Winter Weather Special: Warmer winters fuel spread of invasive plants in Missouri

Winter is right around the corner, and the trees have lost almost all their leaves. But winter is losing the worst of its chill, and invasive plants are using these warmer winters to spread across our state.

While native Missouri plants are shutting down for the season, species like bush honeysuckle, Bradford pears, and autumn olive are still green and growing.

John George, the regional resource management supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation, says invasive plants keep their leaves for weeks or months longer than native trees and shrubs as a way to outcompete and crowd out other plants.

"It has the longer growing season than our natives. Both starts earlier in the spring and grows longer into the fall. So it outcompetes for resources with our native species," John says.

A warming climate is also helping invasives, allowing them to spread to new regions and survive for more of the year. "So, whereas a plant may be used to be problematic in the South, like kudzu vine, we are finding it to be more of a problem in states further north," John says, "because our winters are less severe for the most part, and our growing seasons longer."

Some invasive plants like Callery pears are more than a nuisance. Bradford pears aren't strong enough to withstand Missouri's heavy storms and snow, and they fall over much more easily than other native trees.

If you are trying to remove or replace an invasive plant on your property, the Department of Conservation can help. The department's popular Bradford pear buyback program gives homeowners the opportunity to replace their pear trees with a free, non-invasive native tree for your yard.