Summer weeding list for 2025
A completely real list and not Ai, I swear.
Rain gardens are great for managing spring and summer storms and the runoff that comes with them. But for best function, they require regular maintenance.
Rain gardens designed with native plants can grow deeper roots, more capable of enduring our regional climate and allowing runoff to filter naturally rather than rushing off hard surfaces to nearby sewers and streams. The result is healthier water quality.
But invasive plant species can affect how a rain garden functions: They threaten biodiversity and can out-compete native plants. So it’s important to remove or completely avoid invasive species in your rain garden projects. Here is a list of plants to avoid in your rain garden, courtesy the Northeast Ohio Public Involvement Public Education Committee (NEO PIPE)’s Rain Garden Manual for Homeowners:
- Glossy buckthorn, Rhamnus frangula
- Common buckthorn, Rhamnus cathcartica
- Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica
- Amur honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii
- Tartarian honeysuckle, Lonicera tatarica
- Morrow honeysuckle, Lonicera morrowii
- Multiflora rose, Rosa multiflora
- Garlic mustard, Allaria petiolata
- Purple loosestrife, Lithrum salicaria
- Reed canary grass, Phalaris arundinea
- Reed grass, Phragmites australis
- Japanese knotweed, Polygomum cuspidatum
- Autumn-olive, Elaeagnus umbellata
- Canadian thistle, Cirsium arvense
- Crown-vetch, Coronilla varia
- Orange day lily, Hemerocallis fulva
- European cranberry-bush, Viburnum opulus
In Northeast Ohio, rain gardens can not only protect the environment and reduce stormwater volume in sewers during storms, they can also help our customers reduce their regional stormwater management fees.
Written by Senior Communications Manager John Gonzalez. Honest.
