Native & Invasive Plants

Invasive Plants – they are all around us

Invasive plants are a really big problem and a problem that is getting worse. Anywhere you go in Chester, you can find invasive plants. They’re alongside our roads, adjacent to streams and lakes and sometimes within them, in our yards and in the forest. Invasive plants often can out compete native plants and degrade natural habitats. The Conservation Commission has begun a program to help residents identify invasive plants and to develop plans to get rid of them. Over time, Commission members will prepare a series of fact sheets that describe locally occurring invasive plants, how to identify them and how to eradicate them. The Commission also is providing links to some excellent online resources about invasive plants where you can find additional information.

Fact sheets on locally occurring Invasive Plants

• Tree of Heaven
• Japanese Knotweed
• Black Swallow-wort
• Common Mugwort
• Lesser Celandine
• Callery Pear
• Garlic Mustard
• Mile-a-Minute
• Burning Bush

Links to Online Resources

• Connecticut Invasive Plant List this is a comprehensive list of invasive plants found in CT. The list is maintained by the CONNECTICUT INVASIVE PLANT WORKING GROUP (CIPWG), a consortium of individuals, organizations, and agencies concerned with invasive plant issues.
• Invasive Plants in Your Backyard this is an excellent booklet prepared the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District. The booklet, expanded in 2020, contains information on commonly found invasive plants along with information on how to remove them from your property.

Tree Mortality in Eastern CT: A Preliminary Report This is a report by Thomas E. Worthley, Associate Extension Professor, UConn Extension, on the recent widespread deaths of oak trees due to drought and defoliation by gypsy moth caterpillars.  Click on the report’s title to read it or to download a copy.