4. Plants to Avoid

There are a number of non-native landscape plants which "escape" into natural areas with disastrous results for our native plants and wildlife.

These plants are often popular at garden centers and nurseries because they thrive in a wide variety of conditions and have few or no natural enemies. This means, however, that when their seed is dispersed by birds, or wind, or water into natural areas, they are so successful that they overwhelm our native species. Areas that were richly biodiverse -- supporting a wonderful array of flowers, plants and animals -- become sterile monocultures.

The following is a list of some of the plants known to create problems in southeast Michigan and which you should not use in your landscape. The number of such plants continues to grow, so please be careful in your plant selections:

Trees:
Norway maple (Acer platanoides)
Amur maple (Acer ginnala)
Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
European alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Goldenraintree (Koelruteria paniculata)
Amur Cork Tree (Phellodendron amurense)
White poplar (Populus alba)
Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila)

Shrubs and Vines:
Porcelainberry(Ampelopsis brevipendunculata)
Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
Common barberry (Berberis vulgaris)
Butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii)
Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster microphyllus)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster pannosus)
Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster lacteus)
Autumn olive (Eleagnus umbellata)
Russian olive (Eleagnus angustifolia)
Burning bush (Euonymus alatus)
Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei)
English ivy (Hedera helix)
Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) Morrow honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowi)
Tartarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica)
Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica)
Glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula)
Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)
Japanese spiraea (Spiraea japonica)
Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata)
Guelder rose (Viburnum opulus var. opulus)

Grasses and Grass-like Plants:
Chinese silver grass (Miscanthus sinensis)
Giant Reed (Phragmites communis)
Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea)