are burning bushes really that invasive? Yes.

A mixed border of native shrubs would be lovely there.

Pictures of Christmas jewel holly, which maybe doesn’t look great after the rabbits ate the bottom foot over the winter (a negative of it that I think I could live with since the rest of it should be protected from deer) and my other contender which is a rose of Sharon in tree forum from Home Depot. I know people say they’re a weed but I think maybe this variety isn’t. I’ve had multiple of them for years and so far only has had had a shoot come up. They flower so incredibly all year long and the foliage I also think is great and lush green.

You have a Rose of Sharon flowering all year long in New Jersey? You need to set up a breeding programme. You'll make a fortune.

Like Burning Bush, R. of S. spreads by seeds so even if you don't see shoots it could well be spreading beyond your property. But BB is a far greater threat to natural areas as the berries are carried far and wide by birds.

Floral- I can hardly type of check my work on this app, my text box is constantly at war with me. What I of course meant was they flower for months in the summer, I’m in awe week after week that they’re still going. I know people say the birds take the seed, so I figure it’s something that would stand out to me when I’m in the various woods I go to. I wonder if maybe our extreme deer overpopulation keeps them at bay, I think deer eat them a lot.

I find it necessary to press submit several times while typing so you don't lose what you've written. Then go back and edit at leisure. Also the first couple of words often disappear. Again press submit and carry on in editing mode. User friendly it ain't.

Ok if theyre nuts in northern Virginia I’ll stay clear (though not going to cut down the ones I have).

Good tip, cursor gets stuck behind the word instead of in front it but it helps still. Thanks

Searching for alternatives I actually found this exact question posted to this forum 7 or 8 years ago, so id delete this post to reduce clutter if I knew how

Don't bother. People still need the info. and may not find the old post by searching. The forums would die out if no one ever repeated topics. In fact, we could actually do with more clutter round here.

I see a few volunteers around, but not anything like a whole host of other foreigners. I fact, I see birds feeding on the seeds in the dead of winter (even once a piliated woodpecker!) as the seeds do not spoil and are available then.

Birds absolutely love them, which is apparently the problem. Looked up piliated woodpecker and now not sure if I’ve seen one before or only the smaller kind.

Ok if theyre nuts in northern Virginia I’ll stay clear (though not going to cut down the ones I have).

Nah, we are not nuts, William. It could be that we are more environmentally aware. People may not see them; they may not recognize them, but they can spread miles away form the ones you have in your yard. So, it becomes someone else's problem. It is a problem because plants such as these end up choking out natives which support insects which are food for birds as well as pollinators. Perhaps you would enjoy reading a book or essay by Doug Tallamy of the University of Delaware. Dr. Tallamy is an expert on planting natives and the consequences to the planet when we don't . I have grandchildren. I want to leave them a healthy planet.

ETA. Nandina is awful as well. :-)

If they’re nuts in northern Virginia, as in if burning bushes are spreading like crazy in northern va by your accounts I’ll not plant them.

I was pretty on board with the natives only thing years ago and still keep it in mind but I think the “native nazis” as I heard one call them, are actually hurting the cause. There should be one absolutely world class website for the cause. For instance, if one were to want to plant English ivy they should go this gold standard website and type in English ivy, get pictures, video and text of the problems with it. Then be given a 1,2,3 alternative for their exact situation with video photos and text of not only the plant but someone’s several year progress planting those alternatives in various appropriate site conditions and how the plant looks over the years and tips to help. It should also give recommendations where to buy these alternatives, locally or online. And if the “movement” is really serious, an online grower should essentially sell the plants at breakeven because asking people to buy “lesser” options for twice the cost will simple never ever work at large.

I

“ A mixed border of native shrubs would be lovely there.”

I know this is well intentioned, but I don’t think people online appreciate how basically meaningless advice like this is. And I’m not attacking you for it, it’s the norm for almost everything. Needs to be a central website, nursery guy in PA I like a lot recommended to me Missouri botanical garden for good general info one time. I already knew of it, it’s fine but not nearly good enough

My burning bushes seed like crazy. I'm planning to weed them out over time when their replacements get bigger. There are a gazillion volunteers under them and they volunteer all over the garden, even far from where they were planted. Birds poop out their seeds.

Henry's Garden Itea Virginica should be native, it grows pretty quickly and has lovely color in the fall and pretty flowers in the spring. New Jersey Tea should be good, too.

'Little Henry' Virginia Sweetspire · More Info

Plant Ideas & Colorful Combinations · More Info

New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) · More Info

These look a bit short, I like the idea of red in the first picture though. I’d want something 6-8 feet tall. I think if I’m mass planting ornamental grasses in the front half (driveway side) of this large bed then maybe evergreen is the way to go anyway. Thought maybe something dense like a burning bush would do but maybe evergreen is best. So as of now that would be Christmas jewel holly, Nellie Steven’s doesn’t look hardy around me judging from neighbors.

The official answer is blueberries:-)

Don’t they need acidic soil? Seems maybe beyond my pay grade

Don't you have acidic soil? You are in NJ, right?

I was just under the impression in general if you wanted them to grow well you had to amend and so people widely recommend raised beds but I guess I’ll have to check out how well they just grow naturally in nj, sweet.

New Jersey is the 7th largest producer of blueberries in the US, producing 50 million pounds per year.

William, every state has a native plant society. In VA we also have a Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora which I always use to check on what is actually native to my particular area because it has a search feature that will show every county in the state and whether the plant is native or introduced or not present. Perhaps your state has something similar. I have mentioned that before, but I should not have assumed you were aware of ways to identify plants native to your particular area. If you are not interested in planting natives, I will be sure not to mention or suggest them again.

Ok if theyre nuts in northern Virginia I’ll stay clear (though not going to cut down the ones I have).

Nah, we are not nuts, William.

Surely he meant *the euonymus* were nuts?!

I hate to be 'that guy', but there are plenty of natives that are as absolutely blah as this ugly invasive Chinese plant...so...yeah...that's a good reason not to plant them! Including of course, the native 'hearts a bustin'.

I have no problem with people advocating natives, that's fine, good for them. I will advocate for, in my opinion obviously, ornamentally superior non-natives that are not invasive. It's a website for all voices. When a native is discovered that looks like Mahonia x media or Camellias, I'll stop planting them 🤣.

I'm actually more in agreement w/native advocates than they might think: it absolutely galls me that non sterile R of S cultivars haven't been banned, at least in the eastern US. Or that you can still buy various other callery pears besides bradford...they are still invasive if cross pollinated! I removed an Asian Zanthoxylum from my garden because it clearly had the potential to be invasive; but do I think it should be banned...no, not yet, because it is a plant with an extremely niche appeal. OTOH, non-sterile rose of trailer trash sharon, as I'm fond of calling them, ARE beloved for their flowers.

BTW, I'd say the normal soil in practically any part of New Jersey would be good for blueberries! Which isn't to say lightly applying acid fertilizer wouldn't be potentially beneficial. I don't know off the top of my head which cultivars are the most upright; Tripleoaks Nursery in South Jersey would be a place to ask. My 'Patriot' is basically upright but sends out arching side stems, so probably too unruly for this use case. 'Blueray' is looking like it might be more controlled, but too early to tell.

They're native AND delicious!

I think it’s a mistake some people make to go overboard calling some non-natives invasive when they aren’t actually that bad, or aren’t that bad in New Jersey compared to South Carolina, or aren’t that bad in a mulch bed surrounded acres of lawn and houses and roads and not up against a natural area when the given plant only spreads by roots underground. People like me, who otherwise are sympathetic to planting natively, then start questioning all these people’s claims even when they’re right.

I don’t think it’s up to random people online to make a difference really, like I said above, someone or some group with money needs to spearhead a top down project. Their energy should mainly be directed at finding such benefactors and actually competent people to use funds well. The New Jersey native plant society is garbage, just about every source I’ve come across is garbage. That’s why I come here occasionally to ask real people hey what’s the real story with this or what can I realistically do here or how fast does this plant actually grow.

Burning Bush (Euonymus alatus) is highly invasive in west-central WI. It is running rampant in my woods, and I’ve been doing battle with it and Buckthorn for several years. There are far better options IMO.

Like what? I already think sterile rose of Sharon or probably my more preferred option of Christmas jewel holly are the way I’ll go. Blueberries seem awesome especially since I’m learning i don’t need to move mountains to have them grow here, but I have another area I can try blueberries. And again I won’t plant burning bush, and actually I just remembered yesterday that maybe two falls ago I was at a nursery with burning bushes in hand and I put them back and went to a different nursery in search of native viburnum. I paid much more for these viburnum and while I’m still giving them their time they frankly are not comparable in rate of growth, fullness, cost, and I suspect durability of burning bush. Which I’m sure is why burning bushes became so popular.

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How about Fothergilla major?

It looks nice in pictures but there’s this phrase I remember first hearing about car models, specifically some Toyotas, “it just works” and I feel like a shrub like burning bush just works in ways that I’m not sure about some of these others mentioned. Gets to the right size, easy to sheer and easy to cut back, looks right both not trimmed and trimmed, dense growth, any shrub from the nursery will turn out the exact same basically, grows quickly etc. all the pictures of some of these can look different, different shapes, some scraggly some less so, some shorter and fatter some taller and more narrow. Ultimately I think because this hedge will be flanked on each side by deciduous trees and with masses of ornamental grasses in front of them, that an evergreen like Christmas jewel holly is probably the way to go

In WI they do not appear to be invasive at all. We had no issues with the 2 at our house and there is nothing crazy with the one at work. We are Zone 5.

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/Euonymus 

The fact that it doesn't cause an issue on your property doesn't mean it is not invasive outside your property.

Nova, I suggest you double check that contention. According to the WI DNR, they are a regulated invasive species. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/RegulatedSpecies

Just because you do not see evidence of their invasive nature in your own garden - one rarely does - that does not mean they are any less invasive in natural or unpopulated areas. And that is the problem!!