• Altermatives to Upland Quarantined Invasive Species - Click for a printable, Adobe Acrobat version suitable for handing out.

In the interest of protecting natural habitats, how do we control invasive plants that may spread from our yards and gardens? The solution is a combination of strategies: removing invasive plants, preventing spread from existing infestations, and using alternative plants.
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Invasive plants are species that are introduced into new areas, where, free from their natural competitors, they can proliferate, persist, and spread to native natural habitats. In April of 2002 the Vermont Legislature passed the Plant Quarantine Rule, which made it illegal to 'sell, distribute or transport' certain invasive plants. In an effort to assist gardeners who wish to curb the invasives in their own backyards, the Vermont Invasive Exotic Plant Committee (IEPC) put together the following list of non-invasive garden substitutes for quarantined species. We recommend the use of plant material native to Vermont, propagated from local genetic stock whenever possible for plantings in or near natural habitats. See also the References for Native Plant Gardening listed below the table.

KEY: (VT) = Vermont native plant; (NA) = North American native plant; (NE) = New England native plant

Please be aware that some of these plants are easier to grow than others. Never remove plants from the wild!

References for Native Plant Gardening:

• Cullina, William. Growing and Propagating Wildflowers of the United States and Canada. The New England Wildflower Society, 2000.
• Pellet, Norman. Landscape Plants for Vermont. The University of Vermont Extension, 2002.
• Magee, Dennis W. and Harry E. Ahles. The Flora of the Northeast - A Manual of the Vascular Flora of New England and Adjacent New York. University of Massachusetts Press, 1999.
• Seymour, Frank C. The Flora of Vermont - A Manual for the Identification of Ferns and Flowering Plants Growing Without Cultivation in Vermont. University of Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station, 1969.
• Gary L. Hightshoe. Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines for Urban and Rural America, A Planting Design Manual for Environmental Designers. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1988.
• Thompson, Elizabeth and Eric Sorenson. Wetland, Woodland, Wildland, A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont. University Press of New England, 2000.

This list was produced by The Nature Conservancy, VT Non-Game and Natural Heritage Program of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, VT Agency of Transportation, VT Department of Agriculture, Food & Markets, VT Department of Environmental Conservation and Cobble Creek Nursery.

Contact Vermont Master Gardener at master.gardener@uvm.edu.
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