Nurseries Phase Out 25 Potentially-Invasive Plants

After years of debate, nurseries in Connecticut are phasing out the sale of more than two dozen varieties of a popular ornamental plant called Japanese barberry because of their potential to be invasive. WNPR’s Nancy Cohen reports invasive plants grow aggressively and can push out native species, damaging the biodiversity of forests and wetlands.

The Connecticut Nursery and Landscape Association is a trade association representing the horticultural industry in the state. The Association has decided voluntarily to phase out the sale of 25 cultivated varieties of Japanese barberry over the next three years. Paul Larson of Sprucedale Gardens says the industry would prefer to self-regulate.

“There are some cultivars that represent an unacceptable risk. We're going to agree, without being forced, we're simply going to agree because we think it’s the right thing to do to stop production and sale of plants on a phase out basis.”

The Nursery Association based its decision on data from the research of Mark Brand at the University of Connecticut. In a study partially funded by the Association, Brand says he planted every variety of Japanese barberry that’s sold in the U.S. and counted the number of seeds that each plant produced.

"If you want to find out which Barberries represent the greatest invasive risk you need to know which ones produce the largest number of fruits and seeds. By figuring out that we were able to, at least relative to each other, determine which cultivars were the worst as far as invasive risk."

The Nursery and Landscape Association says the plants that are being phased out are worth $7.5 million a year to the industry. Now the Association is trying to convince big box stores and out of state growers not to sell these plants in Connecticut.

For WNPR, I’m Nancy Cohen.