If you feel the need for a new burning bush, Japanese barberry hedge or Norway maple, now’s the time to plant.
They are popular and colorful landscaping choices, but — like dozens of other plants and animals — their days are numbered in New York.
All three are likely to end up on a state list of outlawed plants. The go-to decorations for mulchy gardens will be like fireworks — you can’t bring them into the state, you can’t sell them and if you get caught with them, you can get fined. If you have them in your yard already, you’re OK.
What makes them so popular is also part of their curse.
They adapt well to almost any environment and reproduce bunny-fast. They’re also what are called invasive species. By September 2013, the state will ban the worst offenders.
Invasive plants are often brought from another country because they’ll look great in a garden. But they break free of the beds outside homes and end up on forest floors and in fields, overwhelming native ferns and shrubs. They disrupt entire ecosystems.
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