Downward dog your way to removing invasive geranium

“Invasive plants are a serious problem; removing them doesn’t have to be”

To help Portlanders get outside while staying home, the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services is encouraging people to maintain a weed workout (not that kind).

Starting now, Environmental Services recommends people get out in their yards and identify and remove invasive plants: Bend, pull, dig, stretch. We can help with our Weed Workout video and tips:

https://youtu.be/tmkaAjPRQ8U

You will accomplish several things at once: Stay home, get fresh air, get exercise, and keep your yard beautiful. You also will help prevent ivy, clematis, certain geraniums and other invasive plants from spreading far and wide and damaging the natural areas and rivers we love and rely on.

Don’t have a yard? See if you can safely help a neighbor. We’re all in this together and we’re all connected.

Why this is important: Some of the fastest growing plants in your yard are weeds -and some of those weeds are aggressive enough that they quickly spread and take over. These invasive plants, which originated elsewhere and tend to overrun our native flora,are a leading cause of damage to ecosystems and wildlife habitat as well as the City’s stormwater infrastructure.

“Invasive plants are a serious problem, removing them doesn’t have to be,” said Michael Jordan, Environmental Services’ Director. “Stay home, be outside, pull those weeds, and have fun knowing you are doing a great deal of good for your neighbors and for our environment.”

Here are some plants and tips to get you started: 

Follow along with our Weed Workout video or skip ahead for more tips and resources.

• Look first. Spring is bird nesting season. If you’re lucky enough to spot a nest, either on the ground or up in a mess of ivy in a tree, please leave it and the weeds alone until those baby birds grow up and fly away.
• Start easy with shiny geranium and herb Robert geranium. These two invasive geraniums are easy to pull from the roots. With red stems and pink flowers, they look pretty BUT they quickly take over your yard and overrun other plants. Herb Robert geranium is also called stinky Bob because… it smells bad. You don’t want it in your yard. So pull these weeds now, and then come back through the season to pull new plants before they flower and go to seed.
• Pick up the pace by pulling ivy.  You know ivy - it’s all over Forest Park where the City is methodically removing this European transplant and restoring native plants. Let’s keep that progress going - your yard is also wildlife habitat. Prevent that ivy from climbing trees and forming mats on the ground. Clip, pull, repeat. You’re doing great.
• Get a full-season workout with climbing Clematis Vitalba (Also called old man’s beard or traveler’s joy). This vine starts small, green, and innocent. But it has the power to climb tall trees and hedges, grow tough and woody stems, and wrap itself around anything it can. Once you meet it, you won’t forget it. So start pulling, and then keep monitoring. It will be back. But so will you. If you can’t pull it from a tree, consider cutting the stems in two near the base.
• Keep it going! The key to fitness is to repeat your workout. Over time you will see a difference - fewer weeds, healthier gardens and natural areas, and hopefully, you’ll feel great too. Give yourself a round of applause, then get back in the garden and bend, pull, dig, repeat.

Are there more weeds? Yes.

Environmental Services and our partners have additional resources for you so you can add variety to your workout and keep it going:

• Environmental Services’ invasive plant poster – here you can see pictures of other invasive plants and tips to remove them. 
• Environmental Services’ Green Street Stewards program has an illustrated weed guide.
• Ask an expert. If you don’t know a plant, take a picture and post it with your question to Oregon State University’s Extension Service.

Finally, with more space now that the weeds are gone, you may be ready to plant native plants and even become a certified backyard habitat.

So stay home, get fit, and enjoy the benefits of your weed workout. Want to send us pictures of your own weed workout (not that kind)? Tag us on Twitter @BESPortland #weedworkout 

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The City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services provides city residents with programs to protect water quality and public health, including wastewater collection and treatment, sewer construction and maintenance, stormwater management, and stream and watershed restoration. Follow @BESPortland and www.portlandoregon.gov/bes.