Native Plant Alternatives: Beautiful Solutions to the Biodiversity Crisis
Over the past century, several invasive species have gained notoriety by escaping garden boundaries and wreaking havoc on natural areas. These plants, displaced from their natural context, have a bad habit of out-competing & replacing native plants due to a lack of local checks and balances — they have no natural enemies in our region and are able to spread rapidly, resulting in a dramatic loss of biodiversity. The Chicago region is lucky to have high-quality natural areas in our Forest Preserves and other public lands, which makes good environmental stewardship in our gardens even more important!
Unfortunately, many well-known invasive species are still legal to sell in Illinois. We have decided to stop carrying certain plants that are not controlled by law but have invasive potential (especially ones that are expanding their range due to climate change). With so many gorgeous, uncommon and ecosystem-supporting native plants available, it’s easy to swap out the usual, over-planted invasive species.
Here are some changes you can make:
❌ Japanese Barberry
✅ Chokeberry
❌ Butterfly Bush
✅ New Jersey Tea
❌ Wintercreeper
✅ Christmas Fern
❌ Burning Bush
✅ Eastern Wahoo
❌ Chinese Silver Grass
✅ Switchgrass
With such a wide array of native plants evolved for the Chicago region, one can always find a native plant to replace non-native/invasive usual suspects — we can all do our part to kick the invasive habit while working to promote our local natural heritage!
