Need help identifying invasive plants and choosing suitable alternatives while on the go? We have an app for that! Version 2 of the popular Landscape Alternatives mobile device app has landed with significant upgrades and more content, particularly focused on woody landscape plants. The app is free and is available for iOS and Android (follow the appropriate link or search “Landscape Alternatives” from your app store).
We recorded an hour-long webinar this fall describing the additions and improvements to the Landscape Alternatives app. Watch the whole video below, or click here to jump to the iOS demo on YouTube, and here to jump to the Android demo.
The app features profiles for thirty-three invasive trees, shrubs and woody vines that can be found in Great Lakes Region landscapes and 200 pictures to help with identification of these invaders. We suggest 115 possible alternatives to woody invasive species, 76% being native to North America (see table below). Profiles for these alternatives include high-quality pictures of ornamental features, physical description, cultivar information, hardiness limits, and cultivatation information. The galleries below highlight the app’s intuitive navigation.

NOTE: Landscape Alternatives features an in-built photo library. The benefit of this is that the app is fully functional offline and does not rely on your data to load pictures when you need them. The downside is that the app has a large file size (though not compared to modern smart phone and tablet storage). It is strongly recommended that you connect to wifi before downloading if cellular data use is a concern.

Header Photo: Doug McGrady under Creative Commons License via flickr.com