Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants
Button Bush
The following information comes from:
Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants
by Burrell, C. Colston (https://www.ccolstonburrell.com)
Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants
by Burrell, C. Colston (https://www.ccolstonburrell.com)
The biggest enemy of any garden is not a pest, disease, or poison—it’s any plant with tougher survival skills than the plants it competes with. The best way to weed out the invaders is with this fiendishly clever guide to native plants. While replacing the invaders, the beautiful, hardy native plants described here also attract native birds and butterflies, while turning away their own enemy invaders. Word-and-picture guides provide tips on care and maintenance, while helpful “at a glance” boxes depict shapes, sizes, best locations, and most attractive features of each native alternative.
In conjunction with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s All-Region Guide: Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, the plants on this list have been selected by the handbook's author, C. Colston Burrell, as native alternatives to invasive plants for use in gardens, yards, and natural plantings. The list is organized by horticultural plant group: trees, shrubs,vines, herbaceous plants, and grasses. For each invasive species listed [on this web site], several natives are suggested alternatives, along with their natural range in continental North America. Ideally the alternative matches most or all of the invasive plant's desirable characteristics, such as flowers, fruit, fall color, and ease of care.
The checklist below was used to select the recommend alternatives that most closely match the corresponding invasive species:
•Is the plant locally or regionally native?
•Are the flowers or fruit the same color?
•Is the inflorescence the same shape and size?
•Does the plant bloom at the same time?
•Is the foliage similar in form, texture, and color?
•Is the overall shape and size of the plant similar?
•Does the plant have multiple seasons of interest?
•Is the root system similar?
•Is the plant easy to establish and maintain?
•Will it grow in the same hardiness zone and under the same site conditions?
The sample list below is by no means all-inclusive and was compiled for a broader region than just Arkansas, but is a useful sampling. More information can be found at: www.dgif.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/native-alternatives-to-invasive-plants.pdf
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Invasive Species Native Alternatives
Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) ......................................................................... Hairy angelica (Angelica venenosa)
Crown vetch (Coronilla varia) ................................................................................... Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)
Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)
Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) ....................................................................... Carolina phlox (Phlox carolina)
Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare or Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) ...... VA mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)
Robin’s plantain (Erigeron pulchellis)
Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) ..................................................................... Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
Weeping Willow (Salix x sepulcralis or S. babylonica) ........................................... Black Willow (Salix nigra)
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii and hybrids; alsoB. lindleyana) .......................... Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) ................................................................... Witch Alder (Fothergilla gardenii or F. major)
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
VA Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster apiculatus, C. franchetii, C. microphyllus, etc.) ......... Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus)
Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) ...................................................................... Silky willow (Salix sericea)
Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) ......................................................................... Southern waxmyrtle or Bayberry
(Morella cerifera or Myrica cerifera)
American snowbell (Styrax americanus)
Groundsel bush (Baccharis halimifolia)
Winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) ...................................................................... Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)
Mimosa or Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin) ..................................................................... Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Princess Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) ....................................................................... Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) ..................................................................................... Mountain Hollyhock (Iliamna rivularis)
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) ...................................................................................... Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)
Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) ........................................................................ Yellow wood (Cladrastis kentukea)
Weeping Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) .................................................................. Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) .......................................................................... Red fescue (Festuca rubra)
Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) .............................................................................. Purpletop (Tridens flavus)
Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) ........................................................................ Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata)
English ivy (Hedera helix) ............................................................................................ Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens)
Jasmine (Jasminum dichotomum and J. fluminense)............................................... Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) ............................................................... Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) ....................................................... Peppervine (Ampelopsis arborea)
Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) ............................................................. American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)
Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) and Chinese wisteria (W. sinensis) ....... American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens or macrostachya)
In conjunction with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s All-Region Guide: Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants, the plants on this list have been selected by the handbook's author, C. Colston Burrell, as native alternatives to invasive plants for use in gardens, yards, and natural plantings. The list is organized by horticultural plant group: trees, shrubs,vines, herbaceous plants, and grasses. For each invasive species listed [on this web site], several natives are suggested alternatives, along with their natural range in continental North America. Ideally the alternative matches most or all of the invasive plant's desirable characteristics, such as flowers, fruit, fall color, and ease of care.
The checklist below was used to select the recommend alternatives that most closely match the corresponding invasive species:
•Is the plant locally or regionally native?
•Are the flowers or fruit the same color?
•Is the inflorescence the same shape and size?
•Does the plant bloom at the same time?
•Is the foliage similar in form, texture, and color?
•Is the overall shape and size of the plant similar?
•Does the plant have multiple seasons of interest?
•Is the root system similar?
•Is the plant easy to establish and maintain?
•Will it grow in the same hardiness zone and under the same site conditions?
The sample list below is by no means all-inclusive and was compiled for a broader region than just Arkansas, but is a useful sampling. More information can be found at: www.dgif.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/native-alternatives-to-invasive-plants.pdf
=======================================================================================================
Invasive Species Native Alternatives
Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota) ......................................................................... Hairy angelica (Angelica venenosa)
Crown vetch (Coronilla varia) ................................................................................... Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)
Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)
Dame’s Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) ....................................................................... Carolina phlox (Phlox carolina)
Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare or Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) ...... VA mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
Wild Quinine (Parthenium integrifolium)
Robin’s plantain (Erigeron pulchellis)
Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila paniculata) ..................................................................... Flowering spurge (Euphorbia corollata)
Weeping Willow (Salix x sepulcralis or S. babylonica) ........................................... Black Willow (Salix nigra)
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii and hybrids; alsoB. lindleyana) .......................... Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
Japanese Barberry (Berberis thunbergii) ................................................................... Witch Alder (Fothergilla gardenii or F. major)
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
VA Sweetspire (Itea virginica)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster apiculatus, C. franchetii, C. microphyllus, etc.) ......... Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus)
Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) ...................................................................... Silky willow (Salix sericea)
Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) ......................................................................... Southern waxmyrtle or Bayberry
(Morella cerifera or Myrica cerifera)
American snowbell (Styrax americanus)
Groundsel bush (Baccharis halimifolia)
Winged euonymus (Euonymus alatus) ...................................................................... Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica)
Mimosa or Silk Tree (Albizia julibrissin) ..................................................................... Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Princess Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) ....................................................................... Northern catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) ..................................................................................... Mountain Hollyhock (Iliamna rivularis)
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) ...................................................................................... Golden Alexanders (Zizia aurea)
Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) ........................................................................ Yellow wood (Cladrastis kentukea)
Weeping Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) .................................................................. Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) .......................................................................... Red fescue (Festuca rubra)
Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) .............................................................................. Purpletop (Tridens flavus)
Water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) ........................................................................ Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata)
English ivy (Hedera helix) ............................................................................................ Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens)
Jasmine (Jasminum dichotomum and J. fluminense)............................................... Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) ............................................................... Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Porcelain berry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata) ....................................................... Peppervine (Ampelopsis arborea)
Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) ............................................................. American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)
Japanese wisteria (Wisteria floribunda) and Chinese wisteria (W. sinensis) ....... American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens or macrostachya)
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