Invasive plants!  I have an invasive I would like wiped off the map:
Burmuda grass.  It would probably ruin Oklahoma golf courses but
this invasive, hardy, green in the summer weed, won't grow under
trees is the bane of my gardens and I wouldn't miss it for one
moment.  But then, it might not miss us human beings much either if
it was the other way around.  A weed is a weed at the time it grows
in the wrong location.  Maybe at one time it was your prized rose
but now it has left no room in that bed for all your other
perennials or it contains a medicine in it that might bring about
some cure in future days. 

I grow professionally and will not sell native herbs that grow
naturally here even though I have requests for epizote and lamb's
quarter.  Not so much to prevent that plant's natural invasiveness
but because there is already plenty of it if they will just learn
where to look to find it themselves.  

Then again, keep the government out of my gardening business unless
I am harming someone.  It seems the more laws our government makes,
the more extermination of plant, animal and human life has occurred.
 I'll be my land's steward, if I want 4M Mugwords, isn't that my
business? 

I am interested in being responsible with invasives, and I already
have a few of those which you pointed out growing in my gardens. 
English Ivy and periwinkle, akebia, to name a few.  So how do you
recommend getting rid of them, and  what would you suggest to plant
in its place?

Donna V has an excellent point - several actually. Please keep the
government out of my garden - talk about a weed that spreads
invasively everywhere it sets down!

Secondly, I find that one man's weed is another's treasure. I have
grown mugwort and never found it to be invasive. I know that
butterfly bushes root readily but I've never had a problem with them
spreading out of control, even the old fashioned ones. The same
argument could be made for just about any of the plants mentioned in
the article (except maybe kudzu).

Don't presume to tell me what to plant. With all the other
restrictions doled out by government and society, I would prefer to
be left alone in my garden.

Mugworts!!! I am excited to read about it- finally, found someone
that knows what they are instead of just imagining they're from for
witches and potions in a Harry Potter movie (as my husband calls
it).  I have always had menstrual cramps and was told by my
grandmother that mugworts were "the cure", versitile enough to make
tea, salad or just drop a few leaves in your rice cooker. Sick of
popping pain killers each month I finally decided to plant them in
my yard.  The first couple of weeks they seem to had just dry off
and die but long behold one day I noticed my entire back yard
covered by them! The roots were actually spreading underneath the
soil, the more I dug to root them out the more I found myself having
to also uproot my other vegetation. Their roots were spreading so
fast that they were choking the other plants. They were spreading
throughout the lawn! I'm still stuck with them, but they're somewhat
under control. My weekends are spent squatting on the ground
uprooting them out one square inch at a time... If you must have
them for medicinal purposes, they're great but plant them in
containers!

In my mind, choosing to responsibly avoid planting and eliminating
invasives is not succumbing to government control - it is about
being good stewards to God's creation.

For gosh sake don’t let the government get involved! California has
had check stations on its borders for many years. Go look at the
rules to get a houseplant into the state! They tore up my wife’s
wedding bouquet because it had babies’ breath in it! Not seed mind
you flowers, cut flowers from a florist. Of course I’ve been driving
through those very same border stations when they simply wave you
through. No! Government is not the answer and California is not a
very sound example of what to do! 
We as gardeners have the responsibility to plant thoughtfully. And
yes that means not planting invasives. I realize that someone just
starting out might buy an invasive without realizing it. Trust me,
I’ve got trumpet vine (by the way a native invasive in my area) that
I’ll never get rid of!  Sellers also bare responsibility. CM Ray has
it right we are stewards of our gardens and the wild areas near
where we garden and as such we bare the final responsibility. I grow
tropicals and I can only imagine what the government would say about
that.  Government is not always the answer, after all “When Plants
are Outlawed only Outlaws will have Plants!” 

For gosh sake don’t let the government get involved! California has
had check stations on its borders for many years. Go look at the
rules to get a houseplant into the state! They tore up my wife’s
wedding bouquet because it had babies’ breath in it! Not seed mind
you flowers, cut flowers from a florist. Of course I’ve been driving
through those very same border stations when they simply wave you
through. No! Government is not the answer and California is not a
very sound example of what to do! 
We as gardeners have the responsibility to plant thoughtfully. And
yes that means not planting invasives. I realize that someone just
starting out might buy an invasive without realizing it. Trust me,
I’ve got trumpet vine (by the way a native invasive in my area) that
I’ll never get rid of!  Sellers also bare responsibility. CM Ray has
it right we are stewards of our gardens and the wild areas near
where we garden and as such we bare the final responsibility. I grow
tropicals and I can only imagine what the government would say about
that.  Government is not always the answer, after all “When Plants
are Outlawed only Outlaws will have Plants!” 

I guess I learn best by my mistakes with regard to invasives.  Last
summer, I planted both evening primrose from seeds, and snow on the
mountain, from mail order.  Now, I find that they were apparently
growing roots throughout the winter season and have spread to the
point of almost consuming several flower beds.  I have my hands full
trying to eradicate them.  I sprayed Round-Up on them last week, and
to this point the plants still look healthy.  I spent much of this
past Saturday digging out some of the evening primose, but I have a
long way to go.  I realize now that when the plant description says
"groundcover", take heed and do more research!

I have spent many hours on my knees trying to be rid of overgrowth
from the mugwart,however, it's beauty in the right areas is
unmatched.  The envasive ground covers are sometimes a godsend in
areas I have little luck with or less time to work on.  I do enjoy
the plant I have found in some nurseries called ' ciniquefoil'
though it does run away if left unchecked. I did discover it can be
mowed and controlled as a large area ground cover and remain quite
beautiful.  It seems to cycle and die out in original planting areas
as it creeps elsewhere though.

 I planted one little corner of my yard and now every weekend I find
myself digging them out. They spread so quickly! Mugworts have great
medicinal value in eastern medicine, they can be eaten fresh like
salad, made into tea or dried up and burned as a natural bug
repellant.  Their greatest value is that they are great natural pain
reliever for menstrual cramps.

Determining what is an 'invasive plant' is not just a matter of
'where' but also a matter of 'when'. The black locust mentioned
(Robinia pseudoacacia) was native all the way into Canada before the
last ice age and probably would have found its way back there given
enough time even without human intervention. We humans are a bit
arrogant when we look only at our brief time on earth in considering
how things ‘should’ be. 

Thank you all for your comments. The topic of invasive plants is
complex and there are few absolutes. I certainly wouldn't want to
get rid of all "non-native" plants -- as I write I'm eating an
apple, a plant that was introduced to this country. In my next
column I'll provide lists of native plants and some resources for
further info. In the meantime, I welcome suggestions on other topics
you'd like me to address. 

I agree with Donna V.  What I plant in my garden should be my
business, and therefore my duty to control.  What appeals to some,
may not to others.  That's what makes this country what it is. We
have the final decision.

These invasive plants are invading wildlife habitat and taking away
food sources for butterflies and birds, and important pollinators
for agriculture.  This is not just a matter of "what I plant in my
yard is my business" - this is a public interest issue.  Millions of
dollars are being spent clearing invasive plants from public lands,
just so that the parks and forest preserves can actually serve their
purposes - providing wildlife and places for people to interact with
nature.  In some places they are invading farms and interfering with
agriculture.  All this from plants in the landscape - the cost to
the public is too high.  They should be banned everywhere they are
invasive, or all our taxes will go up with the effort to control
them.

Good luck "controlling" the birds that eat the seeds of these plants
and deposit them miles from your "controlled" gardens.  How can you
all be so simple minded to think that because it does not grow wild
in your garden that you are somehow preventing it from spreading
outside your yard.  It is small minded people like you that force
the government to step in and prevent you from doing damage to the
rest of the world.

I agree with keeping the government out of it. I use mugwort and
other "herbs" in potions and healing remedies.
 The solution is not to ban them...please don't take us back to the
witch trial days of "you can't do this..and you can't plant that".

things happen! especially to people who care!

Thank you, Suzanne, for including information in this article about
our voluntary partnership to address invasives.  PlantRight has made
significant progress in transitioning California from invasive
plants to good alternatives in a strictly voluntary, non-regulatory
fashion.  Perhaps most importantly, we have started up a dialogue
where every opinion is heard and respected.  I applaud you for doing
the same here, and for encouraging visitors to talk about what makes
something invasive inside the garden and out - as well as the things
we can keep in mind when selecting plants for our own landscapes.  

Best wishes from California,
Terri Kempton, PlantRight Manager, www.PlantRight.org