In my climate its a fairly scruffy self seeder dispersed by birds, though not considered invasive. It appears occasionally in my tiny garden even though there is none growing nearby. I’d only grow it intentionally if I had a very large plot with space to fill in an out of the way corner. It’s semi evergreen and in very cold weather the weak hollow stems, which don’t get really woody, suffer die back and it looks a mess.

It's only medium invasive in western WA. If you leave the bush for 8 years and forget about it, yes it can get out of control, and yes you can see some having escaped into wild areas, but if you wanted to rip it out it wouldn't be too much work and would not be as hard to eradicate as certain other invasives.

It can self seed a bit but it is NOT considered invasive or a noxious weed anywhere in WA state! It would not be included as a Great Plant Pick if that were the case.

Another east Asian plant that probably has significantly limited ability to reproduce and spread away from watered garden sites in the dry summer climates of western North America. In addition, since the sellers and their dog left the property I bought on Whidbey Island deer have kept a small Leycesteria that came with it eaten to stubs.

I have a deer fence and an irrigation well, and consider watering entertainment. Love me the sound of a Rainbird. :o) Sounds like it may spread where I attend to things, and so I'll position it where it has room, but it won't likely escape into the wild.