5 invasive shrubs to avoid at all costs, and the best native alternatives to plant instead

Shrubs play an important role in the design of most gardens. They can be relied upon for structure, interest, flowers, fruit, fall color, and more, whether taking on a key role center stage or acting as a canvas to showcase other showy perennials or annual flowers.

Picking the right shrub for your garden can be challenging, as there are thousands to choose from. But there are definitely ones to avoid, as invasive shrubs are thuggish, take over a space, and even escape outside the boundaries of a garden to terrorize native plants.

Such shrubs are invasive plants you should never add to your garden. This guide highlights five invasive shrubs to avoid, and reveals what native shrubs expert gardeners in the US recommend planting instead.

Invasive shrubs to avoid

Whether you are looking for easy evergreen shrubs for year-round color, or deciduous ones to add seasonal color, size, hardiness, and preferences for soil and light always top the list of things to consider.

Before adding any plants to your yard, you also need to identify those species best avoided. To help with that, here are five invasive shrubs to never add to your yard.

1. Japanese Barberry

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) has become an invasive shrub throughout the northeastern US and several Midwestern states.

It was a popular ornamental deciduous shrub first introduced to the US in the late 1800s, but it is now a major problem as it spreads far beyond backyards. Japanese barberry has taken over forests, woodlands, wetlands, and more, harming local ecosystems as it forms impenetrable groves.

'Japanese barberry might offer vibrant fall color, but this thorny invader creates dense thickets that displace native species and, even worse, provides ideal habitat for deer ticks that carry Lyme disease,' explains Amy Martin, landscape designer and the founder of Plant and Bloom Design Studio.

What to plant instead:

A native alternative to Japanese barberry is Fothergilla, a glorious spring-flowering shrub that thrives in sun or semi-shade. In particular, Amy recommends the Dwarf Fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii) as it is versatile and perfect for any pollinator-friendly garden.

'Dwarf fothergilla offers fragrant white bottlebrush flowers in spring, followed by absolutely brilliant orange to burgundy fall color that rivals any maple,' she says. 'This compact 1-3 foot shrub is perfect for foundation plantings, low hedges, or naturalizing in woodland gardens, thriving in zones 5-8 in full sun to part shade.

'Plus, it provides valuable nectar for bees and pollinators, making it a true garden winner.'

You can get live Dwarf Fothergilla plants at Amazon to plant in US hardiness zones 5-8.

Amy Martin

Amy Martin is a landscape designer and the founder of Plant and Bloom Design Studio, a website where she shares her ideas about garden planning and planting design. When she’s not busy working, she's filling up her home & garden with plants… there is always room for one more!

2. Burning Bush

Burning bush (Euonymus alatus) is nice to look at when covered in bright red foliage in the fall. But don’t be fooled by how stunning it is, as the burning bush is hugely problematic and now classified as invasive in 21 US states.

This is because it grows aggressively, spreading by suckers and by birds taking its berries and seeds far and wide. Burning bush outcompetes native shrubs and chokes out other plants in woodlands.

There are ways to control burning bush if you do have one in your yard, such as removing seedlings and pruning the burning bush to remove suckers. However, you can do little to stop birds from spreading seeds, so it is better not to plant the shrub in the first place.

What to plant instead:

Rather than planting one of these invasive shrubs, consider a red chokerry (Aronia arbutifolia). 'Red chokeberry is a great choice because it delivers gorgeous fall colors and supports birds and pollinators,' says Cheryl Kaminski, owner of Myrtle Florist.

This multi-stemmed medium-sized shrub produces white flowers followed by red foliage and berries in fall. It can be grown in US hardiness zones 4-9 and prefers planting in a full sun or partial shade position in the yard.

You can find red chokeberry shrubs at Nature Hills, including this more compact Brilliantissima variety that reaches 6-10 feet in height.

3. Privet

For many years, privet (Ligustrum) was a highly popular shrub for privacy, as it was a fast-growing hedging plant seen as ideal for screening. However, times have changed and now privet is an invasive hedge plant to avoid.

Indeed, many types of privet are now on the invasive plant list. The likes of common privet (L. vulgare), California privet (L. ovalifolium), and Chinese privet (L. sinense) are among the nine types of privet classed as invasive.

Birds unknowingly spread the privet seeds far and wide, allowing the shrub to escape backyards with ease. As privet grows so quickly and can tolerate even the toughest conditions, it forms dense thickets and quickly outcompetes native plants.

What to plant instead:

There are many native shrubs you can grow as hedging plants that offer the same screening potential as privet, without risking the same threat to local plant diversity.

'I would look into Inkberry holly, which is an excellent pick for hedges. It has evergreen leaves and produces berries that feed various wildlife,' recommends Cheryl Kaminski.

Inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) is native to the southeastern US and so-called for the dark fruits it produces. They grow to 5-10 feet tall and prefer full sun and moist, well-drained soil.

You can get live inkberry holly plants at Amazon to plant instead of privet. This shrub can also be an alternative to boxwood if you are concerned about boxwood blight or box tree moth affecting shrubs.

4. Butterfly Bush

Butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) is a hugely popular backyard shrub native to Asia. Gardeners have long enjoyed this dramatic shrub for its conical blooms, which, as the name suggests, attract butterflies and bees.

However, it is a shrub as problematic as it is eye-catching. The butterfly bush is invasive in many parts of the US, and one of the most troublesome invasive plants in the Pacific Northwest.

The butterfly bush reproduces prolifically, spreading its lightweight seeds far and wide on the wind. When these seeds settle, they have a high germination rate, remain viable for up to five years, and grow quickly. It leads to butterfly bushes taking over fields, roadsides, riverbanks, and the edges of woodland at the expense of native species.

While a butterfly bush attracts butterflies, it has no predators, and no native caterpillar eats the shrub's leaves. It can outcompete native plants that are food for caterpillars, and more butterfly bushes means fewer caterpillars, butterflies and birds that rely on the insects for food.

What to plant instead:

For a native alternative, consider growing Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). This hardy deciduous shrub prefers damp, partly-shaded locations and can thrive in US hardiness zones 5-10.

Buttonbush produces unique white spherical flowerheads in late spring and summer, which are followed by round, reddish fruits that provide late-season food for birds.

Live buttonbush shrubs are available at Nature Hills

For a sunnier planting position, rather than the part-shade preferred for buttonbush, another alternative is Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia). This native shrub produces fragrant, white bottlebrush flowers that attract bees and butterflies for 4-6 weeks in mid-to-late summer.

This live Sixteen Candles Summersweet at Nature Hills can put out flower spikes that reach six inches long to give the appearance of candles, hence its name.

5. Autumn Olive

Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata) is a large deciduous shrub that was first introduced around the 1830s.

It was widely planted, including being used as an ornamental shrub in landscaping due to its speed of growth and ability to survive even in undesirable conditions. As Autumn olive fixes nitrogen in its roots and is a drought-tolerant tree, this aids its ability to survive tough environments.

It grows up to 20 feet and produces red berries in high numbers. Birds eat these berries and then disperse the seeds, which causes the plant to spread, out-compete other plants, and create dense copses that shade out native species. Autumn olive is an invasive plant throughout most of the eastern US.

What to plant instead:

The Common Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) is native to the eastern US, and this deciduous shrub can reach 15-25 feet when growing in full sun or part-shade. It offers a lot when planted as a specimen plant in flower beds.

On this native shrub, Amy Martin says: 'The beautiful native serviceberry offers stunning clusters of white spring flowers, gorgeous red-orange fall color, and delicious fruits that feed wildlife. It thrives in zones 4-9 and provides vital habitat and food for pollinators and birds.'

Serviceberries are great trees for wildlife, as they attract a wide variety of bird species. This Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry Tree at Fast Growing Trees grows to a more compact size and has white spring blooms, summer fruits, and orange-red color in the fall.

There are all types of problematic plants to avoid adding to your yard, not just invasive shrubs. There are also some troublesome invasive ground cover plants to avoid planting, as they can spread quickly and overrun your yard, including the likes of creeping Jenny, ground ivy, common periwinkle, and lesser celandine.

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