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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

(126,169 posts)
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 02:57 PM Wednesday

English ivy added to list of plants that are illegal to buy or sell in Washington

It’s now illegal in Washington to buy or sell English ivy, the fast-growing, climbing vine that can weaken and kill trees and overtake native plants.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture, earlier this month, added 19 species, including English ivy and Atlantic or Boston ivy, to its noxious weed, seed, and plant quarantine list.

Under state law, all species on the list cannot be transported, bought, sold or distributed in Washington. Anyone who does have a plant on the list is required to destroy or dispose of it in a way that prevents its spread.

The Department of Agriculture began the process of adding plants to the list in May after receiving multiple petitions from members of the public.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/english-ivy-added-to-list-of-plants-that-are-illegal-to-buy-or-sell-in-washington/

7 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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English ivy added to list of plants that are illegal to buy or sell in Washington (Original Post) Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Wednesday OP
Even the name sounds invasive. markodochartaigh Wednesday #1
We already have enough invasive plants. Good job! Wounded Bear Wednesday #2
States believe they can control Mother Nature bucolic_frolic Wednesday #3
Japanese barberry is a host plant for black-legged ticks WestMichRad Wednesday #4
Birds and berries and bugs Cirsium Wednesday #5
Destroyed a neighbor's brickwork on his home. Grins Wednesday #6
In NJ forest areas, it's Multi-floral rose. 3Hotdogs Wednesday #7

markodochartaigh

(3,378 posts)
1. Even the name sounds invasive.
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 03:03 PM
Wednesday

But anyone who has any thought of flouting agricultural laws should do a websearch on Brazilian pepper, earleaf acacia, or melaleuca. They can populate an area so thoroughly that the land is useless. And they become a reservoir spreading their seeds perpetually to land all around.

bucolic_frolic

(51,516 posts)
3. States believe they can control Mother Nature
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 03:05 PM
Wednesday

In the east, Japanese Barberry is on their list. It grows and seeds like weeds. Said to be invasive. But the birds love to nest in it, find dried berries all winter. Cutting barberry down, or pruning anyway, gives a pile of branches loaded with thorns that repel deer. They are commonly used to protect plants like spruce or white pine or blueberry from deer.

Dear decimate my ivy btw. Can't see as anyone needs to to anything to ivy.

WestMichRad

(2,404 posts)
4. Japanese barberry is a host plant for black-legged ticks
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 03:19 PM
Wednesday

A kind of tick that carries Lyme disease. (Aka deer tick)

https://www.outdoorguide.com/1875675/avoid-plant-japanese-barberry-shrub-attract-ticks-yard/

IMO Japanese barberry is a really poor choice for an ornamental shrub. Yes birds eat their berries, but then shit the seeds all over our native woodlands, giving us yet another noxious invasive species that can out-compete native species that are essential for the food web.

Cirsium

(2,750 posts)
5. Birds and berries and bugs
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 03:48 PM
Wednesday

Migratory birds in North America have specific needs depending upon the season, and require the flora and fauna they co-evolved with. Breeding for migratory songbirds is dependent upon the explosion of insects in spring and early summer, especially Lepodoptera species, in the northern parts of the continent. The birds migrate from Central and South America to the northern US and Canada to take advantage of that seasonal abundance. Those insects, in turn, are utterly dependent upon the plant species with which they co-evolved. This has been exhaustively researched and is well documented.

Migratory birds need fruit with a high fat content as they prepare for fall migration. In North America, native shrubs and trees produce fruit with a high sugar content in the spring and summer and a high fat content in the all. Many exotic shrubs and trees from Asia and elsewhere produce berries with a high sugar content in the fall. Yes, the birds will eat them, but they are not getting the nutrition they need.

The exotic plants compete with the native plants for resources, and drive the native plants from landscapes because the exotic plants have few or often no natural enemies in North American ecosystems. Birds that eat the berries of those exotic plants then spread the seeds, aggravating the problem.

Grins

(8,620 posts)
6. Destroyed a neighbor's brickwork on his home.
Wed Jul 16, 2025, 04:34 PM
Wednesday

Thousand s to repoint it. Masonry guy said he lives on people who think that vine is nice. Would never let it near his home!

Also bad? Bamboo. Nothing stops it.

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