Creating a Wild Backyard - Bad Plants Planted by Good People

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When you go to the nursery, you might have the best intentions of redesigning your landscape to attract wildlife. However, not all plants sold in nurseries and at stores are good for wildlife and the environment. When selecting plants for backyard wildlife habitat, native species are generally the best choices. Unfortunately, native species are not always readily available at most commercial nurseries. So, your best plan of action is to go to the store armed with knowledge to avoid purchasing problem plants. To begin, let’s define what is considered to be native, non-native and invasive.

• Native: species which naturally occur in a region (like Maryland)
• Non-Native: species which do not naturally occur in a region
• Invasive: non-native species that cause environmental, economic or health-related problems

Invasive species are problematic, and their introductions into natural systems can be intentional or unintentional. Invasive species can be animals, plants, fungi and even microbes. Billions of dollars are spent each year in the United States to control invasive species. It has been estimated that $45 million per year is spent on control of the invasive Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) on federal lands. That’s a lot of cash!

One way you can help with the battle against invasive plants is to not plant them in your yard. The following list contains species currently sold at nurseries that should be avoided. It should be noted that not all non-native plants are invasive, and there are plenty of non-native plants which can be used to enhance your backyard wildlife habitat. Check out pages found on the Wild Acres site here for more information on desirable species for wildlife.

As of 2011, the Maryland Invasive Plants Prevention and Control Law was passed. The law designates certain invasive plants as either Tier 1 (illegal to propagate, import, transfer, sell, purchase, transport, or introduce any living part of a Tier 1 invasive plant in Maryland) or Tier 2 (legal to sell but with proper signage indicating invasiveness). Each species is classified using a detailed weed risk assessment analysis. The listing process is on-going, and current information on the law and listed species can be found here: mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/maryland_invasive_plants_prevention_and_control.aspx

Some of Maryland’s Problem Plants