2026 Survey Results:
2nd Annual Virginia Retail Garden Center Invasive Plant Survey
From April 1, 2026 - September 30, 2026 the Virginia Invasive Plant Coalition conducted the second annual statewide survey of invasive plants* for sale at retail garden centers.
Below are the results. Thank you to all the volunteers who made this happen!
Congratulations to Hunter Bengston of Roanoke, VA — Hunter won our survey sweepstakes and selected Ninebark Nursery for his $100 native plant gift card.
*Virginia Invasive Plant Species List, Virginia Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
166 Visits
30% increase over 2025
60 Cities
7% increase over 2025
122 Retail Garden Centers
42% increase over 2025
55 species evaluated
Same number as 2025
39 Invasive Plant Species Found
20% decrease from 2025
4.5 = average invasive species found per visit
17% decrease from 2025
4.6 = average invasive plant species found per location
23% decrease from 2025
Range:
High = 24 Low = 0
12% of garden centers had zero invasive plants
3.5x increase from 2025
Most Common Species Found
Butterfly Bush 95 visits 🌿 Nandina 79 visits 🌿 English Ivy 69 visits 🌿 Periwinkle 63 visits 🌿 Moneywort 61 visits 🌿 Japanese Barberry 58 visits 🌿 Japanese Spirea 45 visits 🌿 Burning Bush 44 visits 🌿 Chinese Silvergrass 30 visits 🌿 Fountain Grass 29 visits 🌿 Greater Periwinkle 19 visits 🌿 Leatherleaf Mahonia 19 visits 🌿 Chinese Privet 17 visits 🌿 Winter Creeper 16 visits 🌿 Chinese Wisteria 11 visits 🌿 Mimosa 11 visits 🌿 Water Hyacinth 11 visits 🌿 Yellow Flag 10 visits 🌿 Sweet Autumn Clematis 9 visits 🌿 Border Privet 8 visits 🌿 Creeping Charlie 5 visits 🌿 Callery Pear 4 visits 🌿 Golden Bamboo 4 visits 🌿 Norway Maple 4 visits 🌿
Cities
Abingdon
Alexandria
Annandale
Arlington
Ashburn
Bonsack
Burke
Chantilly
Charlottesville
Chesapeake
Chesterfield
Christiansburg
Colonial Heights
Culpeper
Dulles
Fair Oaks
Fairfax
Falls Church
Fredericksburg
Front Royal
Gainesville
Glen Allen
Great Falls
Hampton
Harrisonburg
Hiawassee
Johnson City
Kingstowne
Leesburg
Luray
Manassas
Martinsville
McLean
Mechanicsville
Merrifield
Midlothian
Nellysford
Newington
Norfolk
Portsmouth
Prince Frederick
Purcellville
Reston
Richmond
Roanoke
Ruckersville
Salem
Short Pump
Spotsylvania
Staunton
Sterling
Suffolk
Toms Brook
Troutville
Virginia Beach
Warrenton
Waynesboro
West Beng
Williamsburg
Winchester
Details:
Good news: the following invasive species were found at a smaller percentage of Virginia garden centers in 2026 than in 2025:
Butterfly bush, nandina, English ivy, periwinkle, greater periwinkle, Chinese privet, winter creeper, sweet autumn clematis, border privet, callery pear, and linden arrowwood.
Bad news: the following invasive species were found at a higher percentage of Virginia garden centers in 2026 than in 2025:
Moneywort, Japanese spirea, Chinese silvergrass, mimosa, water hyacinth, yellow flag, and Japanese honeysuckle*.
Holding steady: the following invasive species were found at the same percentage of Virginia garden centers in 2026 as in 2025:
Japanese barberry, burning bush, fountain grass, leatherleaf mahonia, Chinese wisteria, creeping Charlie, golden bamboo, Norway maple, five-leaf akebia, parrotfeather beefsteak plant, Italian arum, white mulberry, Chinese tallow-tree, and trifoliate orange.
Not for sale: the following invasive species were not found in Virginia garden centers in 2026:
Amur honeysuckle*, Autumn olive*, Brazilian waterweed, cinnamon vine, cogon grass*, crown-vetch, incised fumewort*, marsh dewflower, Morrow's honeysuckle, Oriental bittersweet*, porcelain-berry*, purple loosestrife, ravenna grass, royal paulownia, shrubby bushclover*, Siberian elm, tartarian honeysuckle, thorny olive, tree-of-heaven*, wineberry, and winter honeysuckle.
NOTE: species are listed above in the order of prevalence in which they were found.
*indicates plants listed on the Virginia Noxious Weeds List and banned from sale.
