2
Each of the non-native plants
in this guide significantly reduces
the number of plant and animal
species on any site it invades.
When evaluating exotic plants
for your garden, ask these
questions:
s
Does it naturalize or self-sow.
How far does it spread. Are
the seeds spread by wind or
water.
If so, don‘t plant it unless
you are prepared to remove all
seeds, every year.
s
Is it a wildlife food plant. If the
answer is yes, wildlife will
spread it to woods and
wetlands. In other words,
these are plants to avoid.
Plant natives instead.
s
Is it a rapidly spreading
ground cover. If so, don’t
plant it adjacent to open
space.
s
Is it low maintenance – hardy,
tolerant of drought or
flooding, shade-tolerant, pest
free. If so, it has no natural
controls here. Do not plant it
if it can spread out of the
garden.
s
Does it have the ability to kill
or suppress growth of
surrounding plants by shading
them out, chemically poisoning
them, or out-competing them
for food and water. (Norway
maple, a common landscape
tree, is a prime example.) If
so, you don’t want it in your
garden anyway!
This guide lists garden plants
and weeds which are already
causing significant changes to
natural areas in the Mid-Atlantic.
Measures for controlling each
species are indicated by number,
e.g., (3), in the text, and explained
on page 9.
The suggested alternatives are
native plants, well adapted and
needing little care, attractive to
birds and butterflies, and an
important part of the food web
for our indigenous species.
Recommended Native Shrubs
Spicebush (
Lindera benzoin
), which is covered with tiny yellow flowers
in March, is our most common native shrub. It needs rich soil, as
does Strawberry bush (
Euonymus americanus
).
Maple-leaf viburnum (
Viburnum acerifolium
) is suited to dry shade
and thinner soil, while the arrowwoods (
Viburnum dentatum, V.
recognitum, V. nudum
) grow in moist soil.
Wild hydrangea (
Hydrangea arborescens
), parent of some cultivated
varieties, is a somewhat vining shrub.
Highbush blueberry (
Vaccinium corymbosum
, the parent of cultivated
blueberries) and Lowbush blueberry (
V. vacillans
) need very acidic soil.
They tolerate shade but fruit best in sun. Both turn red in fall.
Invasive, Non-Native Shrubs
Multiflora Rose (
Rosa
multiflora
), formerly recommended
for erosion control, hedges, and
wildlife habitat, becomes a huge
shrub that chokes out all other
vegetation and is too dense for
many species of birds to nest in,
though a few favor it.
In shade, it grows up trees like a
vine. It is covered with white
flowers in June. (Our native roses
have fewer flowers, mostly pink.)
Distinguish multiflora by its
size, and by the presence of very
hard, curved thorns, and a fringed
edge to the leaf stalk.
Control: (1) – pull seedlings, dig
out larger plants at least 6" from
the crown and 6" down; (4) on
extensive infestations; (10) or (11).
It may remain green in winter, so
herbicide may be applied when
other plants are dormant. For
foliar applications, mix Rodeo with
extra sticker-spreader, or use
Roundup Sure Shot Foam on small
plants.
Multiflora Rose
