The spring season is the growing season. My wife and I are planning on re-doing a small portion of our front yard with some ground cover and maybe plants that will return year after year. You know, perennials. 

Of course, I will have little to no involvement in the choice of how it will all turn out, and that's probably for the best since I'm the last person you'd want to help landscape. A green thumb is something I do not have.

Speaking of plants and the spring planting season, there are several types of plants that are forbidden from being planted anywhere in New York State according to the New York Invasive Species website and unfortunately, many are already here causing havoc.

Well, actually there are well over 100 types of terrestrial plants that are prohibited in New York State. According to the NYIS:

Invasive species means a species that is nonnative to a particular ecosystem, and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. - NYIS

The New York Invasive Species website also notes:

They can harm natural communities and systems (plants and animals found in particular physical environments) by out-competing native species, reducing biological diversity, altering community structure, and, in some cases changing ecosystems. - NYIS

Here are five of the many invasive plants that are prohibited to grow in New York State:

Garlic Mustard
The NYIS states that Garlic Mustard is one of the worst invaders of forests in the American Northeast and Midwest.

Garlic Mustard
Photo by Kadir Celep on Unsplash
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Giant Hogweed
Giant Hogweed is on the federal noxious weed list and several state lists of prohibited plant species, and the NYIS states that it can "make a case of poison ivy seem like a mild rash."

Giant Hogweed
Thinkstock
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Amur Honeysuckle
Three types of honeysuckle, Amur, Tatarian and Japanese Honeysuckle can "form very dense populations that can outcompete and suppress the growth of native plant species" according to the NYIS.

Amur Honeysuckle
Annie Spratt on Unspla
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Lesser Celandine
This invasive plant is great for bees as a source of nectar, but because it sprouts earlier than most other plants, it cold prevent other plants from emerging according to the New York Invasive Species website.

Lesser Celandine
Photo by Lucas van Oort on Unsplash
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Kudzu
Infestations of Kudzu can completely cover trees of almost any size, kudzu lianas can both fell trees from their extreme weight according to the NYIS.

Kudzu Flower
Photo by Leo Chane on Unsplash
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The NYIS was formed in 2007 to promote knowledge and understanding of invasive species and the harm they can cause. One week each year is designated as New York's Invasive Species Awareness Week. This year, it is June 5th through the 11th.

For more information about invasive plants in New York State, visit the New York Invasive Species website, and how to help prevent them from spreading, click here.

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