Rooting out the ‘bad’ weeds

City officials want to root out non-native plants on private property that have escaped and invaded the city’s open space.

The City Council gave preliminary approval Sept. 15 to the addition of five plants to the list of noxious weeds that property owners must eradicate or the city will do it and bill them for the work.

“We have no money or staff to do this, so we will do the same as Oceanside and rely on the public to identify the plants and then we’ll put them on the weed abatement list,” said City Manager Ken Frank.

The list proposed for eradication originally included Arundo donax, Cortaderia selloana, artichoke thistle and Penniestum setaceum — all identified by staff as highly invasive and injurious to native vegetation and possible fire or flood hazards.

Cape Ivy was added to the list at the request of Laguna Greenbelt Inc. President Elisabeth Brown.

“We have an El Niño [heavy winter rains] coming this winter and Cape Ivy needs moisture — then it spreads,” Brown said.

She also asked to have the list include tree tobacco, which follows fire.

“It would be nice to get it while it’s young,” Brown said.

However, Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson could not find it on the state list of objectionable non-natives and said it could be added later if needed.

Many of the undesirable plants are found in the Encycloweedia and at www.cdfa.ca.gov/PHPPS/IPC/weedinfo/winfo_list-commname.htm.

But many of them are also found in local gardens.

“I have eight of them in my garden, all drought-tolerant,” said landscape architect Scott Sebastian, a member of the city’s Environmental Committee, which supports the eradication of the listed plants.

The committee expects the list to be expanded. A second reading of the proposal is required before adoption, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 6.