Invasive Plant

Baby’s breath

Gypsophila paniculata

About This Species

Baby’s breath is an escaped ornamental plant that is very invasive in BC. When Baby’s breath invades grazing land, it reduces native grasses and forage for grazing animals and wildlife. When it develops seeds and matures, the plant breaks off at the ground and rolls long distances across the landscape with the ability to spread the over 10,000 seeds per plant! Baby’s breath has been used in floral arrangements. If you have a bouquet including Baby’s breath, make sure not to dispose of it in the compost.

How to Identify

Baby’s breath is a slender, twiggy, bushy perennial plant. When in bloom, Baby’s breath has lots of tiny, star-shaped white to light-pink flowers.

Leaves are opposite each other, silvery-green and narrow. They measure approximately 2.5-5.0 cm long and can be smooth or hairy. When Baby’s breath is in flower, the leaves are often not noticeable.

Baby’s breath grows 0.4 to 1.2 m tall in a mound shape.

Credit: R Mueller

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A few non-invasive alternatives to plant instead of Baby’s breath include:

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