Native Alternatives to Emerging Invasives

For our 2024 Invasive Species Madness bracket, we chose eight emerging invasives to face off for the title of champion. Vinca won the popular vote, but all the contenders deserve to be replaced with native alternatives! Here’s a list of alternatives for each.

Vinca

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)

• Spreading perennial groundcover with an edible, gingery rootstalk

• Host plant for the Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly

• Shade and moist soil

Woodland Sedum (Sedum ternatum)

• Creeping evergreen perennial with white flowers in spring

• Part shade and thin soil

Allegheny Spurge (Pachysandra procumbens)

• Spreading semi-evergreen groundcover

• Shade and rich soil

• Plant in a sheltered spot

Burning Bush

Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia)

• Red fall color

• Nutritious berries for birds persist through winter

• Dwarf cultivars available

• Full sun and moist soil

Sweetspire (Itea virginica)

• Red fall color

• Fragrant spring flowers attract pollinators

• Forms colonies

• Part sun and moist soil

• Deer resistant

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)

• Dramatic summer flowers, red fall color and ornamental bark

• Part sun and cool, mulched soil

• Dwarf cultivars available

Japanese Barberry

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolia)

• Spring flowers attract pollinators

• Sun or shade, dry or moist soil

• Tolerates heavy clay

Inkberry (Ilex glabra)

• Pollinated female plants produce black berries loved by birds

• Evergreen

• Part shade and moist soil

• Dwarf cultivars available

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

• Beautiful purple berries loved by birds and wildlife

• 3 to 6 feet tall and wide

• Part shade and moist soils

• Tolerates heavy clay

Norway Maple

Sugar Maple (Acer saccarum):

• Fall color

• Large tree with medium growth rate

• Attracts songbirds and pollinators

• Full sun and rich soil

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

• Fall color

• Attracts wildlife

• Full sun and swampy soil

Sweetgum Tree (Liquidambar styraciflua)

• Fall color

  Full sun and moist soil

• Tolerates heavy clay

• Deer tolerant

Weeping Cherry

Serviceberry (Amelanchier)

• Small tree with white spring flowers

• Single or multi stemmed

• Fall color

• Deer resistant

Weeping Redbud (Cercis Canadensis ‘Ruby Falls’)

• Small tree with purple spring flowers

• Ruby Falls is a weeping variety with purple leaves

• Tolerates heavy clay and part shade

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

• Small tree with white spring flowers

• Fall color

• Attracts birds, butterflies and wildlife

• Shade and dry or moist soil

Sweet Autumn Clematis

Virgin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana)

• Woody perennial vine

• Fragrant autumn flowers attract pollinators and hummingbirds

• Full sun to full shade

• Deer resistant

Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

• Semi-evergreen twining vine

• Spring flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds

• Part shade and rich soil

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

• Herbaceous vine with dramatic flowers and edible fruit

• Sun to part shade and dry to moist soil

Doublefile Viburnum

Blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium)

• Large shrub with white flowers, dark berries and red fall color

• Attracts pollinators and songbirds

• Part shade and moist to dry soil

Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)

• Many-branched colony forming shrub with white summer flowers

• Host plant for the Spring Azure Butterfly

• Adaptable to most soil and light conditions

Possumhaw (Viburnum nudum)

• Aromatic white summer flowers

• Fruits attract songbirds

• Fall color

• 5 to 12 feet tall and wide

• Part shade and medium to wet soil

Rose of Sharon

Swamp Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos)

• Shrubby perennial

• Showy flowers attract butterflies in summer

• Full sun and medium to wet soil

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia)

• Multi-stemmed spreading shrub

• Aromatic flowers attract bees

• Full sun and moist soil

• Tolerates clay soil

• Deer resistant

• Dwarf cultivars available

Smooth Hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens)

• Showy summer flowers

• Host plant for the Hydrangea Sphinx Moth

• Shade and well-drained soil

• Many cultivars available