Six Characteristics of Invasive Plants

Observations from the field.

A month ago—probably too late for this year, to be honest—I prepared an identification handbook for the weekly maintenance service in English and Spanish with pictures of common invasive plants at Puddock Hill.

Landscape crews in these parts generally hail from Mexico or Guatemala, and these guys all are native Spanish speakers, recent immigrants with limited English. I suppose they spend most days on automatic pilot, mowing the same spots…string trimming around buildings…blowing grass clippings. Pack the equipment. Drive off. Repeat.

Here at Puddock Hill, where we do things differently, they are rising to the challenge, and while they don’t always get it right (who does?), I sometimes look at the results with amazement—how, when told to matar solo los malos, they will indeed leave a delicate native or two standing in what had been a sea of invasives.