Photo: Burning Bush, Elaine Mills
Alyssa Ford Morel
The more I learn about our environment, the more I see that invasive plants are a big problem. We’re not talking about the pesky plants that spread in the garden. Invasives have a strict definition laid out in Executive Order 13112, signed by President Bill Clinton. The definition says that an invasive must be non-native where it occurs and be capable of escaping cultivation into wild spaces and out-competing natives, causing harm to the economy, human health, or the environment. So, invasiveness isn’t about how aggressive a plant is in our gardens. It’s about how it behaves in the wild.
Almost all invasives have appealing qualities. More than 80 percent of the invasive woody plants in America were introduced in the nursery trade. After decades of use, we often know and like them better than native plants. Problematic behavior can be hard to see.
For years I thought Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) wasn’t a big problem, at least not around Northern Virginia. I wasn’t spotting it in wild areas like I was seeing other plants on Arlington’s invasive list. Then I learned.
Burning Bush in a garden setting, Elaine Mills
Burning Bush in the wild, Alyssa Ford Morel
I was asked to help lead a class on invasives at Potomac Overlook Regional Park in Arlington. The other leaders and I met for a reconnaissance walk before the class. Someone pointed out Burning Bush, but it didn’t look like the Burning Bush I knew! Instead of the large, dense, deep green (or red in fall) shrub found in private yards, it was more airy and lighter colored. But when we looked closely at the branches, there were the tell-tale corky “wings” that give it the alternative name “Winged Euonymus.” In the wild, with more shade and less pruning, the shrub looks significantly different, and I moved it up my mental ranking to “real problem.”
Fortunately, there are many great native substitutes that support wildlife and still have beautiful autumn color.
One possibility is Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa). It grows 4- to 6-feet tall, has white flowers in mid-spring followed by bird-friendly, black fruit in mid-summer, and it turns crimson in fall.
Black Chokeberry Flowers, Elaine Mills
Black Chokeberry Fruit, Elaine Mills
Another choice is Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), whose fruit is a human “superfood.” This species likes acid soil and sets the best berries with two varieties to cross-pollinate. It grows 4- to 10-feet tall and has white spring flowers and a fiery red fall show.
Highbush Blueberry, Elaine Mills
Highbush Blueberry Fall Foliage, Elaine Mills
If you’d like bright golden fall color, consider Spicebush (Lindera benzoin), which has lacy yellow spring flowers and red berries in late summer that are especially nutritious for birds. Deer don’t like Spicebush, so it’s a great choice if you have deer issues. Spicebush grows from 6- to 15-feet tall and is good in shade. It is dioecious, meaning plants are either male or female, so you’ll want a group for good pollination. Or, convince your neighbors to plant Spicebush, too.
Spicebush, Elaine Mills
Whether you choose one of these shrubs or another native to replace Burning Bush, you will feel good for having turned an environmental problem into an environmental plus.
Note: A version of this article was originally printed in the Glencarlyn Village View and on the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia website.