Everybody loves a beautiful garden. Gardeners love plants that are adaptable, tough, and fast-growing. It’s even better if that plant produces showy fruits that attract birds or is an annual that self seeds, so it doesn’t need to be replanted every year. Unfortunately, many of these plant traits desirable to gardeners can also increase the likelihood that a plant jumps the garden fence and invades natural areas.

Invasive plants threaten our environment and economy. They pose an enormous threat to our native plants, animals, and ecosystems, and they cost the United States approximately $35 billion per year (www.invasivespecies.gov).