[AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid

Fri May 8 12:42:11 UTC 2020

Hi Tracy,

When I lived in Virginia Beach the biggest nuisance plant I had was
wild cucumber vines in my front yard.  I lived in a townhouse and my
front yard was the size of a postage stamp.  I had a few small
boxwoods, one hydrangea and a beautiful red rose.  The wild cucumber
vines had a foot hold under the boxwoods and were extremely difficult
to cultivate up.  Their vines were fine and seemed to grow over night.
They were easy to pull off the boxwoods and smelt like cut cucumbers
when they were torn up.

One larger problem we have here on our 30 achers is wild blackberries
and paradise trees.  They pop up everywhere due to the birds and are
extremely difficult to get rid of.  The paradise trees spring up
around fence lines and just inside my chicken coop enclosures.  The
birds sit up on the wires and drop their seeds.  The wild blackberries
constantly want to get in our flower and herb beds and for some
reason, they really like it around my bee hive.

Susan
dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com

On 5/7/20, Tracy Carcione via AG-EQ <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> The invasive plants I hate the most are the wild morning glory
> (convolvulus?) and the celandine poppy.  The wild morning glory comes up
> everywhere on one side of my yard and twines itself around everything.  I
> pull it out, and back it comes.  It doesn't even have nice flowers.  The
> celandine poppy is nice, so I let it go a year.  What a mistake!  It spreads
> like mad, and it's hard to grub up.  If I don't get it by the roots, it
> comes back and sends out runners.
> Ugh!
> Tracy
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm via
> AG-EQ
> Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2020 4:18 PM
> To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
> Cc: dogwood farm
> Subject: Re: [AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>
> Hi Tracy,
>
> I don't mind the Virginia creeper too much, except for the fact that I
> get a mild skin reaction to its sap.  My husband really likes his rose
> of Sharon.
>
> My biggest headache is when I stupidly planted 7 wisteria vines along
> a 50 foot fence that I had 10 feet from my chicken coops and on the
> opposite side of the fence, my husband planted rose of Sharon.  The
> nitrogen from the coops made the wisteria vines turn into the monster
> vines from hell, almost turning that area into the little shop of
> horrors!  The wisteria rarely bloomed and it grew so quickly that it
> started taking over my double chicken coops.  The vines wove so
> thoroughly threw the 50 foot fence, u could hardly see the fence for
> the vines.  Also, they decided they did not like the rose of Sharon
> plants and twisted themselves around them to the point they bent a few
> over and even killed one shrub.
>
> I know that nature abhors a vacuum, but can she not fill my open
> spaces quite so fast? LOL
>
> Susan
> dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com
>
>
> On 5/5/20, Tracy Carcione via AG-EQ <ag-eq at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> That was interesting.  I have some of these buggers, though my English ivy
>> is not running too badly amok.  Still, I may try pulling it out and
>> leaving
>> the Virginia creeper, which does a lot of the same things without getting
>> too rambunctious about it.
>> Personally, I'd add Rose of Sharon to the list.  It's pretty, and the bees
>> use it some, but I pull out lots of seedlings every year.  Which is how I
>> got my bush; I didn't pull out the seedling that landed in my yard.
>> Tracy
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm
>> via
>> AG-EQ
>> Sent: Tuesday, May 05, 2020 12:52 PM
>> To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
>> Cc: dogwood farm
>> Subject: [AG-EQ] 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>>
>> 16 Invasive Plants to Avoid
>> Written by David Beaulieu, garden writer
>>
>> An invasive plant can be defined as any plant that grows where you
>> don't want it to and does it in a way that makes it hard to control.
>> It doesn't have to be a weed, and invasive plants are by no means
>> always ugly specimens. A lot of it depends on the setting. For
>> example, bittersweet vines in some settings can be quite beautiful and
>> desirable, but if they take over your woodland garden, they are a
>> nuisance indeed. And some plants begin as perfectly desirable
>> landscape species that you plant deliberately, such as obedient plant
>> (Physostegia), only to prove their invasive nature in a year or two
>> when you discover their rampant growth characteristics.
>>
>> Some invasive plants listed are quite attractive. Consider burning
>> bush (Euonymus alatus) for example—an exotic (or "alien") shrub from
>> Asia. Few shrubs put on a better fall foliage display. Another fall
>> star is the vine, sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora). A
>> summer standout is Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius). But attractive
>> invasive plants are like some of the good-looking people one meets
>> (you know the type): Once you get past the exterior and learn more
>> about them, you no longer want them to hang out. Looks, after all, can
>> be deceiving.
>>
>> Many invasive plants can be thought of as exotic specimens "gone
>> wild"—as in "out of control." The following list of 16 invasive plants
>> comprise an introductory collection, but it is by no means an
>> exhaustive list. Remember, too, that invasives tend to be defined
>> regionally. Some species that pose no problems at all in some areas
>> behave in true invasive style in other regions. Some plants are
>> seriously invasive in the warmer climates where they are perennial but
>> are no problem at all in colder regions where they are killed off each
>> year.
>>
>> 1. Bittersweet
>> There are three "bittersweets," and it is important to distinguish
>> between them: oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus), American
>> bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), and bittersweet nightshade (Solanum
>> dulcamara). It is the Oriental bittersweet vine that is sure to make
>> most lists of worst invasive plants in North America. The other forms
>> can also be invasive but are less so than oriental bittersweet.
>> American bittersweet is the form with attractive red/orange berries
>> that are often used in decorative displays. All forms of the plant are
>> toxic, however, and should be avoided in the landscape.
>>
>> 2. Wisteria
>> As with bittersweet, so with wisteria: The North American grower must
>> distinguish between American wisteria vines (Wisteria frutescens) and
>> their Chinese counterparts (Wisteria sinensis var.). While both types
>> are robust growers, it is the Chinese wisteria that poses a truly
>> invasive danger south of USDA hardiness zone 4.
>>
>> 3. English Ivy
>> If you wished to crowd out weeds in an area of your landscape, you
>> would expect to be delighted to hear about English ivy (Hedera helix),
>> a vigorous, attractive ground cover that tolerates shade. That
>> description fits English ivy perfectly. But that's the problem:
>> English ivy is too vigorous, earning it a spot on the list of worst
>> invasive plants. It easily escapes landscape cultivation and is
>> regarded as a seriously problematic invasive, especially in the
>> Pacific Northwest.
>>
>> 4. Sweet Autumn Clematis
>> Like the preceding three vines, sweet autumn clematis (Clematis
>> terniflora) is another of those "good-looking" specimens that can
>> overwhelm a landscape. It is especially problematic in the East and
>> lower Midwest. While this plant does have a very sweet odor, that's
>> the only thing pleasant about it. Clematis paniculata is sometimes
>> sold as sweet autumn clematis, but this is a less invasive vine that
>> comes from New Zealand. It is C. terniflora that you need to be
>> careful with.
>>
>> 5. Ajuga
>> The mat-forming ajuga (Ajuga reptans), also known as bugleweed, is
>> another popular ground cover that can turn thuggish (lily of the
>> valley is another). Because ajuga has pleasing purple blossoms and the
>> ability to suppress weeds, it is often planted in shady areas as a
>> ground cover. Many homeowners, though, come to despise it when it
>> begins to take over a garden or lawn.
>>
>> Ajuga is especially problematic in warmer climates where there is no
>> winter frost to kill the plants back annually.
>>
>> 6. Barberry
>> The barberry shrubs (Berberis spp.) have assaulted North America from
>> two sides. One type, Berberis thunbergii, is from the Far East; the
>> other, Berberis vulgaris, from Europe. These invaders have come armed
>> to the teeth, bristling with the thorns that have made them so useful
>> in many a hedge. B. thunbergii, usually known as Japanese barberry, is
>> so invasive that much of the Midwest has placed it on a list of
>> dangerously invasive plants, strongly suggesting that it should never
>> be planted at all.
>>
>> 7. Burning Bush
>> In autumn, burning bush (Euonymus alatus) puts on a show for the ages,
>> bearing red or pinkish-red leaves. Colorful reddish-orange berries
>> accompany the striking foliage. So why is burning bush one of the most
>> hated exotic plants among gardeners "in the know"? This shrub is
>> considered dangerously invasive across much of the northern United
>> States from Maine to Minnesota, as well as in the Southeast.
>>
>> 8. Lantana
>> Lantana (Lantana camara) is a broadleaf evergreen shrub native to
>> tropical areas, and it is a notable invasive in Florida and Georgia
>> and across the South all the way to California. But it poses no danger
>> in colder climates north of zone 9, where it is often used in hanging
>> baskets. In warm zones, however, it can easily escape gardens and
>> naturalize in dangerous profusion.
>>
>> 9. Butterfly Bush
>> Butterfly bush (Buddleja spp.) is among the worst invasives in the
>> Pacific Northwest, where growing conditions resemble its native
>> habitat. It also an invasive problem in areas of the Southeast. In
>> areas colder than zone 6, it is less problematic, since the plant dies
>> back to the ground each winter. An alternative plant to grow for
>> attracting butterflies is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa).
>> Butterfly bush is so-named because it attracts butterflies (as well as
>> other pollinators), but to humans, the plant is somewhat unpleasant in
>> odor.
>>
>> 10. Common Privet
>> As with barberry, a privet hedge is a familiar sight. That very
>> familiarity of privet (Ligustrum vulgare) may make it difficult to see
>> such exotic plants as invasives, but this species is on official lists
>> of problematic plants in much of the Midwest and Northeast from
>> Pennsylvania north to Maine. Privet's popularity is based on the fact
>> that it responds well to pruning and tolerates the pollution that
>> typically plagues plants in urban settings. But privet shrubs grow so
>> fast that they can easily escape the boundaries of cultivation and
>> become naturalized in the wild.
>>
>> 11. Norway Maple Trees
>> Full-sized trees can be invasives, too, as in the case of Norway maple
>> (Acer platanoides), which is considered invasive in much of the
>> Northeast, and dangerously so in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and
>> Massachusetts. Originally planted as a landscape species, its seeds
>> easily disperse on the wind to naturalize in other environments.
>>
>> 12. Japanese Knotweed
>> Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) is a clumping perennial plant
>> that has virtually no redeeming landscape value. The best that can be
>> said for its appearance is that it produces a fluffy-looking flower in
>> early autumn (thus one of its alternate common names, "fleece
>> flower"). The opinions of 19th-century plant collectors
>> notwithstanding, most 21st-century Westerners agree on this one:
>> Japanese knotweed is an ugly nuisance and an easy pick as one of the
>> worst invasive plants. It is considered invasive in every state,
>> though is more so in its natural hardiness zones, zone 5 to 9.
>>
>> 13. Kudzu
>> Kudzu vine is in the pea family. So far, so good, right? After all,
>> you're familiar with peas from your experiences at the dinner table.
>> Along those lines, kudzu has even been employed as livestock feed. But
>> this perennial vine from Asia is one of the very worst invasives of
>> all time, and is sometimes ruefully called "the vine that ate the
>> South." It is an enormous problem in all Southern states. Initially
>> planted to shade porches on southern plantations, the plant quickly
>> spread to surrounding territory, where it now gobbles up nearly all
>> that it touches. It grows well in both sun and shade and is
>> dangerously invasive throughout the South and Southeast and well up
>> the Atlantic seaboard.
>>
>> A recent control effort involves bringing goats into areas infested
>> with kudzu and turning them loose to eat their fill.
>>
>> 14. Tansy
>> Tansy, unlike the exotic plants considered above on this invasive
>> species list, is an herb—albeit a poisonous one. Tansy's toxicity
>> belies a rich tradition of medicinal and culinary usage. But there's
>> more to worry about than just its toxicity: Tansy plants are invasives
>> that spread via both seeds and rhizomes.
>>
>> 15. Purple Loosestrife
>> Purple loosestrife is an invader of wetlands. Many people who have no
>> clue about the name of the plant have nonetheless seen it innumerable
>> times and remarked upon its beauty. In fact, it is a lovely plant when
>> massed together—which is the norm, since this is a plant that spreads
>> incredibly vigorously.
>>
>> Purple loosestrife is thought to arrive in North America as seeds in
>> soil used as ballast in sailing ships in the early 19th century. Now,
>> 200 years later, it is found in every state in the United States,
>> except Hawaii and Alaska. The plants take over wetlands by forming
>> dense root mats that choke out native plants, degrading wildlife
>> habitat. Since 1992, the governments of Canada and the United States
>> have used to European beetles, Galerucella calmariensis and G.
>> pusilla, to feed on the plant—an experiment that appears to be
>> successful.
>>
>> 16. Japanese Honeysuckle
>> Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is another attractive,
>> sweet-smelling specimen that turns out to be a sinister foe. This
>> vigorous, fast-growing twining vine has fragrant yellow flowers that
>> appear from June to October, and it grows to 30 feet. When planted
>> deliberately, it is used as a ground cover, but it is considered an
>> exotic invasive across the entire Midwest.
>>
>> If planted in the garden, great care should be taken to keep the plant
>> in check, including aggressively cutting it back regularly. When it
>> escapes, this plant can break tree limbs with its heavy weight and
>> kill shrubs and trees by girdling them with strong vines.
>>
>> Susan
>> dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com
>>
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