pernicious weeds

[ceterach]

Originally Posted by animartco

Hi Meta Menardi- I sympathise! I have never had ground elder in my garden (touch wood!) but I once had a garden that was full of horsetail. Both these weeds have rootstocks that radiate out from down in the subsoil.

Not true for Ground Elder, it is relatively shallow rooted, unfortunately like Rhododendron it apparently secretes chemicals in the soil that inhibit gtrowth of other species. Horsetail on the other hand as you say has roots that can go down many feet down.

[animartco]

Thank you Ceterach. Yes I thought horsetail roots went on for ever. But surely you couldn't get at the rootstock of ground elder either without double digging could you? I imagine it's about equivalent to soapwort which I can't eradicate from my flower bed. (Don't want to eradicate it from anywhere else, it is very pretty and smells lovely but made the mistake of putting it in a bed.)
Fortunately I have never had ground elder (touch wood!) though I did once move to a garden full of horsetail.
The point about a garden, any garden, is that it should have a greater variety of plants in it than an equivalent piece of rough land. This is better for wildlife, especially the rarer species of insects.

[Susie]

Trouble is, your approach seems a bit hit and miss to me. Which rare species of insect do you have in your area which you are trying to encourage? If you do have something in particular in mind then surely growing food plants specificially for them in larger quantities is a better approach? Growing plants for rare insects which are never likely to come within 50 miles of where you live is a bit pointless. If a rare species did turn up in your garden having a single plant of whatever it is you have planted isn't going to support a colony.

For example, I grow lots of blackthorn in the garden but then there are brown hairstreak butterflies in the area, a BAP species, and they successfully lay their eggs on my garden blackthorn. There would be no point in my planting elm as there aren't white letter hairstreaks here.

[aeshna5]

I agree with your more rational approach Susie- that is much more sound advise!

[Neil Jones]

Originally Posted by Susie

For example, I grow lots of blackthorn in the garden but then there are brown hairstreak butterflies in the area, a BAP species, and they successfully lay their eggs on my garden blackthorn. There would be no point in my planting elm as there aren't white letter hairstreaks here.

That is great! Having brown hairstreaks breeding in the garden.
Do you ever get to see the adults?

For those who are not butterfly fanatics I should point out that this can be
a rather secretive species and we survey for its presence by looking for the eggs.

I agree with your rational approach. We should remember that ALL native plants have a role in native ecology. You look rationally at the subject and make a decision on the information you have.

I have actually grown docks. for Large Copper caterpillars, the adults make superb photographic subjects. The Dutch call them Groete Vuurvlinders, Great Fire Butterflies.

[animartco]

I was generalising Susie and Neil, and thinking more of the preservation of plants than of insects. As you both point out, you need a lot of specialist knowledge to provide the right plants for rare insects. How would I go about finding out which rare insect I have locally? The only one I know of is a green hedge cricket, -and I really should be looking it up to see how it differs from the other great greens I have in my garden, But would this need a specific plant?
I would have thought (generalizing again) that, in the case of butterflies a selection in a garden would be best. If you strike lucky with just one plant in your garden it creates a corridor - forges another link in the chain for any species to move its boundaries and cross breed. Too large a stand of a plant that is usually only found dotted about, on the other hand; would promote inbreeding and possibly foster disease.
Obviously this doesn't apply to the plants (trees) you mention, which can be found naturally in quite large clumps.
I think what you are doing is great and really must find out a rare insect to grow things for! Oh, P.S. What to glow worms feed on?

[aeshna5]

Adult Glow-worms don't tend to feed much but the larvae are predators of snails + slugs, so beneficial to gardeners.

As to your cricket, other than Great-green Bush-cricket, the only other 2 green species likely to be in a hedge are probably Oak BC + Speckled BC.

[Susie]

Originally Posted by Neil Jones

That is great! Having brown hairstreaks breeding in the garden.
Do you ever get to see the adults?

For those who are not butterfly fanatics I should point out that this can be
a rather secretive species and we survey for its presence by looking for the eggs.

I agree with your rational approach. We should remember that ALL native plants have a role in native ecology. You look rationally at the subject and make a decision on the information you have.

I have actually grown docks. for Large Copper caterpillars, the adults make superb photographic subjects. The Dutch call them Groete Vuurvlinders, Great Fire Butterflies.

I've never seen large copper, they are on my wish list.

And yes, I often see brown hairstreak in the garden from the end of July through August.

[animartco]

Originally Posted by aeshna5

Adult Glow-worms don't tend to feed much but the larvae are predators of snails + slugs, so beneficial to gardeners.

As to your cricket, other than Great-green Bush-cricket, the only other 2 green species likely to be in a hedge are probably Oak BC + Speckled BC.

Thank you Aeshna. Thats funny I remember this article about an acre being set aside in a local wood, as a reserve and the picture resembled a great green, but the name they gave was a popular one. I don't think I remember mention of oak.
Well I have loads of slugs and snails in my garden. But where are the glowworms? Boohoo.