A gardener from the Midwest took to Reddit to warn other residents about a common but harmful practice of large retailers.
The thread, posted on r/wisconsin, sought to raise awareness of the tendency of big box stores to stock invasive plants. They found the "vast majority" of stores they visited were stocking potentially harmful plants.
"I'm a bit surprised by this point in time we don't have something allowing stores to only sell native plants," the original poster said.
The post included contact information about where to report irresponsible retailers.
Invasive plants are a big problem locally and nationwide. They can outcompete and crowd out native species, harming biodiversity and disrupting the entire ecosystem. And according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, Wisconsin spent $4.4 million on managing invasive plants in 2024.
Unfortunately, it's all too common to find stores that give so little thought to their inventories. But at the very least, educated and mindful gardeners and homeowners can avoid all the headaches associated with invasive plants.
Rewilding a yard using native plants offers all of the aesthetic qualities with none of the drawbacks. A yard that's properly aligned with its local ecosystem doesn't need as much maintenance to thrive. That means less money spent, no chemicals needed to keep pests at bay, and much less overall effort.
The comments were in full agreement with the original poster.
One said, "Yep! I'm with you. There ought to be a law against selling the invasive plants that are destroying our ecosystems."
Another poster called out the store's lack of responsibility over what they sell: "They don't care what happens after the plant sells. I noticed this a few years ago when I started actually paying attention to what I wanted to plant and realized many were either invasive or definitely not meant to withstand our climate."
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A similar post bemoaned the lack of choice of natives in the larger retailers: "Yeah I struggle to find anything remotely native and stores like that. But I have a fantastic native plant nursery nearby."
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