 |
| All of those "pretty" white-blooming trees are Callery Pears, better known as "Bradford pears". This non-native has become quite invasive in many areas of the country. Photo taken on March 23, 2025 in Williamsburg, VA. |
Even driving down the road at 55 mph, you can tell that invasive plants have become a huge problem around the country. I've begun to suspect that they are a major factor in the declining populations of both insects and birds, since they do not, generally speaking, support the native insect species that many birds rely on for food.
 |
| Japanese Wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) that has taken over a "wild" area. Williamsburg, VA, April 6, 2025 |
 |
| A closer look at the wisteria's stems strangling the shrubs and trees it's climbing on. This is a heavy, twining vine that kills a lot of other plants. Williamsburg, VA, April 6, 2025 |
Many of our invasive species are, unfortunately, quite attractive. In fact, they were often brought here as garden or landscape plants precisely because they were so pretty. The Mr. Hyde portion of their Jekyll and Hyde personality showed up later as they escaped cultivation and established themselves along roadsides, in wild areas, and in many other places where they weren't wanted. Invasive plants are aggressive spreaders and are rarely eaten by native wildlife, allowing them to outcompete the native vegetation that does support animal life. The result is large areas of lush, even pretty, vegetation that are actually unable to support much of any wildlife at all.
The good news is that, even if you're tight on cash, you can do a surprisingly large amount of good for wildlife and biodiversity simply by ridding your yard of these invasive species. This opens up space for native plants to grow and, with more native plants in your yard, your biodiversity will increase. Insects will show up to munch the plants (this is a good thing!), then other insects, spiders, birds, and more animals will show up to eat the plant eaters. By removing invasive plants, you will also be limiting their spread, at least from your own yard.
Be forewarned, though, that invasive species won't give up easily!
Let's start with the basics. What is an invasive plant? For starters, by definition, an invasive plant is non-native. This is an important point - you can have aggressive native plants that spread more widely or rapidly than you want, but native plant species are NOT invasive, ever. The other component of having a plant declared invasive is that it spreads extensively and rapidly, pushing out native plant species and causing economic damage and environmental disruption in the areas where it's growing.
Kudzu is the poster child of an invasive plant.
In 2015, researchers found that there were 755 species of plants considered invasive in the continental United States. Unfortunately, more are being added to the list every year as previously "well behaved" non-native plants start escaping cultivation and going crazy. Chances are high that you have at least a couple invasive species in your yard.
 |
| A seedling of Autumn Olive (Eleagnus umbellata) Williamsburg, VA, March 28, 2025. |
 |
| A row of large Autumn Olives down the road from us. Williamsburg, VA, April 8, 2025 |
Generally speaking, the older and more well established an invasive plant is, the harder it is to remove. So....keep your eye out for seedlings and remove them as soon as you see them. Recently for example, I found two Autumn Olive seedlings, about 12" high. We've had reasonable rains and they were easy to pull out, but their roots were already almost as long as their stems were high. If I'd let them get much larger, removing them would have been difficult. As mature shrubs, Autumn Olives are 12-18' tall and wide. Trust me, removing seedlings is MUCH easier.
Speaking of which, in one of my Facebook native plant groups recently, there was a post by a guy who had just purchased 8.5 acres in Virginia, 7 acres of which were forested. He said that Autumn Olive made up about 95% of the understory in those woods and he was asking how to clear it out. That's one of many, many examples of why invasive plants are such a problem.
Besides the Autumn Olive, here are some of the invasive species that I have been removing from our yard:
 |
| This lush looking, beautiful grass is actually invasive Japanese Stiltgrass. Williamsburg, VA, June 12, 2024 |
Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum). Japanese Stiltgrass is an annual, but it is highly invasive in our area and quickly creates a carpet that chokes out almost all other vegetation on the forest floor. This was the first plant I really targeted with a full scale removal project. Even though our yard was not heavily infested, on our 2/3 acre, it took about 3 years to get the majority of it pulled out, I still have to be vigilant, since the seeds remain viable for up to 7 years and since they are easily spread by deer and other animals, but now I can pull out the Stiltgrass as I do walkabouts, without making a special concerted effort.
 |
| A small patch of Ground Ivy beginning to bloom. Williamsburg, VA, April 8, 2025 |
Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), a.k.a. Creeping Charlie. There is a lot of ground ivy in our yard. I originally let it go because I rather liked its scent and it didn't seem overwhelming. Then it repaid my kindness by starting to take over. Now I pull it whenever I'm weeding in the area. I don't usually make a concerted effort to go after it, though.
 |
| An English Ivy seedling shining in the leaf litter Williamsburg, VA, March 17, 2025. |
 |
| Note the 2 large trees with trunks infested by English ivy. These are probably the source of many of the seedlings in our yard. Williamsburg, VA, April 8, 2025 |
English Ivy (Hedera helix). Thankfully our yard had no large, established patches of English ivy, but it is rampant in our neighborhood, including right across the street. I regularly see seedlings, which are easy to spot in winter and early spring, given their evergreen foliage. Around our neighborhood, the heavily coated tree trunks are looming reminders of how important it is to pull the seedlings up right away. Note: English Ivy doesn't start to bloom (and thus to set seed) until it reaches up into the canopy.
 |
| A small seedling of Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) Williamsburg, VA, September 19, 2023 |
 |
| Seedling of Japanese Privet, Williamsburg, VA, March 17, 2025 |
 |
| The large, dark green shrubs/small trees are Japanese Privet. This planting is also right across the street from us - and is probably our seed source. Williamsburg, VA, April 8, 2025 |
Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum). There is a LOT of this large, pretty plant in our neighborhood, where it's generally used as a visual screen. As with other invasives, this plant spreads readily and has essentially no wildlife value, despite its shining dark green leaves and generally handsome looks. This is another species whose seedlings I find regularly - and which I pull as soon as I see them. If you let them grow, expect to have a 15' tall and wide shrub/small tree in your yard.
 |
| Basal rosette of Asiatic False Hawksbeard Williamsburg, VA, March 17, 2025. |
Asiatic False Hawksbeard (Youngia japonica). There are certainly worse invasive species, but I've started trying to remove this annual/biennial as much as possible. To my eye, it's weedy looking and it has no wildlife value, so I see no point in keeping it around. Asiatic False Hawksbeard forms a basal rosette which overwinters, sending up a tall bloom spike with small yellow flowers that quickly turn to seedy fluff.
 |
| Another beautiful invasive plant, this is an Ajuga bloom spike, Williamsburg, VA, April 4, 2025 |
 |
| Part of a patch of Ajuga starting to bloom. This area only had a couple plants 2 years ago; now it's about 12' across. Williamsburg, VA, April 4, 2025 |
Ajuga (Ajuga reptans), a.k.a. Bugleweed. I remember helping my mother plant this attractive ground cover and later I planted it myself, but now I know a LOT better. Ajuga will absolutely cover ground - and then spread widely well beyond where you want it, if you're not careful. The first year or two we were here, I noticed a bit of Ajuga here and there, but I didn't worry about it. Suddenly, last spring, I noticed it all over the yard, forming a couple large patches and blooming happily, getting ready to spread itself even more widely. This spring, it's on my "got to go" list - and I just removed a large bucket full of it from one garden area. There's lots more to go, unfortunately.
 |
| Vinca minor, looking very innocuous. Williamsburg, VA, April 8, 2025 |
 |
| Vinca minor taking over the forest floor. Williamsburg, VA, April 8, 2025 |
Vinca (Vinca minor). This is another plant that I remember happily planting in my younger days. It is also another plant that I noticed a few sprigs of in this yard 5 years ago, but paid no attention to. Now we have a couple large patches of it and, like the Ajuga, it's been put on my "got to go" list.
There are many non-native plants that are not (for now) invasive, including camellias and peonies. If these are well grown plants and I like them, for one reason or another, I let them be. Dr. Doug Tallamy urges us to aim for at least 70% native plants to support bird populations, so I don't have to be a purist. I cherish the tall Chindo Viburnum hedge that provides privacy to our back yard and the gorgeous peony that has vivid magenta blooms and fills out so lushly each summer. However, when these and other non-natives in our yard get unhealthy and die, I will replace them with native plants to support more wildlife.
Why a post on invasive plants now, in the beginning of the growing season? I find that late winter/early spring is a good time to notice many invasives in the yard and, as I plan for the coming year's plantings and transplantings, a good time to get to work on removing them. It's rather like doing a spring clean, opening up the yard for new possibilities.
That said, don't be too quick to dismiss a seedling plant that shows up in your yard as "just" a weed or invasive. Try to be sure of the plant's identity before you weed it out. I have received many "gift plants" from Mother Nature by keeping my eyes open and my PictureThis app fully deployed. That, however, is a topic for another post.
I'm curious to learn what invasives you're finding in your yard - and whether you're having trouble removing them or not.
No comments:
Post a Comment