Are they invasive? Not legally in the state of Illinois. (Yet!) But we are seeing Callery pear and burning bush escape from our yards into natural areas across the state. Today Ken and Chris talk about these two plants, give some background, and then what we can plant instead of these baddies!

Watch us and see some pictures of the plants we mention on YouTube https://youtu.be/NcI0Q11AD0o

Check out this article from Arnold Arboretum on the history and spread of Callery pear tree https://arboretum.harvard.edu/stories/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-ornamental-callery-pear-tree/

Skip to what you want to know:

0:30 Hey Ken! Here comes the first freeze of 2022

2:22 The difference between invasive and aggressive and are plants really bad?

4:00 Kicking things off with the naughty Callery pear (aka Bradford pear or ornamental pear) and all the reasons you should kill yours!

5:45 A history of Callery pear, how it got here, and how it spread everywhere

17:54 Callery pear alternatives

18:20 Flowering dogwood

19:17 Serviceberry

19:49 Redbud

21:42 White fringetree

22:30 Hawthorns

23:31 Wild plum and crabapples

26:08 White fringetree and EAB

27:09 The second BAD plant for this week - Burning Bush

30:10 Chris' burning bush conundrum

32:30 First time Chris realized burning bush was a problem

34:09 Alternatives to burning bush

34:30 American hazelnut

36:01 Arrowwood Viburnum 'Chicago Lustre'

36:45 Doublefile viburnum 'Opening Day' (may be invasive in your area)

38:04 Buttonbush

39:17 Mophead hydrangea (arborescens)

40:10 Pannicle hydrangea (paniculate)

40:47 Oakleaf hydrangea (quercifolia)

41:25 Ninebark

42:15 Fothergilla

43:10 Virginia sweetspire

43:53 Highbush blueberry

46:33 Answering a comment on photos from last week

47:51 Farewells and thank yous

48:47 Coming up next week!

Management of Invasive Plants and Pests of Illinois: https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/management_of_invasive_plants_and_pests_of_illinois.pdf

Check out the Good Growing Blog: go.illinois.edu/goodgrowing

Subscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingsubscribe

Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.