{"id":14111,"date":"2020-04-15T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=14111"},"modified":"2025-08-02T10:34:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T14:34:53","slug":"invasive-species-good-and-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/invasive-species-good-and-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"Invasive Species: the Good News and the Bad News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of our favorite plants have multiple personalities. There is a good side and a bad side, shown especially when they escape the landscape and spread to our native areas, becoming invasive. When it comes to invasive plants in landscapes, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that invasive plants are planted intentionally as ornamentals, and several species known to be invasive are readily available for sale from nurseries and garden centers. The good news is that there are many beautiful plants to choose from that are not invasive. Indeed, while many of the most picturesque garden plants are not native to the Midwest, the majority are not invasive. For example, hosta, smoke tree, boxwoods, Japanese tree lilacs, and dwarf shrub junipers are all non-native to the region but are not known to be invasive. However, brad ford pear, red barberry, burning bush and other \u201cgo-to\u201d landscape plants are damaging our natural ecosystem by establishing themselves where they really aren\u2019t welcome. These plants should be avoided and even considered for removal and replacement.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\"callery<\/a>

After their seeds are disseminated, callery pears can invade natural and disturbed areas.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"callery<\/a>

Many callery pears can produce abundant fruit
that are widely distributed by birds<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"Invasive's<\/a>

Mile-a-minute vine grows more than 25 feet in height in one growing season while covering and smothering forest trees.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Invasive<\/a>

Garlic mustard produces chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Several professional landscape and nursery organizations have taken the charge in eliminating these harmful plants. They believe invasive species adversely affect the integrity of ecosystems and cause both environmental degradation and economic harm. Invasive species – whether they are plants, animals, fungi, or insects – may cause deterioration of native habitats and plant communities as well as damage to designed and managed ecosystems. Because invasives reduce biodiversity and disrupt the healthy structure and function of both native and human ecosystems, planners, contractors, arborists, landscape architects and other green industry professionals should not introduce or support the use of known invasive species. And, where they are already existing, steps should be taken to eradicate them.<\/p>\n

Read the publication Commercial Greenhouse and Nursery Production: Alternative Options for Invasive Landscape Plants<\/a> for more information. Also, here are several online resources for details on invasive pests:
\nMidwest Invasive Plant Network<\/a>
\nIndiana Invasive Species Council<\/a>
\nInvasive.org<\/a>
\nIndiana Wildlife Federation<\/a><\/p>\n

To view more Got Nature? posts on Invasive Species:
\nWoodland Invaders<\/a>
\nWhat are invasive species and why should I care?<\/a><\/p>\n

Resources
\n<\/strong>Indiana DNR Division of Forestry<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Report Invasive<\/a>, Purdue Extension
\nThe GLEDN Phone App<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Great Lakes Early Detection Network
\nEDDMaps<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (Report Invasives)
\nCooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA)<\/a>
\nIndiana Department of Natural Resources: Invasive Species<\/a>
\nIndiana Invasive Species Council<\/a>
\nCommercial Greenhouse and Nursery Production: Alternative Options for Invasive Landscape Plants<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension\u2019s resource center
\nWhat Nurseries Need to Know About the Invasive Species Regulation<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension\u2019s resource center
\nInvasive plants: impact on environment and people<\/a>, The Education Store, Purdue Extension\u2019s resource center<\/p>\n

Lindsey Purcell<\/a>, Chapter Executive Director
\nIndiana Arborist Association<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of our favorite plants have multiple personalities. There is a good side and a bad side, shown especially when they escape the landscape and spread to our native areas, becoming invasive. When it comes to invasive plants in landscapes, there is good news and bad news. The bad news is that invasive plants are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48,49],"tags":[256,943,224],"class_list":["post-14111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-invasiveplantspecies","category-plants","tag-fnr","tag-fnr-extension","tag-invasive","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14111"}],"version-history":[{"count":125,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34248,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14111\/revisions\/34248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}