What plant can I use to replace Dame’s Rocket, an invasive, in my garden?
Question:
I see from your list that Dames Rocket is an invasive plant. I do have some in my garden and want to replace it with something similar. Do you have any suggestions? Also, where can I get a good list of natives that I can use in my flower garden.
Answer:
As it happens, the State of Maine has a nice resource page on Dame’s rocket, in which they give a short list of similar species. The native, Fireweed (Chamaelion angustifolium), can be an aggressive spreader, so I hesitate to recommend you planting it in a garden setting. Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata) on the other hand isn’t native, but is very well behaved and looks similar to Dame’s rocket.
For natives, please check out these two resources:
UMaine Cooperative Bulletin #2500, Gardening to Conserve Maine’s Native Landscape
UMaine Cooperative Extension “Plants for the Maine Landscape”
Happy gardening.