Photo courtesy of chi liu at Flickr.com.

If you’re sick and tired of pests destroying certain plants every year, then stop wasting your time with them: get rid of the pest-prone species and plant hardier ones instead. For example, the purple coneflower isn’t bothered by pests, and it’s a perennial favorite of butterflies and birds, who snack on its nectar and seed-heads, respectively. Marigolds repel many insects and harmful nematodes. And while we prefer not to recommend the use of non-native species, some remain pest-free for the simple reason that none of their pests have been introduced to the New World yet. Good examples include the Norway maple and Oriental flowering dogwood, which remain happily untouched by pests because they don’t contribute to the local food chain.

Photo courtesy of wdwbarber at Flickr.com.

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This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 5:07 am and is filed under Gardening Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.