CHAT RE: Consolidated List of Plants for Birds...

Please use this thread to discuss the "List of Plants and the Birds Who Love Them" thread. Let's save the other thread for detailed information only.

Thanks!

Pelletory:

Sorry for being booted off the other thread, and for the misread of where you live. I mistook the commentary about MD for your location.

The mountains of NJ are a perfectly good habitat for Sorbus americana, especially if meeting its cultural requirements.

Marlton...that's roughly NJ Turnpike and Coastal Plain territory? I think you will have a tough time not having a lot of disease problems with this species, but give it a go and report back. The cedar waxwings will appreciate it as long as it lasts.

Thanks Viburnum. I'm actually 15-20 minutes from Philadelphia and an hour from the Jersey coast no mountains nearby unfortunately.

Thanks for your help. :-)

Since I'm viewing our list as a repository for everyone to work from, maybe it would be easier if people compiled their inputs relative to their respective geographical areas?

Working with species indigenous to one's own geographical area is always best. We may all be easterners and many of the plants we can work with will be similar but each little ecosystem is unique in its own right.

Yes wrightie!! That's exactly right, we all need to list out plants that are indigenous to our areas and what works for us. Then when somebody comes on and isn't too far from one of us, they can use our lists as a reference point. Or what Equil said! lol...;)

I received a news letter from the Reflection Riding Arboretum in Chattanooga TN. They have an article on Morus rubra, the native mulberry tree and they talk about Morus albra, the white mulberry and how it came to be in the USA. I found it interesting, so I thought I'd share it.

Excellent quote!

Big differences between the native Morus rubra and the formally identified as an exotic invasive species Morus alba. They hybridize which creates more issues. Best to buy Red Mulberry from a reputable nursery to ensure you are really getting the mild mannered great for NA wildlife Red Mulberry. Don't be afraid to ask the nursery before you order. I did and was told that since the parentage couldn't be guaranteed due to open pollination that there was a possibility I would be receiving M. rubra x M. alba. I didn't purchase Red Mulberry from that nursery. I wanted the straight species.

I'm sorry, I didn't realize the white mulberry was a non-native and potentially invasive introduction... it seemed like a logical replacement to me for locations where the technicolor bird poo doo would be an issue.

Mulberries will definitely spread by seed wherever they are planted... that's how the "fence row" of trees behind us started, I'm sure, with birds eating mulberries and wild cherries, then sitting on the fence and doing what came naturally. I do pull up a lot of little mulberry seedlings each spring/summer -- and if you miss them when they're little, they can be tenacious.

Another thing that they talk about is that you must have a male and female plant. I didn't realize they weren't monoecious. They also mention that the two can hybridize, resulting in the M. rubra x M. alba that Equil talked about. I want to plant Morus rubra out at my parents house. I'd love to have some here, but our property is just to small to handle 2 or more.

I've got at least three M. rubra that are established! I'm thrilled.

No need to be sorry at all! There's truly nothing for us to be sorry about. It's not like we went out and peppered the landscape with them. I remove them everytime I see them. I'm getting pretty good at telling the difference between the two of them just feeling the leaves.

Morus alba in nat a potentially invasive introduction to the continent of NA. The White Mulberries are well documented as already being an exotic invasive capable of wreaking havoc on the environment. And all of their cultivars follow suit.

Here's a map of the states in which Morus alba has naturalized displacing indigenous flora that is beneficial to wildlife-
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MOAL

Check out the shaded areas of the map. That's 48 out of 50 states in which Morus alba has been documented as having a foothold in our environment. Not good.