Get motivated to start using native plants in the landscape

My grandpa was a Ninja.

There's no other way to explain his toenails. They were sharp enough to cut holes through his slippers. I'm not kidding. Maybe he used them to climb walls. Like a Ninja. Maybe he used them as switchblades. Like a Ninja.

He used to sit on the porch as still as a stump, moving only to raise a Budweiser to his lips, ever so slowly. He chewed tobacco without spitting. Not very Ninja-like, I know, but if you've ever chewed tobacco, it seems quite impossible not to spit. Almost superhuman.

He didn't look like much of a threat, but I suppose that was the point. Like a Ninja.

Invasive plants have the same effect. They look harmless, even beautiful, but can be quite troublesome. Some invasive species have been purposely introduced into our ecosystem because they are fast-growing and pest-free, and that's precisely why they've become a problem. Not all plants introduced from another continent, referred to as exotics, are invasive. Native plants, however, rarely are.

Natives are well-adapted to our environment. However, finding an exact definition for a native plant is difficult. You could say that it's a plant that's been growing here a long time, but that's vague. Some people suggest at least 500 years. If we use 500 years as our measuring stick, that means plants introduced from another continent before that time could technically become native. There are a lot of variables.

Native plants are not immune to insects. The fact that insects feed on them is precisely why we should use them. However, many of our most popular landscape plants are pest-free exotics. I was never really motivated to use native plants versus a noninvasive exotic, but Doug Thallamy's book, "Bringing Nature Home," has given me reason to reconsider. His reasoning goes something like this:

Plants are the first trophic level in our ecosystem. They capture sunlight and convert it into energy. In order to pass this energy to the higher levels of our ecosystem, plants are consumed by herbaceous organisms. Insects make up a critical link in this energy transfer. Pound for pound, they contain more protein than beef. As insects consume foliage, they are eaten by birds and other organisms. Up the food chain the energy goes.

The biodiversity of an ecosystem is a balancing act between insects and other organisms that keep plants from becoming invasive and plants that limit their attackers' ability to spread. Plants don't like to be eaten. They produce chemical compounds to ward off insects. The majority of insects are specialists that feed on only a few hosts by producing digestive enzymes that can break down certain plant toxins. However, the evolution of this ability takes a long time to develop.

However, even if exotic plants are not invasive, they're less likely to feed as many insects as natives. They will use sunlight, water and nutrients but limit the amount of energy shared with the rest of the ecosystem by hosting fewer insects. Eventually, insects will evolve to feed on exotic plants, but this could take thousands of years.

Thallamy goes on to present this effect on birds.

While birds feed on berries, they rely almost exclusively on earthworms, caterpillars and various insects to feed their young. This highlights the importance of insect availability to birds during nesting and the presence of natives in our landscape.

It's difficult to persuade someone to plant stuff that's going to get eaten, but consider a naturalized area in your yard and use various native plants that can sustain insect damage.

Reduce your turf and plant more beds with a variety of plants, such as ground cover, trees and shrubs.

To get a list of native plants, visit www.wildflower.org or www.plantnative.org.

Or e-mail me for a list at tbertauski@sc.rr.com.

My grandpa slept silently, too, and in the same position every night. Looking at the evidence, I'm guessing he slept with one eye open.

Tony Bertauski teaches horticulture at Trident Technical College. E-mail him at tony.bertauski@tridenttech.edu.