Invasive Plant Factsheet
This shrub was introduced from Asia around 1860 for ornamental purposes. It remains very popular and is widely used in commercial and residential landscapes and as a roadside hedge. By forming dense thickets, it alters the structure of native forest communities and is now considered invasive along much of the East Coast, including Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia.
Native Alternatives
- Aronia arbutifolia (Red Chokeberry)
- Aronia melanocarpa (Black Chokeberry)
- Fothergilla gardenii (Dwarf Fothergilla)
- Itea virginica (Virginia Sweetspire)
- Lindera benzoin (Spicebush)
- Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-Low’ (Fragrant Sumac)
- Rhus typhina (Staghorn Sumac)
- Vaccinium corymbosum (Highbush Blueberry)
- Viburnum nudum (Possum-haw)
- Viburnum prunifolium (Black Haw)
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Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus)
