Does the Good Outweigh the Bad?

©2025 Richard Gardener, Bugwood.org

Often one can justify a negative aspect of something because of some perceived benefit it may offer. When it comes to an invasive plant, we should never make that mistake. Invasives have been determined by scientific evaluation to be harmful in a way that is detrimental to the environment and/or detrimental to human health.

Japanese Barberry is considered by many to have desirable characteristics. After all, it is deer resistant and drought tolerant with not a single pest problem.  But it is these same attributes that makes this shrub an invasive thug. As with other invasives, it has no natural controls as it would in its own country of origin. With nothing to stop it, barberry easily invades forests and woodlands. What’s worse is that barberry creates a serious health risk to humans by harboring and attracting disease-carrying ticks.

Burning Bush is an ornamental shrub that many people choose to plant for one single attribute—fall color. It has no other attraction or benefit and is chosen despite the fact than many attractive and colorful alternatives are readily available. This is another plant that has escaped cultivation and overtaken our woodlands and wild places, displacing native plants that have value to the environment and to us.

Mugwort has been used for a variety of medicinal issues even though there is no scientific evidence of any health benefit. Most people don’t have reason to plant mugwort but are unable to recognize it as an invasive even though widespread along roadsides and fields. This aggressive forb is spread by seed and rhizomatous roots to outcompete all other vegetation. There’s no good in this plant.

It is said that Garlic Mustard makes an excellent pesto. But unless culinary garlic is in short supply, there’s no reason to allow a plant to exist that is capable of changing a soil’s composition, effectively displacing woodland natives. Similarly, Autumn Olive is a shrub that raises a soil’s pH in a way that excludes native species, thereby creating an invasive monoculture. Autumn olive berries might make good jam, but we have so many wonderful berries for jam-making--huckleberry, raspberry elderberry and blackberry to name a few. Could autumn olive jam really be so good it outweighs the bad?

Another plant used for jam-making is Wineberry. This vine with it’s hairy stems is a very aggressive spreader that can cover everything in its path. It’s ability to outcompete native plants is another serious concern.

One of the most evil and damaging vines is Oriental Bittersweet. This vine with its decorative berries should never be used for ornamental purposes because seeds are so easily spread. As with any plant listed on the CT Invasive Plant List, and as directed by CT Gen. Stat. 22a-318d, Oriental bittersweet is illegal to import, sell, purchase, cultivate, transplant, distribute and move. Controlling Oriental bittersweet is important because it is a tree killer. The vine wraps around a tree’s trunk and covers its limbs to weaken the tree until it eventually topples over.

Invasive berries as bird food. It might be argued that birds do eat invasive berries and for that reason have value. But invasive berries lack the proper nutrition. They are high in sugar and have a very low-fat content. Native berries, high in fat, are actually preferred and absolutely essential to birds and other wildlife.

Here in Connecticut, we are so fortunate to have “inherited” so many wonderful and varied native plants, trees and shrubs. But they cannot survive this assault from invasive plants that are literally wiping them out. We are hoping that readers will see these invasive plants for their detrimental side. Clearly, the good does not outweigh the bad.

​The Newtown Conservation Commission is actively working to encourage healthy habitats and increase the diversity of our native wildlife and vegetation. www.newtownconservation.org