In December I visited a Home Depot in San Diego, CA and found not one, not two, not three, but FIVE different invasive plants being offered for sale in the garden center.
You may remember that Home Depot boasts on their corporate website that they partnered with PlantRight in 2015 and removed invasive plants from their California stores.
And yet, the Home Depot on Genessee Avenue was recently selling the following invasive plants:
- Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica)
- Hahn's English ivy (Hedera helix "Hahnii")
- Needlepoint ivy (Hedera helix "Needlepoint")
- Creeping myoporum (Myoporum parvifolium 'Putah Creek')
- Heart-leaf, aka Red apple iceplant (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium)
In particular, the California Invasive Plant Council has recently determined Mesembryanthemum cordifolium to be invasive in California and has listed it as a wildland weed red alert.
Also in December, participants at the COP15 United Nations Biodiversity Conference reached an historic agreement to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2050. Target 6 of the agreement specifically addresses invasive species:
"Eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services by identifying and managing pathways of the introduction of alien species, preventing the introduction and establishment of priority invasive alien species, reducing the rates of introduction and establishment of other known or potential invasive alien species by at least 50 percent..."
Getting invasive plants out of the nursery industry is more important than ever! And while it may seem overwhelming, you've helped gather over 74,000 signatures saying this has got to stop. And now there's something else you can to do help!
This petition is now a part of the new Change Plus program — and you can help me spread the word farther and faster! Even a small contribution will help cover the costs of publishing my next press release, operating my campaign website, and starting a Google AdWords campaign to reach even more people.
With the gardening season right around the corner, can you help me raise the funds to bring this campaign over the finish line? And please keep sharing the petition link wherever you can! Thankyou thankyou thankyou!! It's working!!