City staff have been asked to start drafting a bylaw prohibiting the sale of some common flowers and vines that are on the hit list of the Invasive Species Council of B.C.
The City of Nanaimo is considering a bylaw that would ban local retailers and nurseries from selling invasive plant species such as foxglove, baby’s breath and English ivy.
A council committee asked staff this week to start drafting a bylaw that would prohibit the sale of some common flowers and vines that are on the hit list of the Invasive Species Council of B.C.
The bylaw would also include a campaign to promote native plants and non-invasive alternatives.
City staff surveyed six local garden centres in June and found many were selling plants on the council’s invasive list, including buddleja Davididii (butterfly bush, summer lilac), digitalis Purpuera (foxglove) and hypericum calycinum (St. John’s wort).
Staff also found plants found in some wildflower mixes were invasive, including mountain bluet, wild chervil, bur parsley and spotted knapweed.
Gail Wallin, executive director of the Invasive Species Council, applauded Nanaimo council’s move, noting more than 60% of the invasive plants in B.C. were intentionally planted at one point.
Wallin said dozens of invasive plant species that can harm native species and local ecosystems have taken hold across the province, including English ivy and Scotch broom.
“The real key is to prevent new ones from coming into the province and being planted,” she said, calling for stronger provincial regulations and a co-ordinated effort on enforcement.
The city report notes that with limited natural predators and rapid growth cycles, invasive plants can out-compete native plants and be challenging to manage. The report said invasive plants can alter river flows, erode banks, create fire hazards and damage infrastructure, adding many contain substances that can threaten human and pet health.
The Invasive Species Council of British Columbia notes, for example, that every part of the foxglove plant — often found growing along roadsides, waste areas and forests and gardens — is extremely poisonous.
“In fact, the compound digitalis, used in heart medication, was originally sourced from the foxglove plant because of the effects it has on the cardiac system when ingested,” the council says on its website.
Foxglove is also prolific. A single foxglove specimen can produce 5,000 seeds each season.
The council has identified several species of concern in the Nanaimo region, including daphne, Himalayan blackberry, Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed, English Ivy and Scotch broom.
Nanaimo ecological consultant Hunter Jarratt told the committee banning the sale of invasive species is an important step, as the city and dozens of volunteers in work parties battle the spread of invasive species.
“As we watch areas like Bowen Park, Colliery Dam and Jack Point being consumed by species like English ivy, it is beyond the time to stop the sales,” said Jarratt. “It’s bewildering going to stewardship events with volunteers cutting and pulling English ivy and then seeing it on store shelves.”
Jarratt said invasive species are often sold as fast-spreading ground cover that attracts pollinators. “So it’s greenwashing to the highest extent,” he said. “Awareness campaigns are great, but a [ban] is the big piece that’s missing.”
He said communities such as Oak Bay and the Regional District of Squamish, as well as in Alberta and Ontario, have similar retail bans.
The city report said current provincial legislation, including the Weed Control Act, includes species that are outdated and there is little effective means of enforcement. Provincial ministries and the federal government are reviewing their policies to improve regulations on the sales of plants and seeds, the report said.
It said a bylaw could be implemented gradually, with local retailers initially contacted at the time of business-licence renewals. What species would be included in the bylaw and what penalties would be implemented still needs to be determined.
Coun. Paul Manley said one of council’s next steps should be pressing the provincial government for a B.C.-wide ban on the sale of invasive species.
The Invasive Species Council of B.C. has compiled a booklet calledGrow Me Instead, listing 33 of the province’s most “unwanted” plants and some of the native and exotic plant alternatives.
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