What NOT to Plant
Following is the IPSAWG list of plants to avoid. You’ll see many of them in established gardens, introduced into the nursery trade as ornamental landscape plants. Unfortunately they’re running amok in our natural areas and crowding out native vegetation.
We encourage you NOT to buy or plant these plants, and to urge your local nursery or garden center NOT to sell them.
MC-IRIS initiative with retailers
Forbs
crown vetch Coronilla varia
dame’s rocket Hesperis matronalis
Korean lespedeza Kummerowia stipulacea
striate lespedeza Kummerowia striata
white sweet clover Melilotus alba
yellow sweet clover Melilotus officinalis
Japanese knotweed Polygonum cuspidatum
Grasses
miscanthus hybrid Micscanthus x gigantea
Chinese maiden grass Miscanthus sinensis
reed canarygrass, ribbon grass Phalaris arundinacea
common reed Phragmites australis
tall fescue Schedonorus arundinaceus
Shrubs
Japanese barberry Berberis thunbergii
Russian olive Elaeagnus angustifolia
autumn olive Elaeagnus umbellata
burning bush Euonymus alatus
glossy buckthorn Frangula alnus
bicolor lespedeza Lespedeza bicolor
sericea lespedeza Lespedeza cuneata
Amur privet Ligustrum amurense
blunt leaved privet Ligustrum obtusifolium
California privet Ligustrum ovalifolium
Chinese privet Ligustrum sinense
common privet Ligustrum vulgare
Amur honeysuckle Lonicera maackii
Morrow’s honeysuckle Lonicera morrowii
Tatarian honeysuckle Lonicera tatarica
Bell’s honeysuckle Lonicera x bella
common buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica
Trees
Norway maple Acer platanoides
sawtooth oak Quercus acutissima
Siberian elm Ulmus pumila
Vines
Asian bittersweet Celastrus orbiculatus
wintercreeper Euonymus fortunei
English ivy Hedera helix
Japanese hops Humulus japonicus
Japanese honeysuckle Lonicera japonica
periwinkle Vinca minor
Alternatives to Common Invasive Landscape Plants
Many of our backyards, woodlands, and roadsides are choked with invasive species that were introduced into the nursery trade before we knew the damage they could do to our native plants.
Two brochures can help you avoid planting the worst offenders and help you choose harmless alternatives, many of them native plants.
Landscape Alternatives for Invasive Plants of the Midwest Native plants that can be substituted for such pervasive invasive landscape plants as autumn olive, bush honeysuckle, burning bush, Japanese barberry, vinca, and euonymus wintercreeper. Compiled by the Midwest Invasive Plant Network (MIPN.org).
Landscaping with Non-Invasive Plant Species: Making the RIGHT Choice Showy native garden plants to use instead of known invasive vines, grasses, trees, shrubs, and flowers. Compiled by the Invasive Plant Species Assessment Working Group (IPSAWG).