🚫 Invasive Plants
Invasive plants are non-native plants that spread aggressively and crowd out the native plants our pollinators and wildlife depend on. Many are still sold as garden plants. Identifying and replacing them is one of the most helpful things you can do for your garden.
The list below shows select unregulated invasive plant species in Ontario, from the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario. Click a plant name to see photos and tips for removing it.
⚠️ Please note: some links lead to U.S. sites, where the rules on herbicides are different. Please follow Ontario’s Cosmetic Pesticides Ban and Canadian pesticide laws.
Invasive Plants to Watch For
| Common Name (click for photos & tips) | Botanical Name |
|---|---|
| Amur Maple | Acer ginnala |
| Burning Bush (Winged Euonymus) | Euonymus alatus |
| Common Buckthorn | Rhamnus cathartica |
| Creeping Jenny | Lysimachia nummularia |
| Dame’s Rocket | Hesperis matronalis |
| Daylily (Orange Daylily) | Hemerocallis fulva |
| English Ivy | Hedera helix |
| Glossy Buckthorn | Frangula alnus (syn. Rhamnus frangula) |
| Goutweed | Aegopodium podagraria |
| Italian Honeysuckle | Lonicera caprifolium |
| Japanese Barberry | Berberis thunbergii |
| Japanese Honeysuckle | Lonicera japonica |
| Japanese Spurge (Pachysandra) | Pachysandra terminalis |
| Lily-of-the-Valley | Convallaria majalis |
| Maiden Grass / Chinese Silver Grass | Miscanthus spp. |
| Manitoba Maple | Acer negundo |
| Multiflora Rose | Rosa multiflora |
| Norway Maple | Acer platanoides |
| Oriental Bittersweet | Celastrus orbiculatus |
| Ornamental Honeysuckle | Lonicera periclymenum |
| Periwinkle | Vinca minor |
| Russian Olive | Elaeagnus angustifolia |
| Sea Buckthorn | Hippophae rhamnoides |
| Spearmint | Mentha spicata |
| Tree of Heaven | Ailanthus altissima |
| White Mulberry | Morus alba |
| Wintercreeper | Euonymus fortunei |
| Yellow Archangel | Lamium galeobdolon |
🌻 What to Plant Instead
Once you’ve removed an invasive plant, fill the space with a native one so the invasive doesn’t come back. Our Plants for Monarch Award Gardens page has lists of native, keystone and host plants for our region, and the Ontario Invasive Plant Council publishes Grow Me Instead guides with native alternatives.