Not sure if all the 'new members' who are posting about invasive species mentioned and seemingly recommended in the most recent newsletter (Ailanthus altissima/Tree of Heaven) are the same person but they DO have a valid point. @dave

I can't remember seeing the Tree of Heaven in the last newsletter. Is there a copy of the newsletters online as well? Did it recommend planting it?

I never consider anything in it though as pushing us to plant something, just information about whatever plant pops up. Does anyone here do that without researching what a plant is?

Never mention an invasive species? What's invasive in one area is welcome in another. Seems the newsletter will inevitably mention something that some area considers bad for them and not sure how to go about never offending some people with just a plant mentioned in a newsletter.

This was brought up previously with another plant. See Calif_Sue's response.

The thread "Chinese Tallow Tree" in Site Talk forum

Sue's response is good and bears re-reading.

People seem to have very strong feelings about invasive species. It becomes a sort of personal issue, or campaign, or whatever for some folks to promote awareness of the dangers associated with these plants. They interpret a plant being included in the newsletter as some kind of reverse campaign promoting it, when the reality is that information is being put out there for people to learn about plants, nothing more. It is not promotion.

I wish people would add comments about the invasive quality of plants in certain climates without attacking the newsletter or the site for making information available. The cluster of comments here would seem to reflect some organized effort (dare I use the word campaign?) but that is pure speculation on my part.

It has come up several times before but the reason the database does not have a category for "invasive species" is that an invasive species in one climate would barely be able to survive, let alone compete in another. We have terribly invasive species here in our mild zone 11 climate that people view as pretty ornamental plants in colder climates. They can survive the winters here and that is part of what makes them dangerous and a threat to our own native species.

My advice to anyone with opinions or information on the invasive nature of a plant would be to leave an informative comment in the database about that plant. Specifically what about it makes it invasive, where it is a problem, and what can be done to minimize this effect. Put this information out there, make a difference.

Great advise

Well said, Baja.

Gave some Lamium to a neighbor, she wanted something that would cover an area. I explained that it was very aggressive, and that you need to keep up with it.
She planted it, and now surprise, surprise its out of control.

For what it's worth, I am seeing some bold text (with double exclamation marks) atop the database entry for the plant mentioned in the original post.

Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

Looks like a sort of combination warning/disclaimer, not something I remember seeing on other plant entries.

I get frustrated with the comments that we are 'recommending' these plants. I just posted a similar reply as when we got that Chinese tallow plant complaint. (I'll have to save that one for future use, thanks for the link! )
All brand new members, never interacted here before, no idea what the database is about, the newsletter, the entire site, etc. And then they never come back. Sigh...

Bradford Pear
Tallow Tree
English Ivy
Asian Bittersweet
All considered invasive elsewhere and not a problem here. Like they say in real estate "Location, location, location"!

Calif_Sue said: I get frustrated with the comments that we are 'recommending' these plants. I just posted a similar reply as when we got that Chinese tallow plant complaint. (I'll have to save that one for future use, thanks for the link! )
All brand new members, never interacted here before, no idea what the database is about, the newsletter, the entire site, etc. And then they never come back. Sigh...

Question, if they never interacted here before, is the newsletter still available or do they have to sign up for it? Thanks

crawgarden said: Question, if they never interacted here before, is the newsletter still available or do they have to sign up for it? Thanks

@dave can answer that because they all signed up today so it appears they can sign up for it from somewhere?? without being a member.

You can view newsletters on-site, member or not (scroll down to bottom of page).
Has that bold text always been part of the database info entry or was it just recently added? I don't remember seeing it before.

Baja_Costero said: For what it's worth, I am seeing some bold text (with double exclamation marks) atop the database entry for the plant mentioned in the original post.

Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

Looks like a sort of combination warning/disclaimer, not something I remember seeing on other plant entries.

I got the impression that was just added today. I've never seen that disclaimer before, either.

I know it's been repeated ad nauseum that NGA was not "recommending" TOH in the newsletter, but the listing follows immediately after various how-tos and informative articles and before several attractive garden plants.

I'm not defending the silly trolls and their campaign of flooding us with outraged letters, but if I were reading the newsletter for the first time, I would have interpreted that entry as a recommendation for that tree in the home landscape. Yes, I know it's a random entry, but most newsletter readers—and I'd surmise most members—don't know that.

I recall that the newsletter was my own first introduction to NGA, well before I joined. Perhaps a pair of human eyes could view each week's newsletter contents to assure that we're putting our best face forward.

I know you can view them on-site but not sure if they are landing on this site from doing an online search and just signing up for the newsletter or if it's also posted as an ad or something elsewhere. If I landed on the site on the home page looking for garden related answers, not sure my first inclination would be to scroll to the bottom.

I didn't know there was anything at the bottom.

I logged out, went to the NGA home page and one of the first things you see is (something like) 'Sign up for our free newsletter'.

I can see it logged in, it just says "Newsletter." I never scrolled that far down apparently.

janinilulu said: I logged out, went to the NGA home page and one of the first things you see is (something like) 'Sign up for our free newsletter'.

Ahh, don't think I've never been logged out since this site started.

Hamwild said: I didn't know there was anything at the bottom.

Look at all the stuff you've been missing!!