?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

[TKehl]

Multiflora rose & Canadian thistle.  At least the goats eat the rosebushes, so we are making progress.  Sadly, they won't do more than nip the buds off the thistle.   :(
 
I've decided I like autumn olive.  Fixes nitrogen on our poor pastures and puts up leaves early giving forage for our goats.  It's only recently made it to our area, but I see a lot more now that I know what it is and look for it.  Looking forward to trying the berries this fall.  

[Southside]

Yup - Autum olive is a healer of the dirt for sure.  I even appreciate my Johnson Grass, learn to manage it and the cows do great on it.  

I don't know about goats but you can get cows to eat thistle, they learn to work it from the bottom up so the points don't jab them, about the same if not more nutrition than alfalfa with that giant tap root.  

[caveman]

I forgot to mention Lantana camara (our worst non-native Lantana).  It's green berries are very toxic to animals and people.  The leaves can kill livestock.  I have seen cows that have eaten the leaves and live but most times, the skin under their white hair will sluff off and they will be sick for some time.  This stuff can take over old citrus groves and establishes quickly in pastures.

[Don P]

On the autumn olive, we had a berry buyer from NYC here a few years ago who bought about 35,000 lbs of berries and took them up there to make smoothies and other things, I think they were calling them lycoberries, might still have a webpage.  Don't think it took off or at least that was the last of it for here. They are a good antioxidant. One of our extension agents has said "If we ever offer a non native with berries as a wildlife food, RUN!"

I used to have a picture of a before and after of a erosion gulley "saved" by kudzu with the proud agent standing in front of his handiwork :. I think it swallowed him moments later.

[TKehl]

I don't know about goats but you can get cows to eat thistle,

That would make sense as we don't see thistle in the pastures, just road ditches and crop fields.  I get along fine with Jonson grass also.

Goats will eat stems on multiflora rose and blackberry up to the size of a pencil, thorns and all, and I call Honey Locust "goat crack" the way they go after it.  However, I think they got to be more selective in the crop fields before planting and only took the buds off the thistles.  I've just been terrified of thistle taking over and have attacked it with gusto.  ;D

About half the invasives I see are great forage looking for something to eat it.  ;)  

[pineywoods]

Privet...privet. The local honeysuckle take up with the privet to make a mess that a rabbit couldn't wiggle through. Have to dig the stuff out, cut it off at ground level, and just makes more sprouts. 

[Texas Ranger]

I was going to say "yankees" until I reread the title.  :D 8)

[thecfarm]

I would like to see about 500,000 Yankees head down that way. ;D And stay.

[Southside]

I thought the invasion into Texas was more from the land of fruit and nuts.  

[btulloh]

Privet...privet. The local honeysuckle take up with the privet to make a mess that a rabbit couldn't wiggle through. Have to dig the stuff out, cut it off at ground level, and just makes more sprouts.

You're right about that.  Honeysuckle and privet together is a bad mess.
Treat those cut privet stumps immediately with anything that has triclopyr and they'll be gone for good.  Spraying the whole mess with some sort of Triclopyr will kill it pretty well too, but it takes more stuff and you're left with a big brown mess.

[btulloh]

I would like to see about 500,000 Yankees head down that way. ;D And stay.

Our grit wall will keep that from happening.  :D

[Don P]

Winter is coming

[Roxie]

multiflora rose (what is the DuPont connection Roxie?)

On a visit to Longwood Gardens which was owned by Pierre S. DuPont in the 1800's, I learned that it was brought from Asia to establish hedges for livestock.  It was further used as root stock for other roses. 

[WDH]

I would like to see about 500,000 Yankees head down that way. ;D And stay.

It has happened before.

[mike_belben]

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

I was gonna say yankees and their 401k.  

[wisconsitom]

Here in east-central Wisconsin, common buckthorn, hands-down.  No other plant has the shade tolerance, fruiting (seeding) ability, allelopathy (soil-poisoning), crowding-out ability of common buckthorn.  Ruining forests right and left.

I have said to our state's DNR leader on exotic invasives...on a popular public radio show...that for one penny to be spent on a host of minor players, all the while pretty much having given up on the buckthorn...is a crime.  My comments were not popular on that show that day.

wisconsitom  

ps...where my woods and tree farm lies...58 miles due north of my driveway apron, there is no buckthorn.  Yet.
pps...the Texas guys sure seem insecure!

[Hyrb]

Chinese Privet
Japanese Privet
Yankee Privet
Mexican Privet
California Privet

and  Nandina  Lots and lots of Nandina

[Rhodemont]

Green Briar (ouch) and sweet pepper bush.  

[Klunker]

On my place, Bush Honeysuckle.
I've got the Garlic Mustard under control and its declining rapidily.
Buckthorn was just getting started, I have knocked it back significantly. It'll be rare in another year.
The Bush Honeysuckle is thick in 2-3 spots but there are plants everywhere.
Next summer I'll start putting a heavy hurt on it.

Trouble is with all these its a continuous battle.
Gotta keep after them, can't ever stop and think your done.

[mike_belben]

Pith poor red maple is out breeding all the hardwoods around me.  

Also bush honeysuckle. Seems mostly limited to steep well draining slopes, unlike the maple.   

[reelman65]

In NGA, Kudzu for plant and sweetgum for tree

[Ljohnsaw]

Interesting thread.  Down here (Sacramento valley), it would be Star Thistle.  It thrives on sparse watering.  The edges of pastures have walls of this nasty stuff.  Goats seem to like it but causes big issues with horses.  Lots of water seems to do it in but then nut sedge takes over  :  Blackberries take over wherever the is an opening in the canopy.  Trees would have to be privet.  It pops up everywhere!

Up the hill at 5,800' elevation, there doesn't seem to be any non-natives surviving.  Just the Incense Cedar will take over as it is very prolific at that elevation.

[yetti462]

Callery pear.  This crap is spreading fast and hard to control.  I'd rather have multi-flora rose than this. 

[nativewolf]

In NGA, Kudzu for plant and sweetgum for tree

I mean sweetgum is prolific but it is not invasive..just a hardy native maybe poking north of traditional range a bit as things warm up.

[frazman]

Our invasive species is Red Bartsia. It came from Germany back in the 1950 as crating straw for our Canadian Armed Forces base not far from here. It spreads in our hay fields , pastures and road side. This weed is very hard to control. Most people find it to be a pretty redish/purple flower in the fall time but there is nothing pretty about this plant. When I see small patches in my hay field , I will go out and pull the plants and burn them before the seeds fall to the ground to multiply...

[Woodpecker52]

Barabas bush takes over fields has white wind blown seeds, leaves smell like pungent  wet dog,  plant came from somewhere around eastern Europe just another @#@! hole plant like kudzu edited by admin  up the southern eco.  No telling what else will be loused  on us from abroad, lets see chestnut blight, dutch elm, fire ant, emerald ash borer, flying carp, Burmese python, mimosa, and on and on and on.  I am surprised they haven't put snakes in Herwayall yet.

[wisconsitom]

North American plants...things like Canada goldenrod...are spreading around Europe and elsewhere.  Not a one-way phenomenon.

tom