Native Alternatives to Common Invasive Plants

A lot of plants still sold at big-box garden centers in Maryland are invasive — they escape into our parks and forests, crowd out the natives wildlife depends on, and are genuinely hard to undo. The good news: for every one, there's a native that's just as pretty (usually prettier) and actually earns its keep.

Here's a swap list for the offenders I see most often in DC-area yards.

Trees & large shrubs

• Instead of Bradford / Callery Pear → plant Amelanchier (Serviceberry), Cercis canadensis (Redbud), or Chionanthus virginicus (Fringe Tree). Same spring flowers, far better wildlife value.
• Instead of Burning Bush → plant Itea virginica (Sweetspire), Fothergilla, or Aronia arbutifolia (Red Chokeberry) for the same fiery fall red.
• Instead of Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo) → plant Ilex verticillata (Winterberry) or Aronia for winter berries — Nandina's berries are toxic to birds.
• Instead of Japanese Barberry → plant Ilex glabra (Inkberry), Itea virginica, or Rosa virginiana.

Flowering shrubs

• Instead of Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) → plant Cephalanthus occidentalis (Buttonbush), Clethra alnifolia (Summersweet), or Eutrochium (Joe Pye — technically a perennial, but it grows to shrub size by late summer). Butterfly bush feeds adult butterflies but hosts no caterpillars; these natives do both.

Vines

• Instead of Japanese Honeysuckle → plant Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) — a hummingbird favorite that stays put.
• Instead of Chinese/Japanese Wisteria → plant Wisteria frutescens (American Wisteria) — the same drama without strangling your house.

Ground covers

• Instead of English Ivy → plant Packera aurea (Golden Groundsel), Asarum canadense (Wild Ginger), or Carex pensylvanica (PA Sedge).
• Instead of Vinca / Periwinkle → plant Phlox stolonifera (Creeping Phlox) or Mitchella repens (Partridgeberry).
• Instead of Liriope (Monkey Grass) → plant Carex appalachica or Carex pensylvanica for the same soft edging.

Grasses

• Instead of Miscanthus / Pampas Grass → plant Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass), Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem), or Muhlenbergia capillaris (Pink Muhly).

See also: Best Native Plants for Pollinators · Where to Buy Native Plants · All guides