As of: March 23, 2024, 8:02 a.m
By: Andrea Stettner
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If you like to grow exotic plants in your garden, you should look carefully when buying, because not all non-native varieties are allowed in the EU.
Exactly which plants are affected by the ban is specified in EU Regulation No. 1143/2014 “Prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species”.
It contains a list of 88 animal and plant species that people in the EU are not allowed to own.
And for a good reason.
EU ban on invasive plants in the garden
Invasive, alien plant species can spread uncontrollably and thereby displace native plants.
In order to prevent this and preserve biodiversity, the EU has gradually banned certain plants since 2015.
This applies, among other things, to the import as well as the purchase, exchange and planting of the plants.
You won't find these plants in local hardware stores or garden centers anyway, but when buying plants and seeds online, you should know the forbidden plant species.
By the way, the German Plant Protection Act also prohibits certain plants in the garden.
There are more than 40 plants on the list of banned plant species in the EU, also known as the Union list.
Some of the invasive plant species have been living wild in Germany for a long time, others have not yet been spotted in Europe or have only rarely been offered for sale.
However, in order to prevent (further) spread, help from all sides is required.
Examples of prohibited plants include:
Union list of invasive, alien plants without evidence in the wild (excerpt):
German name |
Scientific name |
Origin |
|---|---|---|
Willow leaf acacia |
Acacia saligna |
Australia |
Blue-stemmed broom sedge |
Andropogon virginicus |
North/South America |
Andean pampas grass |
Cortaderia jubata |
South America |
Steppe grass |
Ehrharta calycina |
Africa |
Chilean giant rhubarb |
Gunnera tinctoria |
South America |
Japanese stilt grass |
Microstegium vimineum |
Temperate/Tropical Asia |
Chinese tallow tree |
Triadica sebifera |
Temperates Asia |
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Union list of invasive, alien plants with evidence in the wild (excerpt):
German name |
Scientific name |
Origin |
|---|---|---|
Tree of heaven |
Ailanthus altissima |
Temperates Asia |
Round-leaved tree shrike |
Celastrus orbiculatus |
Temperates Asia |
Water hyacinth |
Eichhornia crassipes |
South America |
Giant hogweed |
Heracleum mantegazzianum |
Temperates Asia |
Japanese hops |
Humulus scandens |
Temperate/Tropical Asia |
Alternating leaf waterweed |
Lagarosiphon major |
Africa |
Carrot herb |
Parthenium hysterophorus |
North/South America |
Annoying floating fern |
Salvinia molesta |
South America |
For plants that have already been found in nature, it is sometimes no longer possible to get rid of them - or the effort would be too great.
Nevertheless, further spread can be limited by the measures taken.
Andean pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata) is banned in the EU
Pampas grass adorns many gardens in Germany.
But a certain variety has been banned in the EU since 2015.
© Jeffrey94256/Imago
A variety of pampas grass, which is popular in Germany, is also banned by the EU: Andean pampas grass (Cortaderia jubata), also called purple pampas grass.
The ornamental grasses with pink to purple panicles grow up to 2.5 meters high and originally come from South America.
According to
Neobiota,
this variety of pampas grass was introduced and cultivated as an ornamental plant in Europe (especially France, Ireland, Spain and Great Britain) since the early 19th century.
Are there any penalties for banned plants?
According to Chip.de
, anyone who has planted plants from the prohibited list in their garden will
probably not face a penalty.
However, if you are caught, the plants may have to be removed from the garden at your own expense.
A ban on cherry laurel and other invasive plants was recently passed in Switzerland - what does this mean for German front gardens?