?your area's worst invasive plant?

[caveman]

While reading the post about the Devil's Walking Stick tree and the similar species from Asia, I began to wonder what the worst invasive plants folks deal with in their locations.

We have several that cause significant problems.  Cogan Grass, which is often spread by the county's mowing crews is spreading like an invading army around here.

Brazilian Pepper, just a little south of me has displaced a lot of native vegetation.  It does evidently make good tasting honey though.

Tropical Soda Apple has become problematic in pastures over the past several years.

In the lakes we have hydrilla and water hyacinths.  These two do provide good bass habitat.

[Southside]

Around here it's the City Transplant that causes the biggest problems.  

[Magicman]

Privet Hedge.

Kudzu in some areas.

Chinese Tallow aka Popcorn tree.

:D  Sweetgum.  :D  

[brianJ]

Honeysuckle, buckthorn, multiflora rose, & box acer negundo.   Sometimes the order is different.

[Roxie]

Multiflora rose (thank you DuPont family), Albizia julibrissin or Mimosa tree, and poison Hemlock. 

[curdog]

Kudzu is the worst for us, but privet is bad to deal with as well. Japanese stiltgrass is rough on new seedlings, but once they get over the top after the first year they seem fine. We're getting oriental bittersweet moving in from our west as well as Chinese silvergrass. That silvergrass burns like gasoline and thrives with fire... and we got paulownia and tree of heaven and Johnson grass in fields , wisteria, .. definitely no shortage of invasive plants...

[sandhills]

Leafy spurge, erc, muskthistle, and water hemp on the farming/ranching side of life.  A lot more but most generally easier to contain. 

[firefighter ontheside]

This is interesting.  I've never heard of box elder being invasive.
Here it is bush honeysuckle and Bradford pear, otherwise known as Callery pear.
Is it truly invasive if it's expanding its territory due to climate change?  I would say not.

[JBlain]

Honeysuckle, barberry, Mile A Minute and stiltgrass in central PA.  If you are in northern PA over 40% of all the forest is haycented fern

[WDH]

PRIVET!

[Novascotiamill]

Marijuana, government making it legal in the entire county this month . 

[firefighter ontheside]

I didn't know privet was invasive anywhere.

[lxskllr]

Numerous vines, and I don't know what many of them are. I've noticed a steady increase over the last 20 years or so. I read not long ago that increased CO2 in the atmosphere has increased the poison ivy population. I've noticed that, and I suspect the other vines are doing better also. There's one particular vine that's insidious. I have a hard time seeing it until it's taken over half a bush or tree. I don't use chemicals on my property, so they're all cut with a knife or machete. I don't go for perfection; just try to keep it manageable.

They make work harder also. Awhile ago I set a couple control points for a job. I took prospective leaf cover into account when setting them up. I go back to do some work, and a rats nest of vines I neglected to notice, blocked visibility, and were too high and tangled in the trees to remove. I had to go play in traffic to get the job done  :bangshead:

[Southside]

In open ground around here it's palmer pig weed and sickle pod that is coming on strong - both nasty weeds, and being nicely assisted by just about every combine in the south.  Now there is a new reason to call Gleaners the "silver seeder".  

[Don P]

Autumn olive, Ailanthus, stiltgrass, multiflora rose (what is the DuPont connection Roxie?), barberry, some kudzu

[btulloh]

Privet.  Privet.  Privet.  Marestail, pokeweed, tree of heaven, northerners (the wrong kind), multiflora rose

And privet.

A lot of people around here have trouble with johnsongrass, but I think it's because they don't control it.

[btulloh]

Almost forget a real nuisance - NUTSEDGE.

[jwilly3879]

Knotweed

[runmca]

Japanese barberry

[Ianab]

Not in my specific location, but NZ has a big problem with invasive Pine trees of all things. To the extent that Lodgepole pine is now banned. Large areas of the South Island high country (open tussock land) is being taken over by pine trees, and it's costing millions to try and control them. 

Wilding conifers: Weeds

[Stuart Caruk]

Himalayan Blackberry. Total pain in the butt. Starts to overtake everything and will kill small Fir and Cedar trees by overcrowding and literally dragging them to the dirt.

We're just starting to experiment with arial spraying using a DJI drone. My go to is a Bobcat and a brushhog, or a Kubota KX-161 with a flail mower, but the drone gets to places without a trail.

https://www.dji.com/mg-1

[caveman]

That must be a pretty potent herbicide for a small drone to be able to carry enough to be effective. 

In my earlier post, I did not mention the melaleuca and Australian Pines which are pervasive south of where I live by a little. 

[samandothers]

For me, I fall in the bittersweet category.

[Greyhound]

Japanese stilt grass, Microstegium vimineum
Mile-a-minute vin,e Persicaria perfoliata
Smart/Knot weed,  Polygonum sp.
Multiflora Rose, Rosa Multiflora 

[timberking]

Giant salvinia on the lakes and tallow trees are coming on.  South of me , yaupon