COMMON NORTHEAST FLORIDA INVASIVES AND NATIVE ALTERNATIVES

There’s nothing like sitting back and admiring your native landscape knowing it looks great while providing benefits to our ecosystems, all in a low maintenance kind of way.  But one thing that can certainly throw a wrench into this experience is the presence of “invasive” plants.  The term invasive can sometimes (technically, incorrectly) be used to describe any plant that is aggressively growing or spreading in an area, but invasives are truly only those non-native species that are outside their natural range and cause harm to the environment, the economy and/or humans.  

You’ll want to readily identify these in your yard and remove them before they quickly take hold and outcompete your treasured native plants.  In this article, we’ll highlight some common invasive plant species we see across landscapes in Northeast Florida and suggest more Florida friendly options for their replacement.

Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea)

Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Good fences make good neighbors, right? This invasive species is commonly used to create natural privacy fences in yards, but once established, it quickly reproduces via rhizomes (or underground stems) and moves on well beyond your yard, impacting your neighbors and creating a dense stand impenetrable to some wildlife.  As an alternative, plant our native “switch cane”, or “giant cane”, (Arundinaria gigantea), which is also a perennial species that can reach up to 25 feet in height, or consider a non-invasive clumping bamboo such as “graceful bamboo” (Bambusa textilis), which doesn’t have long running underground rhizomes. 

Mexican Petunia (Ruellia simplex)

Shaun Winterton, Aquarium and Pond Plants of the World, Edition 3, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org

This showy, seemingly never-ending bloom show of a plant is a commonly sold invasive in many garden centers.  Mexican petunia is a perennial sought after for its colorful purple to pinkish or white blooms and its “plant it and forget it” kind of ways.  Before you know it though, it will spread rapidly via rhizomes or seeds and will become difficult to contain in your garden beds.  This invasive is very difficult to remove once established and will replace native flora.  There are also other varieties, such as Ruellia squarrosa, or even sterile cultivars that while not listed as invasive, exhibit similar aggressive growth behavior. Your best bet is to go for our native wild petunia instead, Ruellia caroliniensis, which is a host larval plant for several of our native butterflies. 

Chinese Tallow Tree (Triadica sebifera)

Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org

The Chinese Tallow Tree is an invasive so bad it’s on the Florida naughty list of “Florida Noxious Weeds”, meaning it’s actually illegal to sell it or transport it outside of state lines without approval.  So, if this tree has made its way into your yard, likely due to its prolific seed generation and the birds that spread them, you’ll want to remove it as soon as possible, ideally before it sets its average of 100,000 seeds per tree.  If you need another reason to get rid of it, its leaves and fruit are also toxic to cattle and can make humans ill, too.  A common option for removal of large trees is to stump cut the tree and immediately follow up with herbicide to prevent re-sprouting.  Small seedlings can be hand pulled and it usually takes several years for a tree to produce seeds, so best to get them out while they’re young.  A nice deciduous native alternative is the redbud, or Cercis canadensis.

So, bad news doesn’t get better with time, and neither do invasive plants in your yard. Remember to act quickly to remove invasives once you’ve identified them.  For a full list of Florida’s invasive plants and additional information, visit the Florida Invasive Species Council website and be sure to take advantage of the Florida Association of Native Nurseries (FANN) to find native plants near you. 

Too overwhelmed? Reach out to us at Wacca Pilatka and we can help remove and replace your invasives with beautiful native alternatives.