By Stephanie Schupska
University of
Georgia

Not all nonnative plants are invasive. In fact, for every 100
foreign plant species, only one becomes a problem. But that 1
percent worries the Georgia plant industry.

Controlling “nonnative, invasive pest plants in natural
environments is one of the most sensitive and volatile issues
being debated today” by the plant, or green, industry, said
Gary Wade, a University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
horticulturist.

Ornamental horticulture includes greenhouses, container
nurseries, turfgrass and field nurseries. It brought in a farm-
gate value of more than $650 million in Georgia in 2004. And
one of its representative organizations, the Georgia Green
Industry Association, is approaching the invasive plant problem
head-on.

The GGIA formed an invasive plant task force in 2003 that is
examining the issue and moving toward better solutions. Even
so, they have to deal with the issues that make an invasive
plant popular in the first place.

“Ironically, many of the characteristics that make invasive
plants invasive are the same ones that make them appealing as
landscape plants,” said Wade, who co-chairs the GGIA invasive
plant task force. “They’re tough, adaptable, quite ornamental
and easy to propagate.”

The task force assigned plants to three categories based on
their degree of invasiveness and then looked at which ones are
available in the nursery trade.

Plants in category 1 have a
serious impact on native
environments and displace native plant species over a wide
area. These include mimosa, Chinese privet, multiflora rose,
Japanese climbing fern, Chinese tallow tree, autumn olive,
Japanese honeysuckle and kudzu.

Category 2 plants have a
moderate impact on native
environments. Their population is localized, not widespread
like that of a category 1 plant. But they’re harming native
plant communities. Examples are Chinese and Japanese wisteria,
princess tree and bigleaf periwinkle.

Category 3 or “watch list”
plants have the potential to be
invasive but aren’t invading native plant communities. Examples
are lacebark elm and burning bush euonymus.

Invasive plants compete with native species for light, water
and nutrients. They also change the structure of a community’s
vegetation and decrease food sources and protective cover for
wildlife. Perhaps the most noticeable effect on the environment
is that they simply make an area look worse and hinder access
to recreational sites.

The Georgia green industry is combating the issue through
research, surveys and education. They’re finding out just how
big the invasive plant problem is.

In the fall of 2005, the GGIA surveyed all growers, landscapers
and plant dealers in Georgia. Completed survey results showed
that all category 1 plants, which are the most invasive, are
occasionally being sold.

However, an overwhelming majority of those who responded said
they would welcome regulating help from GGIA. Of the
respondents, 74 percent said, “Yes, the GGIA should regulate
the production, sale and installation of invasive plants.”

“Georgia’s green industry wants to be a part of the solution,
not a part of the problem,” Wade said.

Wade outlined the group’s plan of action.

First, they’re working to help manage invasive plants already
in Georgia. Then they want to phase invaders, particularly the
category 1 plants, out of the trade. At the same time, they
plant to educate their industry and the public about invasive
plants.

Last, but not least, they want to develop a way to assess new
plant introductions for their invasive potential before the
plants make their way to market, preventing future invaders.

Wade lists three ways anyone can help with this problem:

1. Don’t plant invasive plants in your landscape.

2. Help educate others in your community about invasive
plants.

3. Volunteer to help manage invasive plants in your
community.

To learn more about invasive exotic pest plants in Georgia,
visit the Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council’s Web site at
www.gaeppc.org.

(Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)