English ivy (Hedera helix) may conjure up images of cozy, country cottages, but don’t be deceived. This invasive weed can destroy buildings, poison pets, and topple trees. The very characteristics that made it a popular ornamental plant – grows quickly, requires little maintenance, provides a “no-mow,” evergreen ground cover — are the things that have […]
We are celebrating another year in the books! With the new year rapidly approaching, we wanted to take a moment to stop and reflect on our many accomplishments and challenges over the past year. We have been doing a lot of reflection as we work on our end of year reporting and plan for the […]
We’ve been making a list, And checking it twice, Now its time to find out Who has been naughty and nice! It is a WeedWise tradition for each of our staff to select our annual “Naughty and Nice” plants for the year. Check out the latest from our staff in this fun holiday tradition! Happy […]
English holly (Ilex aquifolium) is a popular evergreen frequently noticed during the month of December when festive decorators “deck the halls with boughs of holly”. For many people, the shiny, dark green leaves and red berries of holly are synonymous with the holiday season. This popular plant, however, is not native to Oregon. In fact, […]
The Scourge of Spurge Laurel Spurge laurel (Daphne laureola) is neither a spurge nor a laurel, but rather an invasive plant in the Daphne family. This perennial plant has poisonous berries, spreads aggressively in our native forests, and is increasingly being found in Clackamas County. Native to Europe, spurge laurel was introduced in Oregon as […]
A reality stranger than fiction Straight out of a script from a classic 1950s horror film, a local pond is mysteriously overtaken by multitudes of gelatinous brain-like blobs. These blobs appeared, seemingly overnight to dominate a pond, causing immediate concern from the affected landowner. It is not hard to imagine that if you found these […]
The Thorn in Our Side Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) tantalizes us with its sweet fruits in the summer and tortures us with its prickly vines all year long. Also known as Armenian Blackberry, this wide-spread and aggressive weed is native to Armenia and Northern Iran. It is considered an invasive species in many parts of […]
We are very pleased to welcome the newest member of the WeedWise team! The WeedWise program is pleased to announce our newest staff member Courtney Gattuso! Courtney joins us our team as a WeedWise Specialist and as the new shared Coordinator for the 4-County CWMA and Columbia Gorge CWMA. This complex but rewarding position not […]
American Pokeweed The WeedWise program recently received a report of a new invasive weed in our area known as American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). This observation comes to us from the city of Canby was it has been observed growing along a sidewalk. The affected landowner reported that the pokeweed grew rapidly to establish within one […]
September is the Time to Control Japanese Knotweed Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) has been called a “nightmare” and a “botanical bully,” and is one of the 100 worst global invaders. These characterizations give you a pretty good idea of just how unwelcome this invasive weed is in our community. Japanese knotweed is fast-growing and hardy, […]
