Banish boneseed

This month’s pest plant is boneseed, also known as salt bush. Originally brought in as an ornamental from South Africa, it proved to be a pest (surprise!) because it readily colonises dry areas and soon prevents anything else from growing. This poses a threat to our coastal vegetation. Young plants have soft pale green leaves, growing quickly to a substantial and hardy bush with pretty yellow flowers.

It gets its name from the thousands of small hard seeds it produces. These are spread by birds so you’ll see new plants popping up in your garden.

If you see it please help to stop it spreading. Small plants can easily be pulled out by hand, but bigger ones need to be dug out or sprayed. Seeds can remain viable for ten years, so if you kill off a mature plant with seeds on it please dispose of the plant. Places to check for moth plant include roadsides, cliff-tops and coastal areas.

You can find more information about boneseed on the Weedbuster site.