Invasive Plant Bans in Conn. Aimed at Green Industry

HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut is one of few states with a complete ban on smoking in public places, but are the 3 million state residents aware of another ban imposed by its state legislature?

There are currently 81 plants banned thanks to a bill signed by the governor in May. Basically, the ban makes it illegal to “import, move, sell, purchase, transplant, cultivate or distribute” the plants on the list. However, the ban has not yet taken its full effect with only seven of the 81 plants outlawed last year. Fifty-four more will be banned as of Oct. 1, with the remaining 20 following one year later.

However, a possible loophole favoring the green industry is the industry’s interpretation of the law. Its position is that the invasive plant laws apply only to the specific plants on the list, and not the cultivars of the plants, although it would ultimately be left to a court to decide.

The green industry opposed a provision in the new bill, which would have raised fines to as much as $100 per plant for violating an invasive plant ban. Some environmentalists might see plant bans as the solution to invasive plants, but the green industry could take quite a hit.

Fifteen plants on the state invasive list that are not yet banned are worth more than $18 million in wholesale and retail sales. The green industry is lobbying fervently to prevent the banning of these plants, which include barberry, burning bush, Norway maple and Star of Bethlehem.

In tackling the commotion surrounding invasive plants, the green industry contends that public education is the most effective plan of action, but it does not seem as if the legislature agrees. Public education efforts proposed by the Invasive Plants Council were not given one bit of financial support from the legislature. In turn, it is now left up to florists, growers, nurseries and landscapers to spread the word about the political problems involved with the invasive plants issue.