Pennsylvania Banning Invasive Japanese Barberry

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Pennsylvania is phasing in a ban on Japanese barberry, a popular but invasive shrub.

The Japanese barberry was added to the commonwealth's list of noxious weeds, and merchants won't be allowed to sell it by the fall of 2023.

Landscapers and homeowners like the plant because of its fall coloring and because deer tend to veer away from it.

Unfortunately, it's also popular with black-legged ticks and those are the kind that spread Lyme disease. The shrubs also tend to crowd and choke out native vegetation in woodlands, pastures and fields.

The ban will follow a two-year rollout plan. This month, nursery and landscaping businesses will be told to immediately begin adjusting propagation, ordering and planting of the shrub. In the fall of 2022, warning letters will go out to any business still selling it, and in the fall of 2023, stop-sale and destruction orders will be issued.

The Japanese barberry is not the only thing going on the state's noxious weed list. Garlic mustard and Japanese Stillgrass are also on there now. They aren't sold commercially, but if you find any of them on your property, you're advised to remove them.