View as Webpage

This has been a banner year for invasives and a challenging one for control. Ample rain early in the year contributed to the explosive growth of many invasive plants, and drought in late summer slowed plant transpiration, making it more difficult for herbicide to translocate into plants, and thus less effective. However, the late fall means that the bright yellow-green leaves of bush honeysuckle and the brilliant red foliage of burning bush may be visible longer—ideal for control work. Check out the information below for controlling these and other woody shrubs.

Also, don't forget about prevention! Many invasive plants are prevalent across Missouri, but giving up is not an option! See our tips below to stop the spread of seed, as well as other invasive plant news and information:

–Save the Date: April 21, 2026 - MoIP Callery Pear Buyback Event

–Invasion Prevention Tips

–Invasive Plant Success Story: Training Tomorrow's Horticulturists

–Missourians Making a Difference: Interview with Gina Root and Linda Frederick

–Invasive to Watch: Cephalaria transylvanica

–Fall Invasive Plant Removal Events

–Save the Date: MoIP Workshop at Missouri Natural Resources Conference Feb. 2026

–Invasives to Treat in Fall: Common buckthorn, burning bush, bush honeysuckle, and privets

Thank you for taking action to identify and control invasive plants!

Carol Davit, MoIP Chair

Photo above of the fall foliage of burning bush by James H. Miller, USFS, Bugwood. Take advantage of its high visibility this time of year to cut and treat it to slow or stop its spread.

The Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) has set the date for its 2026 Callery Pear Buyback event as April 21, 2026, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Registration will be open March 16 through April 16, 2026.

During the registration period, Missouri residents can take a photo of their cut-down callery pear trees and sign up to receive a free native replacement tree.

The 2026 MoIP Callery Pear Buyback event will be held in 22 confirmed locations: Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Doniphan, Hannibal, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, Kirksville, Lebanon, Liberty, Moberly, Park Hills, Parkville, Riverside, Rolla, Sikeston, Springfield, St. Charles, St. Joseph, St. Louis, Warrensburg, and West Plains. MoIP thanks the Missouri Community Forestry Council, Magnificent Missouri, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, and the Missouri Department of Conservation for financial support for this invasive plant awareness and action event.

If you are interested in hosting a Callery Pear Buyback event, let us know—we may be able to add additional sites (send an email to moinvasives@gmail.com). Watch future issues of State of Invasives, moinvasives.org, and MoIP's Facebook page for registration details.

With the prevalence of invasive plants across many of Missouri's landscapes, we may think, Could a few more plants really be any worse? The answer, of course, is yes! While hundreds of thousands (or millions) of acres across the state have been invaded by invasive plants, many other areas are still relatively free of them.

Prevention is a significant invasive plant action tool. Here are some prevention tips from MoIP:

• Always clean off UTVs, ATVs, seed-harvesting equipment, logging equipment, and vehicle tire treads before entering into a new habitat for stewardship work or tree harvests. Leaf blowers work well, as shows in the photos above.

• When transplanting trees, shrubs, or other plants, watch for other seedlings that may germinate and ID them. Sometimes invasive seed may be transported in growing media.

• Likewise, if establishing a planting from seed, look carefully for signs of invasive seed germination. Recognizing invasive plants early can reduce spread and make control much easier. Check out this new weed ID resource from the Missouri Prairie Foundation's Grow Native! program, which may be helpful.

• Most towns and cities provide recommended plant lists for developers to consult when building in their communities. Such lists may be available on municipality websites. Review the list for your community, and, if any invasive trees or shrubs are listed, contact city officials to request that these species be removed.

• Don't forget to inspect your shoes, boots, and bicycle tires! Wash off bottoms of footwear and bike tires to prevent the spread of invasive seeds.

• Pets don't get a free pass—if your dog loves to romp through weedy fields, inspect its fur and paws for seeds and remove them promptly so they can't spread to new areas.

Pictured above is Missouri Prairie Foundation Director of Prairie Management Jerod Huebner using a leaf blower to blow off the interior and exterior of a UTV before driving it to a new location for habitat stewardship work. This simple action takes only a few minutes, yet helps prevent any seeds of invasive plants that might be "hitchhiking" on equipment from spreading to new locations.

Students in the horticulture program at St. Louis Community College (STLCC) - Meramec, in Kirkwood, gain extensive hands-on experience in identifying and managing invasive plant species through multiple courses across the curriculum.

In the courses HRT206 Trees and Vines Identification, HRT207 Shrubs and Evergreens Identification, and HRT230 Herbaceous Perennials, students study invasive plants as distinct sections within the coursework, learning to recognize key traits and understand their ecological impact.

In HRT214 Landscape Management and HRT250 Native Landscaping Practices, instruction extends to practical control strategies, including both mechanical and chemical removal methods. Students also learn that as horticulturists, they hold an ongoing responsibility to monitor and manage invasive plants on the properties they steward, ensuring the long-term health and balance of the landscapes they care for.

Beyond the classroom, students apply these lessons directly in the college’s 10-acre Garden Classroom, where they participate in ongoing efforts to remove and prevent the spread of invasive plants. The STLCC Horticulture Program has extended its commitment to invasive plant removal by successfully using Missouri Department of Conservation grant funds to remove all invasive tree species across the college’s 78-acre property, reinforcing its dedication to ecological stewardship and sustainable landscape management.

Many thanks to STLCC Horticulture Program Supervisor Carrie Coyne for providing this information, and to MoIP Council member Bill Ruppert for the photos above of STLCC students learning about invasive wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) from Horticulture Program Director Jerry Pence, top, and students removing invasive wintercreeper from the Garden Classroom.

Missourians Making a Difference: 
Gina Root and Linda Frederick

Throughout Missouri, many individuals are making significant progress in the early detection and control of invasive plants. MoIP is pleased to highlight their efforts. 

In this issue, we feature the invasive control efforts at the Audubon Trails Nature Center (ATNC) in Rolla, a 70-acre nature preserve with five distinct habitats: a remnant prairie, spring-fed riparian zone, short-leaf pine plantation, dolomite glade, and woodland. ATNC is open to the public every day from dawn to dusk, with no admission fee. A facility of the Ozark Rivers Audubon Chapter, ATNC’s mission is habitat restoration and education. Many thanks to Gina Root and Linda Frederick with ATNC for the following interview.

What are your roles with ATNC? How long have you been affiliated with ATNC, and what are your primary responsibilities there?

Gina: I’ve been the President of the Ozark Rivers Audubon Chapter since 2022, and in this role, I help oversee the activities of the group as well as of ATNC. In addition, during 2021, I started a small school called the Rolla Outdoor Collaborative School (ROCS), which is its own 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Almost all of ROCS’ activities take place within ATNC. ROCS is in session year-round with school-year programs and summer camps for children ages 1 to 18. We also host free programs for the community. I am paid part-time in my role as the ROCS director. This past summer, the ROCS board hired a part-time employee whose role is specifically upkeep of the ROCS facilities and ATNC. We were very lucky to bring on Brian Davidson in this role, who has been a tremendous asset. Brian recently retired after a long career with the U.S. Forest Service and is also a former MoIP Council member.

Linda: I have been a member of the Ozark Rivers Audubon Chapter for more than 30 years and have been involved with ATNC as a volunteer since our chapter purchased the property in 2002. In 2021, I agreed to be the ATNC volunteer “manager.” I always put the word manager in quotation marks because I am not a professional land manager. Many hard-working volunteers came before me, including Mike Doyen, Louise Wilkinson, Lynda Richards, Paul Long, Bob and Pat Perry, and Connie Roberts, to name just a few.

I spend a fair amount of time working on invasive plant control, and when I feel frustrated with the way things are going in the world, I take great pleasure in attacking invasive plants. Besides working on invasives, I help with planning, trail maintenance, and fire line establishment. Thanks to my husband, I have learned a great deal about small engines and equipment maintenance. Read more.

Top photo is of Linda Frederick on the left and Gina Root on the right. Photo above of ATNC volunteers removing bush honeysuckle with PullerBears by Gina Root.

As documented in Missouriensis, the publication of the Missouri Native Plant Society (2024, V. 42, pages 1–16), author Nathan Aaron reports on the presence of Cephalaria transylvanica, a tall, annual wildflower in the Caprifoliaceae family and native to the Old World, from roadsides in southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. This is the first report of the species growing wild in North America.

According to biologists in southwestern Missouri, it is aggressively spreading in many locations, including along the Frisco Highline trail from Springfield to Bolivar, and along Highway 123 in Polk County and Highway 245 in Cedar and Dade Counties. How this rapidly spreading plant was introduced here is unknown.

Control: Because this is an annual plant, well-timed mowings could greatly reduce seed production, minimize spread, and begin to reduce populations, but mowings after the plant has set seed will continue to spread the infestation. Learn more about ID and control of this species and read Nathan Aaron's article here.

Photo above of Cephalaria transylvanica inflorescence by Steve Turner; photo of the plant along a roadside by Nathan Aaron

Treating and removing bush honeysuckle is like ecological therapy—you can relieve stress, get fresh air and exercise, and have fun with other volunteers improving habitat! Several groups have organized opportunities to control bush honeysuckle and/or other invasive plants this fall in and around Missouri. In addition to the invasive plant removal (and one tree planting) events organized by the Missouri Conservation Corps (MCC) in central Missouri listed above, links to register for other invasive plant removal events are below—you will be glad you did!

November 14: LaVista Park Invasive Species Removal Workday near Godfrey, Illinois

November 14 & 15: Banishing the Bush Honeysuckle Community Event, Warrensburg, Missouri

November 15: Bridging the Gap's Invasive Species Workday, Overland Park Arboretum, Kansas

November 19: Open Space STL Honeysuckle Hack in Greensfelder Park in St. Louis County

December 6: Open Space STL Honeysuckle Hack in St. Vincent Park near St. Charles Rock Road

MoIP will present the two-hour workshop Invasive Species Control, from Red Swamp Crayfish to Drone Spraying: Innovations & Challenges at the Missouri Natural Resources Conference in 2026, tentatively scheduled for February 5 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The workshop will consist of four presentations:

• Drone Spraying for Invasive Plants: Insights from the Field. An expert panel, including drone contractor Caleb O’Neal, will discuss the pros and cons of using drones for herbicide application for invasive plant control. Panelists will discuss capabilities and limitations, and offer practical insights for those considering this emerging treatment method.

• Presenter Cheyenne Stratton, Aquatic Invertebrate Ecologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, will present on a Red Swamp Crayfish Control Project, highlighting a collaborative effort to eradicate this invasive invertebrate from a central Missouri pond through trapping, chemical treatment, and habitat modification.

• MDC biologists will share an update on feral hog eradication efforts in Missouri.

• Botanist Nathan Aaron will present on Cephalaria transylvanica, an annual plant exploding along roadsides in parts of southwestern Missouri, which is a recently documented invasive plant known in North America in only a few counties in Missouri and Arkansas (see post about this plant above). Learn how to recognize and treat this aggressive plant in the Caprifoliaceae family.

Not all invasive plants are most effectively treated at the same time of year, and treatment methods can differ according to the seasons. Here, we highlight several species to treat in fall. You can find treatment guidelines for many invasive plants other than those highlighted below at moinvasives.org. 

Note: Treatment methods may differ considerably if invasives are found in otherwise intact, highly biologically diverse areas, in disturbed areas/altered landscapes, or if invasives are found in or near water. When using chemicals to treat invasives, always read label instructions.

Non-native privets (Ligustrum spp.) are multi-stemmed shrubs reaching up to 16 feet tall at maturity. Four species occur in Missouri.

Leaves are small, opposite, with smooth margins, and at nearly a right angle to the stem. The leaf surface is glossy on top and pale green underneath. Chinese privet has a hairy mid-vein on the lower surface, while the European privet is hairless on the underside of the mid-vein. White flowers appear May to June and are abundant and fragrant. Fruits appear in late summer in clusters near the ends of branches. As the fruit ripens, it turns from pale green to dark purple or nearly black.

Wildlife (primarily birds) consume the fruits, thereby spreading the seed and contributing to future invasions. Privet also spreads clonally through the roots. Dense stands often form near creeks, fence rows, and in the understory of woodlands. Leaves remain green for several weeks after the first fall frosts.

The recommended treatment is a foliar application of glyphosate after the first hard frost. A 3% to 4% rate of glyphosate with ammonium sulfate and surfactant is adequate for control, ensuring that the herbicide covers most of the leaves on the shrub. It is not necessary to spray the leaves to the point of run-off.

Another method is to cut stems/trunks with loppers or a saw and then daub the cut stems with a 10% to 20% solution of glyphosate. No surfactant is needed when applying herbicide to cut stems/stumps. Learn more about ID and control here.

Photo of Ligustrum ovalifolium by Leslie J. Mehrhoff, bugwood.org

Bush honeysuckles (Lonicera maackii and other non-native Lonicera shrub species) are large, upright shrubs reaching 15 to 20 feet tall at maturity. In early summer, white flowers will emerge and change to a pale yellow over time, producing bright red juicy berries in early fall, which are readily eaten by birds, spreading the seeds. Leaves are opposite, 1 to 3 inches long, and narrowly oval with a pointed tip.

These shrubs spread through woodland communities, dominating the understory and shading out native herbaceous plants as well as native shrubs and native tree seedlings. The recommended control varies depending on shrub size and density, as well as landscape type. Small plants can simply be pulled by hand, as they are shallow-rooted. For larger plants, the method that may be especially desirable for yards or parks is to cut stems with loppers or a saw and then daub the cut stems with a 10% to 20% solution of glyphosate. No surfactant is needed when applying herbicide to cut stems/stumps. More control method information is here.

Photo above of bush honeysuckle by Bill Ruppert

Burning bush (Eunoymous alatus) is spreading rapidly into forests and woodlands. In fall, it is readily identifiable by its brilliant red leaves.

This deciduous shrub can grow to 20 feet. Two to four corky ridges often form along the length of young stems, though they may not appear in shaded areas or closed canopies. The opposite, dark green leaves are < 2 inches long, smooth, rounded, and taper at the tips. The leaves turn bright crimson to purple color in the fall. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish yellow, and have four petals. Flowers develop from late April to June and lay flat against the leaves. The fruits, which appear from September to October, are reddish capsules that split to reveal orange fleshy seeds.

Cut stems/trunks with loppers or a saw and then daub the cut stems with a 10% to 20% solution of glyphosate. No surfactant is needed when applying herbicide to cut stems/stumps. Learn more about ID and control here.



Photo of fall foliage of burning bush above by James H. Miller, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) is much more of a problem north of Missouri; nonetheless, it is gradually increasing in central and eastern Missouri. Early detection and control are critical in reducing its spread, impact, and abundance.

Common buckthorn is a many-branched, shrubby tree with a spreading, irregular crown. Leaves are simple, some appearing alternate, but most are opposite, egg-shaped, abruptly pointed (sometimes rounded) at the tip, and finely toothed. Both upper and lower surfaces are smooth. Leaves have 3–5 pairs of veins branching from the midvein that curve along the edges of the leaf. Leaves appear early in spring and are retained late into autumn. Trunk diameter to 10 inches. The terminal bud is often modified into a spine. Flowers have 4 small, yellowish green petals and appear in clusters from April to June; male and female flowers usually produced on separate plants. Fruits appear August–September, often remaining until December. Fruits are round, black, small (up to ¼ inch in diameter), juicy, and typically contain 3–4 seeds. NOTE: There are several native species of buckthorn in Missouri. Learn about them here.

Cut stumps can be treated with a 50% solution of glyphosate immediately after cutting. Apply herbicide to individual cut stumps with a low-pressure hand sprayer or by daubing herbicide on each cut stump with a sponge applicator. As with bush honeysuckle, fall is the preferred time to cut and stump-treat buckthorn because 1) buckthorns retain green leaves late into the fall, making it easy to find them, and 2) most native vegetation is dormant, minimizing the potential harm to non-target plants.

Learn more about buckthorn ID and control here.

Photo of common buckthorn by Chris Evans, University of Illinois, Bugwood.org

State of Invasives aims to:

• Provide useful information to you/the leaders of your organization, agency, or business to help you recognize and control invasive plants and reduce their negative impacts, introduce you to our work, explain the challenges of invasive plants, and make the case for bold action and how this will benefit Missouri and Missourians. 

• Share talking points that you can use when communicating about invasive plant detection and control within your agency, business, or organization, and to your customers or stakeholders. 

• Empower you and your audiences to recognize invasive plants and take action—around your office building, behind your parking lot, on your back 40, right of way, back yard, around your crop field, or on any other land you or your group owns or manages. Our MoIP Video: A Landowner Tour is one of MoIP's many useful resources at moinvasives.org.

We hope the information in this enewsletter is helpful, and we’d like to hear from you. What questions or ideas do you have? Would you like to share with us the invasive plant action you or your organization or business are taking? If so, contact us at info@moinvasives.org.