Bye-Bye Baby’s Breath

Baby’s breath (Gysophilia paniculata)

Okay, close your eyes and what do you see when you think of baby’s breath. Delicate, tiny white flowers? Wedding bouquets? Summer days? Invasive species? Wait, what? Not what you were thinking, right?

According to an article featured by Nature Conservancy, the wonderful, 300-mile part of Lake Michigan’s largest fresh-water dune system in the world, is being overrun by yes, baby’s breath, that so-called innocent looking flower. You see, the perennial uses a deep taproot to firmly anchor itself to the dunes, thus preventing the natural shifting of the sands which is critical for many native species’ survival. Additionally, the plant spreads rapidly, with each one capable of producing an astounding 14,000 seeds per year, dispersed by the wind. As a result, baby’s breath makes up to 80 percent of all vegetation in some areas along Lake Michigan’s coastline. And for more than two decades, The Nature Conservancy and partners have worked aggressively to remove it along the western shoreline in hope of restoring its ecosystem.

Baby’s breath is an invasive not only in Michigan, but California, Washington, and other parts of the northern and western United States.
Michigan: Especially along Lake Michigan. It can be found in yards, beaches, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
California: It’s a noxious weed.
Washington: It’s a noxious weed.
Rocky Mountains National Park: It’s reported as invasive.

So, how do you manage it?
You can restore degraded areas like old fields or roadsides back to a diversity of native plants, which will prevent baby’s breath from forming a monoculture. However, be careful if using wildflower mixes, since many still contain the invasive flower. Control of it is most successful early in the spring when the plant’s leaves and tap root are small and it can be dug up as long as the caudex (area where the stem joins the root, approximately 8 inches below the surface) is severed.