Invasive Plants: 10 Beautiful But Invasive Perennials You Do Not Want In Your Garden

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These invasive plants are all beautiful so you will be tempted to plant them in your garden. Find out which invasive species are not worth the hassle.

10 Beautiful Invasive Plants You Do Not Want In Your Garden

Since I’m in planning mode for adding a Japanese-inspired garden to my yard, I have been looking for plants that I will want to include in the space.  (You can see some of my inspiration for that HERE).

And I was surprised to find that some types of Japanese maples (a requirement for a Japanese garden if you ask me) are on the Invasive Species list!

That got me thinking about all of the experiences I have had with invasive plants over the years.  I know that I do not want to intentionally plant another one!

For one thing, invasive species add so much more work to the gardening process.  If you read my post on low maintenance gardening, you know that even though I love my garden, I also don’t want to spend all of my free time working in it.

And the second problem is that most of these plants can easily escape your garden. When they set up shop in a natural habitat, they really cause a lot of damage to the native ecosystem.

So in the interest of sharing, keep reading to see my list of beautiful invasive plants you do not want in your garden.

Note: Whether or not these (or any other) plants will become invasive in your garden depends on the growing conditions in your area.

The plants on this list can all be found on invasive plants lists maintained by state and university extension programs. Which means they have the potential to become invasive.

But if you live in an area where the growing conditions are not favorable for the plants, they may not cause any problems…or may not grow at all 🙂

If you’re not sure how a plant will behave in your area, talk to your local nursery and other gardeners in your neighborhood to find out. Or check the Invasive Plant Atlas for North America, which provides maps of where different varieties of plants are considered to be invasive.

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)

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Purple Loosestrife

Purple Loosestrife by GartenAkademie (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a very hardy perennial that spreads easily and can choke out a natural wetland (or field) very quickly.

The density of the shoots kills all other plants in its path, which is why it is on many invasive species lists across North America (and has even been banned in some places).

Cooper Marsh Purple Loosestrife

Cooper Marsh Purple Loosestrife By Saffron Blaze (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

This picture of the Cooper Marsh Conservation Area in Ontario, Canada shows just how invasive it can be.

Garden varieties of Loosestrife are still for sale in some places, and are sometimes included in wildflower seed packets.

Since these can cross-polinate with wild varieties to create seeds, make sure to double-check what you are buying.

If you want more information, there is an in depth article on the Minnesota Sea Grant website.

Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)

Japanese Honesuckle

Forest & Kim Starr [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I have never actually planted Japanese Honeysuckle, but I do have first hand experience with how invasive it is.

Some of it is growing wild in the ravine behind my house and it is impossible to keep under control. I actually think it is worse than the kudzu…and if you live in a location where kudzu grows, you know how invasive it is…

This Honeysuckle has white and yellow flowers that are really pretty, and it smells wonderful when it is blooming.  But it is definitely not worth the trade off of trying to keep it from strangling all other living plants!

Once it escapes into the wild (as it inevitably seems to do), it is devastating to the environment.

Note: There are non-invasive varieties of Honeysuckle which will be just fine in your garden. It’s the Japanese version that can cause problems.

Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora)

Autumn Clematis
Autumn Clematis

Autumn Clematis is not a plant that I ever would have guessed to be invasive. All of the other clematis varieties I have grown have always been very well behaved.

I planted this on my fence a couple of years ago, and actually it never did very much in my yard (I thought it had died). Then I was out pulling the kudzu and honeysuckle outside my fence, and saw this other vine that was growing everywhere. The blooms looked a lot like the autumn clematis I had planted, but I thought it couldn’t be the same plant.

Then I looked it up and found it on the Invasive Plant Atlas for South Carolina.

Of course, there are many non-invasive varieties of Clematis which absolutely deserve a spot in your garden, so don’t be afraid to plant those ones!

Wisteria (all varieties)

Wisteria

Wisteria By Dcrjsr (Own work) [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I hate to add Wisteria to this list (it is really beautiful when it is blooming!)…but having lots of personal experience, I really can’t leave it off…

When I moved to South Carolina, a lot of people warned me that I shouldn’t plant Wisteria. I even had a co-worker tell me a story about over-turning a rented Bobcat trying to pull out Wisteria from the ravine at the back of his yard…but that still didn’t stop me from planting it.

Wisteria is an invasive plant species

I read that the Chinese (Wisteria sinensis) and Japanese versions (Wisteria floribunda) of Wisteria were invasive (you can find them on the Plant Conservation Alliance’s Least Wanted Vines list), but the American variety (Wisteria frutescens) was not on the list.  So how bad could it be? (I have since found out that only non-native plant varieties are classified as “invasive”. So because this is a native variety, it isn’t on the list.)

Wisteria covering the fence

Now that I have it growing in my garden, I can vouch for the fact that once it gets going, even the native variety grows like crazy.

It starts out as a little plant, and it takes a little while to get going…but once it does, look out!  You have to be really vigilant about pruning to keep it where you want it. The picture above was taken in the spring after I had completely cut the wisteria down to the ground in the fall.  By the time it started blooming, it had completely covered the fence.

Then if you ever want to remove it, good luck 🙂 I tried to dig up a plant at the back of my yard 7 or 8 years ago, and I am still pulling rogue Wisteria plants out of the garden in that spot.  The lesson learned is…if you love the look of Wisteria as much as I do, you need to be prepared to do some work to keep it contained!

Wisteria painted on a wall

Maybe I should just stick to the painted kind…like I did in my office a while back (you can see the instructions for that project here).

Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)

Lily of the Valley

Lily of the Valley By H. Zell (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Lily of the Valley is a pretty woodland plant that blooms in the spring and has a wonderful perfume.

They are very easy to grow and will spread like wild fire…which is the first reason you don’t want them in your garden.

But the second (and maybe more important) reason is that these plants are extremely poisonous. Any pets or children (or even adults) that eat part of the plant will require medical treatment for poison.

Periwinkle (Vinca minor)

Vinca Minor

By Forest Wander from Cross Lanes, USA (Forget me not flowers) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Periwinkle is an easy to grow evergreen ground cover that does well in the shade and is covered with really pretty blue flowers in the spring.

Sounds great, doesn’t it?

However, it also will overrun every other plant in your garden if you let it.

Trillium with Periwinkle
Trillium with Periwinkle

It starts out well mannered and seems like the perfect plant to add some interest underneath other plants in your garden.

But after if has become established (which takes a few years), it will start to grow up the stems of other plants and choke out any smaller plants in its way…except for the weeds which still seem to survive. You can see it in the background of this picture…it is beginning to get to the “takeover” stage.

This is another plant that I have spent many years trying to eradicate from my garden…without success so far…

Non-Clumping Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea)

Bamboo in Maui
Bamboo in Maui

Ever since I saw this bamboo forest on Maui, I have loved the look (and sound) of bamboo.

It adds such a relaxing feel to the garden.

Many bamboo species are very invasive
Many bamboo species are very invasive

And then I saw the bamboo that had been planted along the railway tracks in South Carolina to act as a sound barrier…and has now taken over whole backyards.  It is incredibly difficult to remove or contain once it has become established.

Since bamboo is part of the grass family, it is literally like grass on steroids.  If you’ve ever tried to keep a running variety of grass (like Bermuda) out of your garden, you know how hard it is.  Then think of trying to do that if the grass were the size of a bamboo plant!

There are some clumping bamboo varieties that are not as invasive, so make sure you plant one of these if you want bamboo in your garden.

Pampas Grass (Cortaderia selloana)

Pampas Grass
Pampas Grass

Pampas Grass is another large perennial grass that looks beautiful and is very easy to grow.

It also grows very quickly into a large clump and will self seed freely.

And that’s where the problem starts. It can easily crowd out all other plants if you are not vigilant about keeping it in check.  Then if you try to dig it up, it has a massive root system that is very difficult to remove.

English Ivy (Hedera helix)

English Ivy by MurielBendel (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

English Ivy by MurielBendel (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Like a lot of people, I used to love using English Ivy in my hanging baskets.  It always looks so nice trailing over the edge of the pot.

But if even one little piece of it touches the ground, you will have more ivy than you know what to do with.

That’s also what makes it so hard to get rid of…you have to remove every little bit of it from the ground or it will grow back.

Carpet Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)

Carpet Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)

As the name suggests, Carpet Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is another ground cover that on the surface seems like a great addition to your garden.

Low growing, evergreen with purple-green leaves, and beautiful blue-purple flowers. And then it starts to spread and it’s impossible to pull out…the roots are in there, and like the ivy, any little piece left in the ground will grow.

Carpet Bugleweed without blooms

In fact, in my yard, it not only takes over the garden but will totally cover the sidewalk, too if I let it.

If you are looking for a more comprehensive list of invasive plants, try the Invasive Plant Atlas for North America. The site was developed by The University of Georgia – Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health and the National Park Service, and is maintained by several university, state and federal extension programs.

invasive.org is another organization that maintains a database of all kinds of invasive organisms (not just plants) for North America.

Both sites provide maps with each plant listing that let you know where the plant is considered to be invasive.

Other Plants You Might Like Better

Do you have experience with any other types of invasive plants? Tell us in the section below.


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10 Beautiful Invasive Plants You Do Not Want In Your Garden

This post was originally published on January 13, 2017 but was updated with new content on September 15, 2022.


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433 Comments

  1. Helena Selstam Lilja says:

    Thank you so much for the advice. I bought one plant at Tesco with beautiful pink/ purple flowers and planted in a pot. I was going to transplant it but once I read your advice I didn’t do it.
    The plant is Loosestrife. You are right it grew very quickly inside the large pot . What should I do with it? Kill it off?
    I have a very large garden with wooded area and a field.

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Helena…I would check with the garden centers in your area to see if Loosestrife is considered invasive where you live. If it is, I would dump it (it can be very destructive). But if it isn’t, plant it…it does have very pretty flowers.

  2. Diane Desgroseilliers says:

    Sumacs and false sunflowers are also invasive. They are pretty but require a lot of continuous work to contain.

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Thanks for the additions to the list, Diane!

  3. It would be nice to know where you live, because up North in Canada, I have, for instance, periwinkle, and it has maybe doubled in size and flowered 2x in the 16 years I’ve had it. I think zones matter and it’s handy to have that info in articles like these.

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Hi Shelley…I totally agree that your growing conditions have a big impact on how aggressive different plants will be in your garden (which is why I put a note at the top saying that). If you have a shorter growing season, the plants don’t have as much time to spread so there’s less chance of them taking over. I currently live in South Carolina, but grew up in Toronto and gardened there for many years before moving to the States. In my garden, Periwinkle has been invasive in both places.

  4. Himalayan blackberry bushes are the worst.

  5. Don’t plant chameleon plants except and totally contained areas. I will go everywhere.

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Thanks for the addition to the list, Holly!

  6. Phyllis Kelley says:

    Wild Violets are beautiful little plants with bright green foliage and pretty purple blooms in the spring but look out! They spread like wildfire and are almost impossible to get rid of. They’re happy in shade or sun and will smother out anything given time. When we moved 8 years ago a sneaky little devil was hiding under a large potted hosta leaf and since then there has been a constant battle.

  7. Cathy Badalamenti says:

    You forgot to mention day lilies. I was given 3. I have been trying every year to dig them out. They still keep coming back. LOL.

    1. My son-in-law mows my yard and invariably mows over mine. They come right back but never have a chance to move from where I planted them.

  8. Jeannie Hester says:

    I thank you for this information. I have purple violets which I planted years ago and now have found them to be a very invasive species. I also have another thing that is ground cover (not) that is very invasive like kudzu. Now I have to try to get rid of it. I can’t find the name right now, I’m sorry. It even grows up trees and reaches out with branches as I call them. In my opinion they should not be able to sell invasive plants without a warning.

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Thanks for the addition to the list, Jeannie! I agree that invasive plants should be banned from stores!

  9. Elaine D Rhodes says:

    I knew most of these. Yet, here in Oregon I’ve seen them in nurseries. Pacasandra sp. is another one. You can’t kill it.

  10. I love to use Ajuga ground cover. It has helped prevent weeds, and it adds color beautifully in a Hosta and Azalea garden. I’ve always used a concrete border around it; it stayed within the space after 25 years plus.

  11. Trumpet vine! It attaches to everything, climbs into your A/C and any crack or crevice it can get into, like the siding on my house! And it is EVERYWHERE! and it’s woody so pulling it out is not so easy!

  12. I planted Ivy and now it is everywhere. I even spray it with weed killer. It is under my siding, up my chimney, climbing a 100 year old lilac tree. Already choked out one part of it. Big mistake.

  13. Marsha Peterson says:

    I had ferns at my old place. I don’t know what species they were but they were terribly invasive. I dug them up, and had to keep digging them up. It’s really difficult to get the major root knob, kind of reminded me of a pineapple, and then they grow under the ground. They string everywhere!!! Pretty but very invasive. If you want ferns, keep them in a container, not your gardens! Thanks!

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Thanks for the addition, Marsha! I have heard that some of the native ferns can be pretty aggressive.

  14. Kathy Fast says:

    I think I’ve had every one of these at one time or another. I’ve had no trouble with Loostrife being invasive but the one I could never get rid of was peppermint. I had it in a pot but it spread from there!

    1. Wanda Simone says:

      Thanks, Kathy! Peppermint is another one that can definitely be a problem!

  15. Perilla mint (beefsteak plant). Great for very tall back border, color, & I like the smell. Pull up before it seeds, or you will be sorry!!! It will seriously be Everywhere!

  16. Sherry Karaim says:

    Trumpet vine is beautiful and the humming birds love it. BUT it may take a few years but it becomes invasive. It spread to my neighbor’s and my yard; it is in all my other flower gardens that necessarily close to the mother plant. We dug out the main plant over 3 years ago and still it is popping up all over. It is VERY HARD to get ride of!! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

  17. Trumpet vine…..I can’t get it to stop spreading even to far reaches of our yard or in the grass. I’d appreciate advice on how to control it. The humming birds love it but I’m beginning to hate it.

  18. Renewal Page says:

    You really should add Passion flower to this list.

  19. Karla Jo Tupper says:

    Great list! I recommend adding violets. I planted 3 little 2” plants in my garden and now they are literally everywhere – in the grass, in rocks, in sidewalk cracks, in other planters. It’s crazy how they’ve spread even when I take them out as fast as I can when I see them.