'It’s not just ornamental – it’s a little dangerous': The invasive plant species popping up in Winnipeg

A purple-flowered weed is taking over parts of Winnipeg’s Spence neighbourhood – and a community organization is teaching residents how to eradicate it.

The creeping bellflower is a perennial originally brought over by European settlers as an ornamental. According to the Manitoba Master Gardener Association, the plant – also known as a European bellflower, garden bluebell, or June bell – is a hearty plant that grows in gardens, lawns, back alleys, and undeveloped areas. A mature plant can grow to one meter in height and has lance-shaped leaves along the stem and light purple bell-shaped flowers.

However, the creeping bellflower is an invasive species that encroaches on Manitoba’s native plants.

“So it’s not just ornamental – it’s a little dangerous,” Brittany Guarino, team lead for Spence Neighbourhood Association’s environment and open spaces department, told CTV News.

Guarino said the creeping bellflower thrives in damp, moist environments and spreads rapidly because each plant can produce up to 15,000 seeds.

“One year, you’re going to see one or two, and then the next year, you’re going to see a whole lot,” Guarino explained. “It’s just going to be unmanageable and it’s going to be really difficult to plant anything that’s necessary or allow any necessary plants to thrive for our pollinators.”

Spence Neighbourhood Association hosted a workshop Monday at a community-owned greenspace to show people how to remove the invasive species.

Spence Neighbourhood Association is teaching residents how to properly eradicate the creeping bellflower. (Scott Andersson/CTV News Winnipeg)Guarino said creeping bellflowers produce horizontal roots called rhizomes, which makes the weed more difficult to pull out of the ground.

“So not just straight down,” she said. “If you pull one plant out, you’re pulling out barely anything.”

Instead, Guarino suggests digging around the plant about nine inches wide and a foot and a half deep to fully unearth the root system. Once the plant’s removed, she said to toss it into a garbage bag and keep it out of the sun.

She recommends targeting the creeping bellflower during the spring because it pops up earlier in the growing season than other plants.

“So once you get it, you can start planting some native plants like goldenrod or Canada anemone,” Guarino said. “Hostas can also work with strawberries. They’ll take foot and make it more difficult for that creeping bellflower to take hold.”

Guarino also recommends burning creeping bellflowers once they are removed from the ground, adding it is important to keep them out of compost bins.

“It’s going to [grow] back because these guys come back from a single fragment. It’s crazy.”