Nicole PaullIn an earlier post, I mentioned the importance of not including invasive plants in your garden design. In this post, I’m sharing some resources to make this easier for you.
Photo Credit: Kathryn
Why is it important to know what’s invasive in your neck of the woods?
Well, you can still find these plants for sale in some places. So, if you don’t know what they are, it could be easy to come home with (or mail-order) a regrettable choice.
Plus, they may already be growing on your property, even if you didn’t plant them there. If you don’t know better, you might just enjoy them for their ornamental properties.
In my own yard, I’m battling Norway maple, burning bush, Oriental bittersweet (pictured above), Japanese honeysuckle, and multiflora rose.
There are wild communities of these plants all around us and every year, new seeds sprout in our yard. They might be sprouting (or already present) in your yard, too.
State-by-State
So, without further ado, here are some good resources to start with, organized by state:
Connecticut Invasive Plant List
Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List
Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List FAQ
New Hampshire List of Invasive Plants
Rhode Island List of Invasive Species
Disposal & Alternatives
And as a bonus, here’s a clear and readable guide produced by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the University of Connecticut. It details how to dispose of invasive plant material safely.
Now, as I hinted above, many of these plants made it into our gardens in the first place because they have real ornamental value.
So what’s a girl to do if she really wants to plant burning bush to enjoy the blazing red foliage in the fall? The USDA Forest Service has a list of suggested alternatives, prepared by The United States National Arboretum.
However, I also highly recommend the book Native Plants for New England Gardens by Mark Richardson and Dan Jaffe. It’s both informative and accessible, written by two experts in their field.
I hope that helps you out!
And now, as always, I’d really love to hear from you!
What invasive plants are you dealing with in your yard?