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  RE: [Aroid-l] Invasive plants
From: "ron" <ronlene at bellsouth.net> on 2004.08.28 at 15:36:14(12075)
To all of those who think it's OK to grow "just a few"
invasive plants "at home",
I live in Florida and volunteer with the Agriculture
Extension Service here. I read lots of information about the damage that
the imported invasive Genera of flora and fauna are causing to
our natives. Most of these living things were imported with good intentions, to
beautify our land, to protect from insect and animal predators, to improve
our food supply, and lastly, to profit from in business. Most
of these intentions worked fine for a while, but the long term effects are
starting to become apparent now, AND it is to late to reverse much of it.
I cannot go into the details of all of the individual species that are the
villains, but I am sure you have read about most of them.

Our country has thousands of natives that should make most
of us happy. As Aroid lovers, there are hundreds of aroids that have
passed the test of time for environmental safety. We should think very
carefully before we try to import and plant any species that does not have a
proven environmental safety record. It's always nice to have something
that no one else has, but by owning it, you assume the responsibility of
quarantining it until you are confident that it will not be invasive, because it
may escape. I believe this testing should be left to the
trusted professional grower.
We all take great pride in our collection. Lets also
take great pride in our environment! DON'T GROW INVASIVE
PLANTS!! Ron Kessler

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