They crowd out natives
Many leaf out earlier and hold their leaves later than native plants, shading out wildflowers and tree seedlings until a thicket is all that's left.
Invasive plant removal · Northeast Ohio
Invasive plant removal in Cleveland & Northeast Ohio
Bush honeysuckle, buckthorn, Callery pear and Japanese knotweed are crowding out Ohio's native plants in backyards, ravines and parks alike. We remove them carefully, mostly by hand, and replant with natives so they stay gone.
- $65/hr plus disposal
- Hand removal first
- Six NE Ohio counties
Why it matters
Invasive plants don't stay in one yard.
They were brought here as ornamentals and hedges, and they spread faster than anything can keep them in check.
They starve wildlife
Most native insects can't eat them. Fewer caterpillars means less food for nesting birds, and a quieter yard.
They spread to parks and ravines
Birds, wind and water carry seeds from yards into Cleveland's parks, ravines and nature preserves, so every yard cleared helps.
How we remove them
Careful removal, then native plants in their place.
1. Identify & plan
On a walk-through we identify every invasive on the property, map the worst patches and set priorities that fit your budget.
2. Remove by hand
Pulling, digging, cutting and hauling. Most invasives in a typical yard can be cleared without any chemicals at all.
3. Treat only where needed
Some species, like tree-of-heaven and Japanese knotweed, resprout from their roots when cut. For those we use targeted cut-stump or spot treatments, never broadcast spraying.
4. Replant & follow up
Bare ground invites invasives back, so we replant with natives and return to pull regrowth while the new plants settle in.
$65 per hour plus disposal. We'll take a free look at your invasives during the consultation and estimate the hours your site needs. Follow-up visits are billed the same way.
Species guide
Common invasive plants in Northeast Ohio.
These are the ones we find most often in Cleveland-area yards. Spot one on your property? We can help.
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Callery pear (Bradford pear)
Pyrus calleryana
- How to spot it
- Clouds of white, foul-smelling blossoms in early April before the leaves come out. Glossy oval leaves, and thorny branches on wild seedlings.
- Why it's a problem
- Once sterile street trees, its cultivars now cross-pollinate and seed thorny thickets along roads, fields and woods edges. Branches also split easily in storms.
Photo: Bruce Marlin · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
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Bush honeysuckles (Amur, Morrow's & Tatarian)
Lonicera maackii and relatives
- How to spot it
- Arching, many-stemmed shrubs up to 15 ft with pointed, paired leaves, white-to-yellow flowers in spring and red berries in fall. Snap a stem: the center is hollow.
- Why it's a problem
- Leafs out first and drops its leaves last, shading out wildflowers and tree seedlings. Its berries are a poor food for migrating birds.
Photo: Eric Hunt · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Buckthorns (Common & glossy)
Rhamnus cathartica, Frangula alnus
- How to spot it
- Shrubs or small trees whose dark leaves stay green well into November. Small black berries, orange inner bark, and often a small thorn at the twig tips.
- Why it's a problem
- Forms dense thickets that crowd out everything beneath them, changes soil chemistry, and its laxative berries spread seeds far and wide.
Photo: AnemoneProjectors · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Japanese knotweed
Fallopia japonica
- How to spot it
- Hollow, bamboo-like stems with purple speckles, 6–10 ft tall, and broad shovel-shaped leaves on zigzag stems. Lacy white flowers in late summer.
- Why it's a problem
- Spreads by deep rhizomes that can regrow from a fragment the size of a fingernail. It pushes through pavement and chokes out streambanks.
Photo: W.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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Japanese barberry
Berberis thunbergii
- How to spot it
- Dense, spiny shrub with small teardrop leaves (green, red or purple), yellow spring flowers and bright red berries that hang on through winter.
- Why it's a problem
- Forms thorny thickets that deer won't eat, so it takes over woodland floors. Dense stands have been linked to higher numbers of disease-carrying ticks.
Photo: User:MPF · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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English ivy
Hedera helix
- How to spot it
- Evergreen vine with glossy, three-to-five-lobed leaves that clings with hairy rootlets. Older vines grow unlobed leaves and dark berries.
- Why it's a problem
- Blankets the ground and climbs trees, smothering native plants, weighing down branches and hiding rot. Birds spread its berries into ravines and parks.
Photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Garlic mustard
Alliaria petiolata
- How to spot it
- Kidney-shaped leaves in a low rosette the first year; the second spring, 1–3 ft stalks of small white four-petaled flowers. Crushed leaves smell like garlic.
- Why it's a problem
- Disrupts the soil fungi that native trees and wildflowers depend on, and each plant can scatter hundreds of seeds.
Photo: O. Pichard · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Tree-of-heaven
Ailanthus altissima
- How to spot it
- Fast-growing tree with long compound leaves of 10–40 leaflets, each with a small notch near its base. Crushed leaves smell like burnt peanut butter.
- Why it's a problem
- Suppresses other plants, and cutting it triggers dozens of root sprouts. It's also the favorite host of the spotted lanternfly.
Photo: Wayne National Forest · CC BY · Wikimedia Commons
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Multiflora rose
Rosa multiflora
- How to spot it
- Arching, thorny canes that form mounds up to 10 ft wide, with clusters of small white flowers in June and a fringed collar at the base of each leaf.
- Why it's a problem
- Builds impenetrable thorny thickets along yards, fences and woods edges, and birds carry its hips everywhere.
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Asian bittersweet (Oriental bittersweet)
Celastrus orbiculatus
- How to spot it
- Twining woody vine with round, glossy leaves. In fall, yellow capsules split open along the stems to show orange-red berries.
- Why it's a problem
- Wraps and strangles trees until they topple, and crossbreeds with our native American bittersweet.
Photo: Unknown · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
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Burning bush (Winged euonymus)
Euonymus alatus
- How to spot it
- The shrub famous for fiery red fall color. Look for corky 'wings' running along the twigs and small orange-red berries.
- Why it's a problem
- Birds spread its seeds into nearby woods, where seedlings carpet the forest floor and crowd out native shrubs.
Photo: Chris Barton/Gif absarnt · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Lesser celandine (Fig buttercup)
Ficaria verna
- How to spot it
- Low mats of glossy, heart-shaped leaves and shiny yellow buttercup flowers in early spring, gone by early summer. Don't confuse it with native marsh marigold.
- Why it's a problem
- Carpets floodplains, woods and lawns before native spring wildflowers can emerge, spreading by tiny bulblets and tubers.
Photo: Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium · CC BY-SA · Wikimedia Commons
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Sale status comes from Ohio Administrative Code 901:5-30-01, Ohio's invasive plant rule. Photos are by Wikimedia Commons contributors, used under the licenses shown.
What clients say
We hired Urban Permascapes to replace our front lawn with native plants, install a rain barrel, and set up a compost system. We could not be more pleased with the results. The experience was great, and I was thoroughly impressed by the 23-page ecology report and design plan Ryan shared with us, including an existing plant inventory highlighting native vs nonnative vs invasive species. He also removed our invasive species, and was all around generous with his knowledge. I'm giddy over our new front yard and cannot wait to watch it grow!
What to plant instead
Native swaps for common invasives.
Looking for the right native for your yard? Search your county in our free Native Plant Finder, or browse native plants of Ohio.
- Instead of Callery pear
Try Serviceberry or eastern redbud
Spring blossoms, and berries or seeds that wildlife actually eat.
- Instead of Burning bush
Try Black chokeberry or highbush blueberry
Brilliant red fall color from shrubs native to Ohio.
- Instead of Japanese barberry
Try Ninebark or gray dogwood
Tough, deer-tolerant native shrubs with year-round interest.
- Instead of English ivy
Try Wild ginger or Pennsylvania sedge
Shade-loving native groundcovers that stay put.
Questions
Invasive removal questions.
What does invasive plant removal cost?
$65 per hour plus disposal. We take a free look at your invasives during the consultation and estimate the hours your site needs. Follow-up visits for regrowth are billed the same way.
Do you use herbicides?
Only when hand removal won't work. Species like tree-of-heaven and Japanese knotweed regrow from their roots when cut, so we apply a targeted cut-stump or spot treatment to the invasive plant itself. We never broadcast spray, and we don't use herbicides anywhere else in our work.
Where do you offer invasive removal?
Cleveland and all of Cuyahoga County, plus Lake, Geauga, Summit, Medina and Lorain counties in Northeast Ohio.
Will the invasives come back?
Seeds can survive in the soil for years and birds keep bringing new ones, so follow-up visits matter. Replanting with natives shades out new seedlings and makes regrowth easy to catch early.
What happens to the plants you remove?
We bag or haul them away so seeds and root fragments don't spread to new ground. Disposal fees are added to the hourly rate.
Can I remove invasive plants myself?
Absolutely, and the guide on this page shows how to spot the most common ones. Small seedlings and garlic mustard pull easily, especially before they set seed. For large shrubs, vines climbing trees or knotweed, professional help saves time and cuts down on regrowth.
Get started
Ready to clear them out?
Tell us what's growing and where. The consultation is free, and there's no obligation.