Invasiveness is also regional.
Who Determines Invasiveness?
Invasive species can cause economic, environmental, or biological harm.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
They can compete with native plants for water, light, nutrients, and space.
Look at this list of 16 invasive plants among the most common offenders.
Contact your local extension to confirm invasives in your area.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Oriental Bittersweets
Bittersweets look desirable, but their appearance in your garden can be “bittersweet.”
The Oriental bittersweet vine is the one that makes most lists of the worst invasive plants in North America.
American bittersweet is the form with attractive red and orange berries often used in decorative displays.
The Spruce / Loren Probish
Chinese Wisteria
The Spruce / Loren Probish
Similar to bittersweet, wisteria has several types.
Both types are robust growers, but Chinese wisteria poses a genuine threat south ofUSDA hardiness zone4.
It readily escapes landscape cultivation and is considered a seriously problematic invasive plant, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
The Spruce / Cara Cormack
These invaders come armed to the teeth, bristling with thorns, making them an effectivehedge plant.
Colorful reddish-orange berries accompany the striking foliage.
Lantana
Lantana (Lantanacamara)is a broadleaf evergreen shrub native to tropical areas.
The Spruce / Autumn Wood
It is a notable invasive in Florida, Georgia, and across the South, going west to California.
This plant can easily escape gardens and naturalize in dangerous profusion in warmer zones.
Butterfly Bush
Butterfly bush (Buddleja spp.
The Spruce / K. Dave
)is among the worst invasives in the Pacific Northwest, where growing conditions resemble its native habitat.
It is also an invasive problem in areas of the Southeast.
Consider growingbutterfly weed(Asclepias tuberosa) as an alternative forattracting butterflies.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Common Privet
As with barberry, a privet hedge (Ligustrumvulgare)is common.
But just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it isn’t a problem.
Privet responds well to pruning and tolerates the pollution that typically plagues plants in urban prefs.
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
Most everyone agrees toremove it on sight.
Kudzu
LightScribe / Getty Images
Kudzuis an Asian perennial vine and one of the worst invasives ever.
It is sometimes ruefully called “the vine that ate the South.”
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
Today, it is found in every state in the United States except Hawaii and Alaska.
Purple loosestrife invades wetlands, forming dense root mats that choke out native plants and degrade wildlife habitat.
It looks beautiful when massed together, which is the norm since it spreads incredibly vigorously.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
pusilla,to get rid of the plantan experiment that seems to be helping curb the species.
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova
LightScribe / Getty Images
The Spruce / David Beaulieu
The Spruce / Adrienne Legault
