Did you know that back on November 3, 2015, Fayetteville City Council banned invasive plants with Ordinance #5820, and is still in effect today? In total, there are seventeen species you might have growing on your property that must be removed.
That will include different species of trees, shrubs, and ground cover. According to the City of Fayetteville, they encourage all property owners to identify, remove and replace any invasive plants found around their homes and businesses with native plant alternatives.
What Is An Invasive Plant?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, an invasive species is “a non-native or alien species to the ecosystem. Under consideration and whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.”
Source: Encyclopedia of Arkansas
Here’s An Example Of An Invasive Plant in Fayetteville
In this article, we’re going to use the Bradford Pear as our example. It is an invasive tree with showy white foul-smelling flowers blooming in early Spring. Oval, glossy, dark green alternate leaves with pointed tips turning purplish-red in the Fall and sheds them annually.
Competing for natural resources invades urban and forested areas, shading other native species and inhibiting forest regeneration. Seeds get widely dispersed by birds. To remove it, cut the tree down to the stump and apply appropriate herbicide.
What Is The Native Plant Alternative?
Yellowwood is the Fayetteville-approved native plant alternative to the Bradford Pear. With its open, graceful spreading crown, it flourishes from Spring until the end of Fall. In the Springtime, its hanging panicles of flowers become yellow-brown fruits. In the Fall, the leaf color is yellow-orange.
Yellowwood makes an excellent shade tree. The root system is deep, making transplanting difficult. Still, it allows shade-loving plants to grow underneath it—Showy, fragrant flowers in Spring with beautiful fall color. The smooth gray bark adds winter interest.
What Are The Invasive and Native Plant Alternatives?
The invasive plants listed are the:
- Asian Wisteria / Bamboo / Periwinkle / Bradford Pear / Burning Bush
- Bush Honeysuckle / Chinese Privet / Creeping Euonymus / English Ivy
- Heavenly Bamboo / Japanese Honeysuckle / Kudzu / Mimosa
- Multiflora Rose / Sericea Lespedeza / Shrubby Lespedeza / Tree of Heaven
The native plant alternatives listed are the:
- Asian Wisteria / River Cane / Wild Ginger / Yellowwood / Fragrant Sumac
- Carolina Buckhorn / Blackhaw Viburnum / Carolina Jessamine / Virginia Creeper
- Virginia Sweetspire / Coral Honeysuckle / Fringetree / Summersweet
- Spider Milkweed / Blue Wild Indigo / Kentucky Coffeetree
Source: Fayetteville Invasive Plants and Native Alternatives Educational Packet
Need Our Help Finding and Removing Invasive Plants?
If you’re a homeowner or property manager in Fayetteville, Farmington, Prairie Grove, Cave Springs, Elm Springs, Springdale, and SW Rogers, we can quickly assist you. The Lawn Care & Landscape professionals at “A Clean Cut Lawn Care” can help you find and remove invasive plants from your property.
Are you ready for your property to be compliant and invasive plant-free? If so, call us at 479-262-0253 or Contact us here.
