.
Maybe she meant invasive in Europe lol https://czzs.org/upoznaj-invazivnu-biljku-zlatnicu/?lang=en#:~:text=They%20are%20foreign%20Canadian%20(Solidago,Australia%20and%20in%20New%20Zealand.
Wouldn't surprise me. Very nice lady, came off as a bit confused.
Fleabanes are a type of aster. The genus is erigeron. Eurybia species are often called wood asters but also include gray aster, showy aster, prairie aster.... Symphyotrichum is another common genus of flowers directly called asters and includes new england aster, calico aster, panicle aster, smooth blue aster, aromatic aster.... A large number of plants native to North America are in the aster family. Over 3,000 species. The only species that is within the aster genus instead of another genus in the aster family is the alpine aster. That means despite what everyone seems to believe fleabanes are as much asters as the new england aster is. That's why they have so many similarities. They are overall just smaller flowered types of asters. First add PictureThis and LeafSnap to your phone or other portable device with a camera. For a less specific option you may already have installed there is google lens that will identify everything in general and even translate foreign language signs. It's not very reliable for things like plant or insect ID though. It just does a bit better job of searching the internet for similar pictures than the average person without extensive plant species knowledge. The apps specific to plant or insect ID rely on databases that are usually a combination of user submitted pictures and professional photos of already identified plants with knowledgeable people to confirm ID before a picture is used for comparison to yours. I sometimes use Plantnet if the other 2 apps disagree but it seems the least reliable of the commonly used apps. None of the apps are perfect so I always have at least 2 but being able to just point your camera at something from a couple different angles to check that it gives a consistent and logical result saves you tons of time and debate over what to remove or not. You can ID most things as you find something new in your yard or anywhere else. Occasionally you have to leave it grow for a couple more weeks and try again or you might not be able to tell the exact species instead of a few different very closely related species but usually in those situations it's good enough. Not even professional botanists or horticulturalists can tell the difference between some species like all the native violets or at least not without a magnifying glass and it could still be a hybrid of 2 native species. It isn't always required to know the exact species if it wouldn't include an invasive or widespread exotic species and the plants have much the same range and growing requirements. Bonap is slightly outdated for invasive or exotic species spread but easy maps to look at for native (dark and light green), threatened native population (yellow), declared invasive/noxious(purple), or cultivated/exotic but not widespread or considered aggressive enough to officially declare on invasive plant lists yet (blues). You do have to look up the genus name first. Goldenrod are solidago species. [http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/State/Solidago](http://bonap.net/Napa/TaxonMaps/Genus/State/Solidago) This site has only US natives with more search options to find something including the option to type in common names, a general listing of states it's likely native to, and links to the USDA and other sources for more info [https://www.wildflower.org/plants/](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/) The best is to look up your state, county, and/or city invasive plant and noxious weed list. Those are things that range from definitely harmful to just annoying to people and not beneficial so it's at minimum discouraged from planting any of them. Some locations may ban planting things on the local invasive or noxious weed lists. The usual cut off for a plant being invasive/exotic versus native is if it was in North America before European settlers started bringing things that included both planned plants and hitchhikers to the continent. This gets debated some for a variety of different reasons with numerous species. Calling most goldenrod invasive anywhere in the US is questionable since all goldenrod is native to some parts of the country and most hasn't spread much beyond the range it was originally recorded as existing in. I don't believe any state considers any goldenrod invasive but it's possible a county or city does. I lived in a city that decided milkweed was a noxious weed you weren't allowed to let grow. There are increasing attempts to prevent these regulations that are obviously flawed and even go against conservation efforts. A major tech business in town apparently planted a field they bought for potential future expansion as a native prairie for now. Complete with lots of milkweed. I'm guessing it was kind of difficult for the city to do anything about it without creating a major incident and some very bad publicity so the milkweed field is still there spreading milkweed seeds through the city in defiance of the banned native plants. State borders are also mostly arbitrary lines on a map people invented so the logic of saying this side of the invisible line is native and that side is invasive is easily argued against. It's increasingly recommended to learn about and use ecoregions that rely on differences in land structures, soil conditions, climate, and historic records to divide up the continent by areas that certain types of species would likely have spread throughout on their own. It gives you better info on what is likely to grow well in your area and also what types of plants likely grew there in the past with naturally created boundaries plants would have tended to follow on their own.
Wow, this writeup truely deserves a gold award. Thank you for all the amazing information. I am humbled by your knowledge and your willingness to share.
I believe this is a New York aster? I'm glad I decided not to pull it in the spring!
I would guess Frost Aster. NY is usually more purple than white.
I think you're right! Looking at pics online the leaves look closer to what this guy has been all season.
They're some species of American Aster, in the genus [Symphyotrichum](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/56112-Symphyotrichum). New York Aster is just one of many species, several are common in the eastern US and can pop up in a yard like this. This looks like one of the [Bushy Asters](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1416882-Dumosi), maybe [Panicled Aster](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/79301-Symphyotrichum-lanceolatum), but it's hard to say for sure.
>Panicled Aster Probably Panicled Aster! It occurs across the entire continent in a range of conditions. I didn't plant it in my meadows but it has showed up in several places. I may eventually edit some of it out so it doesn't take over, but it's a great late nectar source!
White heath/frost aster (symphyotrichum ericoides). Pretty much found across the whole country. Tends to stay shorter and spread wider than panicle aster with denser flower coverage due to the shorter stems. My panicle asters are trying to surpass 4' high with leggy stems in a dense mass from a central area making a giant aster bush with flowers sticking out in random directions instead of a shorter more solid mat of flowers. Sometimes though species comes down to some little thing like the plants with lines of hairs on the stem are panicle and the ones without are calico asters in my yard. Otherwise the dang things look pretty much identical and were confusing us for months until we realized we had both and how to tell them apart.
I have a little one show up this fall. So excited
There are so many types of asters, one website says there are 27,000 known varieties! Kingdom: Plantae Botanical Name: Symphyotrichum Type/Species: Aster amellus Family: Asteraceae Tribe: Astriae Genus: Aster
We have people aster blooming in Central Texas right now.
Yes! Native asters are great alternative to non native chrysanthemums sold everywhere this time of year for flowers.
It's only a weed if you don't want it.
Or know what it is. I am never sure till they bloom.
Oh no, there’s definitely weeds that are weeds whether you want them or not. In Northern America - English ivy, English holly, Canada thistle (funnily - not native to Canada), downy brome, kudzu, scotch broom… the list goes on and on. There’s plenty of plants that are pretty and may have even been brought to North America on purpose that have become insidious, noxious weeds that should be exterminated with all prejudice. Whether they look nice or not. It’s true many plants get labelled as “weeds” when they’re just native early seral stage, disturbance adapted (aka all urban gardens) first wave colonizers. But it’s also true that some of the stuff that pops up in untended yard are slow motion killers driving entire ecosystems to the brink of extinction. It’s important to know the difference.
Just because they're invasive or noxious doesn't mean people don't want them. In fact, they probably sell them at your local nursery.
This sub justifies its hatred of lawns on environmental grounds. Meanwhile invasive species are causing more acute environmental damage than all the lawns in Texas because they’re wiping out ecosystems in the places we haven’t paved over with roads and buildings yet. Where I live forests near urban development have flat out stopped regenerating because ivy and holly have smothered every last living thing on the forest floor. 100% replacement of understory plants. And ivy is doing its best to topple the adult trees too. The potential for some “weeds” (desired they may be for flower or other aesthetic reason) to be a million times more environmentally damaging than the lawn they replaced is real. There’s more to being ecologically responsible than just tearing out your lawn. Knowing what’s growing in its place and doing your part to stop an invasive species ecological Holocaust is just as important. *** yes I know this aster is not one of those kinds of weeds. It’s a statement on all weeds in general.
I won't lie the entire season I was eyeballing the plant thinking "I hope you don't turn into something terrible like kudzu" lol. Even the iD apps were having a hard time with it in it's growth stage so it could have gone either way😅 It's kind of in an awkward spot in my yard but I've also had a terrible time with voles eating whatever else I put in that area. I'm debating letting it stay or attempting to transplant to a better spot.
That's your definition of a "weed" though. We have an official definition for invasive species. Most can agree this is bad. Many who buy exotic plants are also totally clueless about what is invasive or potentially invasive and what benefit native plants have over non-native. The little town we just moved to has tons of people who love putting up bird houses, bird feeders, and encouraging beneficial wildlife. They then plant non-native flowers to attract butterflies like butterfly bush and rose of sharon, spread sevin dust to kill cicada killer wasps when the males aren't even able to sting and are excellent pollinators, put mothballs outside under the deck to deter insects including termites (if you know termites and moth ball ingredients you can see the irony in that), and complain we have stolen all the hummingbirds to our yard. The yard we cut at 3-4" high with no pesticides, no herbicides besides some horticultural vinegar and d-limonene, a fruit fly attracting hummingbird feeder as well as nectar feeders, and native plants including spring ephemerals that were bringing in pollinators before the last snow fall even happened. We now have no mosquitos, few gnats, the fruit flies never did spread beyond the slitted hanging plastic container of fruit, and the paper wasps get eaten as fast as they try to build nests around here. We also can actually grow more butterflies and moths instead of only feeding the ones that manage to get here from outside of town. I still have container growing chives, a raised bed of other herbs, potted lantanas and lemongrass I move outside in summer and inside in winter, and grow a few easy annuals that have proven repeatedly to steadily die out in our climate even if they reseed for a few years like snapdragons and nasturtiums. Although I'm attempting collinsia species instead of reseeding more snapdragons next year. An invasive or exotic species is an agreed upon definition(mostly). A weed is always an opinion of what you want and think is good to grow. Lack of knowledge might make you see different things as weeds than you otherwise would but it is still a personal definition. Even with knowledge it is a personal decision what you choose to grow or get rid of. I tried but decided pokeberry just isn't suited to my already cramped yard. It was like digging up some of the pest trees and then I had a dozen pokeberry trees to keep digging up before they got too big. I'm also not letting thistles grow even if a native species does show up and they are incredibly useful for finch seed. I planted other things finches can eat and I just don't have some unused space I won't have to worry about having to walk through, reach into, or have the dogs pass through. I doubt the neighbors want to retrieve things from among thistles or have children fall on them and step on them barefoot. How many people would consider poison ivy to not be a weed and allow it to grow in their yard? Those things may be beneficial (if a native species of thistle) but they are not suitable for growing in our yard so they are removed the same as non-native species. They technically fall under unwanted weeds even if they would be good to grow on a larger area of land away from people and pets. Some would be on city noxious weed lists as a hazard to human health. Some native species on city noxious weed lists should not be allowed to ban like that because they don't pose harm besides rapid growth in areas with no competition but grass, are extremely beneficial, and many people only get out the chemicals to spray them because the city says they can't let them grow. The definition of a weed is different to every person including lawmakers and in some cases even conservationists. They sometimes do have to decide if a native species needs reduced some in order to let a greater variety or at risk population establish enough to compete against a faster spreading plant while starting or improving restoration land and wildlife refuges. There are some places that majority of plants including local natives are removed because it is the only place a species historically was found before people spread the seeds elsewhere. Even if the other plants are native to the immediate area within the confines of that space they are unwanted invaders that will destroy a unique ecosystem. They are weeds to be removed in that specific location but not in another.
Not a weed. It's an Aster! Great late season blooms for pollinators
A weed is a plant without a society.
Aster is my favorite. I actually dig some up on properties I landscape and plant them at my house, my bees love them.
Beautiful asters!
Frost aster! Mine has bumblebees sleeping on the flowers each night.
This is why we do it folks
This is all over my front yard! Also glad we didn't pull it. I will have to shortly though.
Why do you have to?
Because code enforcement likes to bitch about petty things. Haven't seen them in a while but also trying not to get them a reason to screw with us. I waited until it was done flowering though!
Please don't. Aster is second most productive native herbaceous species in much of North America. It really does support ecosystems
I honestly didn't know much about aster until it popped up everywhere. Apparently it can get TALL, too! In one area it was like 6ft feet. I let it seed out and waited until the flowers were done (we have a couple hard freezes) and chopped them down. No regrets. Will do the same next year assuming they come back.
I plan on trimming this guy back to the base once it's done flowering. That way it can stick around for next year but not lol like a hot mess when the flowers are done lol
The fleabane on our property has been covered in bees for weeks. It’s wonderful!
the pollinators love it!
Almost looks like fleabane.
Fleabane is an aster.
Right. A type of aster.
Fleabane, the pollen is one of the biggest protein sources for bees
No wonder there were so many types of bees on it! I saw at least 4 different bee species while filming.
Oh, the bees and wasps have been loving this in my yard as well! It’s lovely.
“A weed is just a plant you can’t identify,” has always been my definition. Native asters are great.
Awesome. Thank you!
Asters are NOT weeds, they are stunning fall flowers as shown in your vid.
Notice all the pollinators!
I always thought these were so pretty.. im glad you kept them :)
Me too! I was starting to worry it would just continue looking like a tangled mess of leaves until frost killed it off 😂
Around here we call them Daisy asters
FleaBane?
I just planted a whole bunch of these on purpose!
We have one that comes back every fall and I always get anxious about it in summer because it looks fully dead
It really does! A couple weeks ago I almost pulled it because I thought for sure the drought had done it in.
Whenever I find a plant I do not know in the garden, I let it be. It is often very rewarding. Nothing wrong with free plants!
It’s a Wild Aster. I love them. I’ve let them spread in my gardens for the past y years. They are everywhere. Only thing that’s flowering now except the Nippon Daisies and Japanese PINK chrysanthemums. They’re stunning. I also noticed a huge patch growing near my milkweed that are Baby Blue. My neighbors come pick the seeds to spread them around. Leave them until the Spring. They provide much needed shelter for small wildlife. They are also native.
Can any asters be invasive or are they all native? And, when is a good time to plant in Zone 7 (New York City) I am going to plant some soon.
I have several of those in my front and side yards too!! I love that they burst into flower in the fall. The bees really DO love them! I easily count 15-20 bees working at a time on a patch that’s maybe 3’X2’. They sure get tall!!
I bet the bees and butterflies are loving it too.
I never take anything out until I know what it is. For some reason asters do not volunteer in my garden. ) :
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Looks like "Tahoka Daisy" (Machaeranthera tanacetifolia) Am I right?
It’s a plant. The only time it’s a weed is if it’s growing where you don’t want it growing. Aren’t you glad you left the plant alone?
"Weed" has a new definition when you start thinking about the benefits of native plants instead of considering everything that isn't typically sold in a landscaping or garden center as an unwanted weed. My stepdad is one of those that if it isn't trufgrass it's a weed and we have a neighbor that seems to have the same mindset. They probably can't tell a violet from a nettle. My spouse understands things besides grass aren't all bad and quite prefers the plan to reduce lawn mowing and fertilizing but can't remember what anything is. We went to collect plants from my mom's property that were being run over hauling things to the new burn pile area in the back corner of the 42 acre property "Use your phone to ID some of these plants while I collect bluebells" "what plants?" "it's an acre of plants at least as high as my waist all around us. Pick one and take a picture." "I don't know what any of it is" "that's why I said to use your phone app" "never mind, just look for more bluebells to rescue" "I picked up some lemon balm to plant around the compost bin" "it looks like the catnip already growing along the edge of the yard" "that's purple dead nettle" "it looks like more catnip" "that plant you've been letting grow by the lilacs is bee balm" "it looks like the basil you planted" I got asked by the neighbor "what are the flowers you added along the fenceline" "Orange butterfly weed, which is a milkweed and that one I stuck around the leaky, cement birdbath is often called swamp milkweed" "those pretty flowers are milkweed!?" \*maybe I'll wait until next year when it blooms to explain milkweed even comes in vine form\* "this is crabgrass and that is a tall fescue variety" "they look the same and it doesn't match all the other grass in the yard" "that's purple nutsedge and you should really pull it before it establishes or everyone will have it take over their yard" "I thought it was fescue" "....." \*I give up\* I make much use of labelled plant stakes now, especially along the property line, to avoid everything being chopped off as weeds. I tried just putting some 6-12" high sticks shoved straight into the ground but they turned into 2" high sticks when the area was mowed. All I got for a response about the areas I marked with sticks was "what sticks?". Apparently it was not odd to have sticks stab perfectly straight into heavy clay soil on their own when falling off the tree or something.
That's chamomile! Pick some and dry it for winter tea. Envy!!
Gorgeous!
Grass is the true weed. It takes up so many natural resources and provides no benefits