Invasive Plants in New York: What Homeowners Need to Know (and What to Plant Instead).
Landscapes in New York should be thriving, biodiverse, and full of life—but many are quietly being overrun by invasive plants. These aggressive species spread rapidly, outcompeting native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees. The result is a dramatic loss of habitat for butterflies, bees, songbirds, and other wildlife that depend on native ecosystems to survive.
If you own property in New York and care about nature, pollinators, or healthy gardens, understanding invasive plants is one of the most important steps you can take as a good land steward.
What Makes a Plant “Invasive”?
A plant is considered invasive when it meets three criteria:
1. It was introduced from outside our local ecosystem (usually from Europe or Asia).
2. It spreads aggressively on its own—by seed, root, or rhizome.
3. It harms native ecosystems, gardens, wildlife, or human health.
Many invasive plants were originally brought to North America on purpose, often as garden ornamentals or erosion-control species. They seemed harmless at first. Then they escaped cultivation.
In the absence of their natural predators, insects, fungi, or grazing animals, they spread relentlessly.
Why Invasive Plants Are a Serious Problem in NY.
New York’s forests, meadows, wetlands, and home landscapes are threatened each year as invasives:
•Reduce biodiversity by displacing native plants
•Destroy wildlife habitat, especially for songbirds and native bees
•Damage soil health and water cycles
•Increase erosion
•Alter forest regeneration
•Interrupt ancient plant-pollinator relationships
Over 90% of butterfly and moth species can only lay eggs on specific native plants. When invasives take over, the entire food web collapses.
Common Invasive Plants in New York.
Homeowners will recognize many of these species—some may even be in your yard now:
Invasive Plant (NY) Type + Notes.
Japanese Knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum). Perennial, monstrously aggressive, spreads by rhizome.
Oriental Bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Vine, Girdles trees and topples forests.
Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Biennial, Releases soil-killing chemicals.
Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). (non-native bush forms) Shrub, Creates bird “food deserts.”
Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus). Shrub, still sold in nurseries—spreads everywhere.
Norway Maple (Acer platanoides). Tree, Shades out forest understory.
Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora). Shrub, Forms impenetrable thickets.
Japanese Barberry (Berberis vulgaris). Shrub Linked to increased tick populations.
Phragmites. (Phragmites australis) Grass, Smothers wetlands.
Replacing invasives with native species is one of the most meaningful ecological actions a homeowner can take.
How to Remove Invasives Responsibly
•Hand-pull the seedlings of Garlic Mustard, Bittersweet, Barberry, and Honeysuckle.
•Cut and smother Knotweed—never roto till (it multiplies it). Hire some goats to browse it in spring if possible sometimes.
•Cut vines at the base on trees to prevent forest damage.
•Bag and dispose of seed heads—don’t compost.
-Do soil remediation to disincentivize the invasives from regrowing.
•Replant with natives immediately to prevent reinvasion.
Invasive removal without replanting native species is like pulling weeds in a vegetable garden and walking away—nature will fill the vacuum.
Becoming Part of the Solution.
By removing invasive plants, even on a single property, you help rebuild the native plant corridors that pollinators and wildlife desperately need. Think of your yard as part of a larger ecosystem—not just a garden. It matters. It adds up. And it makes your landscape healthier, more beautiful, and more alive.