While a potted plant in a garden shop may seem irrelevant to the greenery growing on a riverbank miles away, the two may be more closely linked than we often consider.
When someone buys and plants a species of flora invasive to their region, it may inadvertently make its way into the wild. In fact, that's precisely what invasive species are best at doing — rapidly proliferating in a new environment, to the detriment of plants and wildlife native to that area.
Some of them spread far and wide via seeds or pollen or airborne shoots. Others simply grow quickly and become difficult to prune back and remove.
The state of Virginia has seen plenty of this. The James River in Richmond, for example, may look like it's flourishing and verdant, but the reality is that much of the foliage is invasive, CBS 6 explained.
"Unfortunately, we're seeing a lot more of those invasives than we are the native ones," Catherine McGuigan, invasive species management program coordinator at Friends of James River Park, told the local CBS station in April. "All this light green through here is not the tree — that is actually just the vine; that's the winter creeper."
Of course, not every invasive species enters the environment via a plant shop. But Evelyn Beaury, a scientist at the New York Botanical Garden's Center for Conservation and Restoration Ecology, told the Perfect Earth Project in 2025, "About 60% of plants we've recognized as invasive are still being sold through commercial nursery trade in the U.S." So it seems to be a problem worth addressing.
Fortunately for Virginians — and for residents of nearby states, who could also be impacted by roving invasive growth — their state's General Assembly recently passed new legislation doing just that. The legislation has also been signed by Governor Glenn Youngkin.
The bill identifies 39 plants invasive in Virginia and requires that stores post educational signage to explain the dangers of planting an invasive species and encourage consumers to seek native alternatives instead.
"It's very educational. I think we're giving the power back to consumers," bill sponsor Senator Saddam Salim said. "We think, hey, these plants look great. That means they must be good for our area. You plant it, and a year later, what ends up happening is that, you know, you've got some plants that have gone to your neighbors and to the whole neighborhood."
For her part, McGuigan hopes that simply bringing more awareness to well-intended gardeners will make a difference. "I think that's going to be one of the big benefits," she told CBS 6. "I think educating people on these things is the best you can do."
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Absolutely 💯 Some municipalities have taken other steps. This year, the Missouri State Senate and House advanced legislation to ban the commercial sale of multiple invasive species. The bill now heads to Governor Mike Kehoe for approval before it can become law.
In Virginia, the educational signage will be developed for launch in January 2027. It could encourage gardeners to rewild their yards with native plants, a strategy that uses abundant native vegetation to keep invasives and weeds at bay while also attracting and protecting beneficial pollinators as well as conserving water.
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