{"id":1029,"date":"2026-06-06T10:38:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T10:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1029"},"modified":"2026-06-06T10:38:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T10:38:39","slug":"midlands-gardeners-beware-103-plants-are-banned-for-sale-in-sc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1029","title":{"rendered":"Midlands gardeners, beware: 103 plants are banned for sale in SC"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re swapping cuttings with neighbors in Lexington or browsing nurseries around Irmo this spring, here\u2019s something worth knowing before you plant: South Carolina has banned 103 plants from sale across the state \u2014 and a few of them might already be growing in your yard.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1027\">SC bans addictive social media features for young teens. Here\u2019s what to know<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The list, maintained by Clemson University\u2019s Department of Plant Industry, targets invasive species that crowd out native plants, damage ecosystems and sometimes even raise fire risk. For Midlands gardeners who pride themselves on healthy landscapes, knowing what\u2019s on the list \u2014 and what to plant instead \u2014 matters.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>The worst offender on Clemson\u2019s list<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Topping the list of concerns is cogongrass, a perennial grass native to Southeast Asia that arrived in the U.S. in the early 1900s.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany would argue that Cogongrass is the worst terrestrial weed on our list with an ability to overtake all native plants in a landscape and increasing fire threats where it\u2019s present,\u201d said Steven H. Long, the assistant director and state plant regulatory official with the Department of Plant Industry at Clemson University, <u>according to The State<\/u>.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Cogongrass is also classified as a federal noxious weed and infests 153 billion acres worldwide, Long said. It\u2019s a major problem throughout the Southeast.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>What makes cogongrass especially dangerous for home landscapes? It spreads easily and is nearly impossible to kill.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cA single Cogongrass plant can produce thousands of seeds, which are then carried by wind, water, animals, and even human activity,\u201d the North American Invasive Species Management Association notes. \u201cIts dense rhizome network allows it to survive fires, droughts, and even some herbicides, making eradication efforts particularly difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Even more troubling for gardeners: an ornamental variety of cogongrass was once sold in nurseries, and it could revert back to its invasive parentage. If you\u2019ve got ornamental grass of unknown origin, it\u2019s worth identifying.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>The Bradford Pear finally got banned<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve lived in the Midlands for any length of time, you know the Bradford Pear \u2014 those puffy white spring trees that line subdivisions from Lexington to Northeast Columbia, and produce that infamous unpleasant smell every March.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Callery Pear, the parent species, was added to the banned list in 2019. As of 2024, its cultivar, the Bradford Pear, is now banned for sale in South Carolina. The trees are notorious for cross-pollinating with wild Callery Pears, producing thorny thickets that overrun fields and forest edges.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>If you have a Bradford Pear in your yard, you don\u2019t have to remove it \u2014 but you can\u2019t buy or plant a new one. Native alternatives include serviceberry, fringe tree and Eastern redbud, all of which give you spring blooms without the ecological damage.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Watch out for fig buttercup and floating hearts<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Three other plants worth knowing about were added back in 2015: Crested Floating Heart, Yellow Floating Heart and Fig Buttercup.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1025\">Hurricane season in SC underway. What are the chances a storm hits in June? Here\u2019s what to expect<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The floating hearts are aquatic plants often found in water gardens. Crested Floating Heart was first detected in Lake Marion in 2006 and has since spread throughout Lake Marion and Lake Moultrie. Long said Water Hyacinth is commonly regarded as the worst aquatic weed and is on the banned list.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Fig buttercup is one Midlands gardeners should be on the lookout for. The Department of Plant Industry has found colonies along the tributaries of the Reedy River in Greenville and the Catawba River in Rock Hill \u2014 meaning it\u2019s not far from our backyards.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe flowers of this invasive species bear the sweet smiles of its buttercup cousins,\u201d Clemson says on its website. \u201cBut fig buttercup is a bully that will do its best to crowd out all other plants in its chosen territory, establishing a monoculture that can damage or even destroy nature\u2019s natural ability to prevent erosion and to provide food and shelter for wildlife, especially bees and other pollinators.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>How plant swaps and shared soil spread the problem<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s where Midlands gardeners can unintentionally make things worse.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough banned from commercial sale, it\u2019s not uncommon for backyard gardeners to unknowingly trade and move the illegal plants due to their beauty,\u201d Long said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He pointed out that people often see plants in the wild and dig them up to take home, not realizing they\u2019re invasive. The floating hearts and fig buttercup were both once sold in the nursery trade.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Soil is another culprit. \u201cBoth intentional and inadvertent soil movement has contributed to countless invasive species infestations,\u201d Long said. So that bucket of dirt your neighbor offered? It might come with seeds or rhizomes you don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s not on the list \u2014 and why<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>You might be surprised to learn that kudzu, Chinese Privet, Tree of Heaven and Japanese Stiltgrass are not banned. Long called them \u201cinvasive thugs\u201d but said they were too widespread by the time their invasiveness was acknowledged.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince kudzu isn\u2019t sold in the nursery trade, no effort has been made to list it to make it illegal to sell,\u201d Long said. \u201cTherefore, our list only includes invasive plant pests that we view as \u2018able to be regulated\u2019 in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>He cautioned that the list isn\u2019t a complete guide to invasive plants in South Carolina.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are hundreds, if not thousands, of plant pests in SC,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>For Midlands gardeners, the takeaway is simple: ask before you plant, know before you swap and check Clemson\u2019s resources when in doubt.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1023\">Not sure who to vote for in SC GOP race for gov. What separates hopefuls on issues<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Midlands gardeners should beware: There are 103 plants that are banned for sale in South Carolina. Here\u2019s what to know about the SC bans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1028,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-south-carolina"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Midlands gardeners, beware: 103 plants are banned for sale in SC - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1029\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Midlands gardeners, beware: 103 plants are banned for sale in SC - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Midlands gardeners should beware: There are 103 plants that are banned for sale in South Carolina. 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