At the very northwest corner of the home built at Angelkeep grows a waist-high spiraea bush. It anchored the north end of a flower bed created in the year 2000. Other plants in the bed included a beautiful matching color Rose of Sharon to the south. Between them a climbing rose bush flourished that created large clusters of red roses.
At one point the rose bush began climbing into the aluminum soffit of the home’s overhang. That’s invasive. Similarly, at the south end, the Rose of Sharon grew higher than the roofline and forced branches to bend away from the house overhang. The purplish-pink spiraea to the north grew slow but sure, settling after a few years on the belt-high stature, never dreaming of anything greater.
The larger pair in the bed required trimming back, the rose being forced onto a trellis with the bending of the stalks downward to avoid their attempt to grow into the house. The Rose of Sharon was given a cut as it eventually removed the daylight and view from the bedroom window, even though the roots were growing off to the side of the windowpanes.
The large pair became home to many a nest of birds over the years. Then as happens to so many plants, death came calling. Without warning each in their own time simply died over a winter and never greened in the following spring. Deep roots were sadly dug, with much extended efforts.
Eventually the spiraea became the largest and only flowering plant growing in the bed. It remained at its waist-high beauty, stretching only horizontally to the width of the bed. It remained such now for two dozen years.
Suddenly out of nowhere, well actually on Facebook, a notification appeared for what to choose for planting when eradicating the invasive Spiraea japonica. It was known as Japanese spiraea in layman’s terms. Photos of the dreaded invasive plant came as a huge surprise to Angelkeep. It was the spitting image of the northern anchor spiraea that continued to grow in its own assigned spot.
Judging from available information via Google searching, the verdict on Japanese spiraea depends upon whom you listen to, and in which state you live. More important was found that one should simply look at what’s happening right in your own backyard, so to speak.
Was it hype? Was it fake news, as so often the case in politics? Was the world about to be inundated with the dreaded Spiraea-19, an invasive so contagious that all of humanity loomed doomed? Define “invasive” please!
The great state of North Carolina votes in favor of the “I” brand. Ms. Cook, from the great state of Indiana asked Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS) on their Facebook post, “Why is spirea (sic) japonica considered a NEW invasive?”
There are two Indiana native spiraea varieties suggested by INPS, pushed as a replacement for the oriental version. The author of the original post, whose name will remain unstated here, replied to the query stating only a handful of reports indicated it had strayed from the original landscaping location in Indiana. Thus the Invasive Plant Advisory Committee remained unable to add it to Indiana’s invasive plant list. She almost begged for others to find invasive spiraea plants and report them to eddmaps.
This logic appeared a few years ago when a large iceberg moving toward the Atlantic was suggested by some that eventually New York City would be under water. It seems “hype” is the truest invasive, it’s spreading like wildfire in every area of society. Even the world of spiraea.
At Angelkeep invasiveness was taken seriously enough to give it a good look. Invasive did appear at the site of Angelkeep’s Japanese spiraea bush. However, it did not come from the spiraea growing out of its assigned space. The lawn grass and thistles were invading the land belonging to the spiraea.
Perhaps the INPS Facebook page needs a post to warn Hoosier homeowners of the hazards of lawn grasses in their yard. As an alternative, pavement is not invasive.
Angelkeep decided to live and let live, including its 24-year-old belt-high beautiful purple Japanese spiraea bush. Hype and untruths seemed to be growing rapidly, invasive to the nines, on social media. Facebook should come with an Attorney General’s warning label. But that gets politics involved, and who wants politics on Facebook?
Mr. Daugherty is a Wells County resident who, along with his wife Gwen, enjoy their backyard and have named it “Angelkeep.”
