Every August throughout the Eastern United States, the Amur Honeysuckle produces hundreds of small red berries. These berries, which look to me a bit like tiny cherry tomatoes, last through the fall and into the winter. When other more nutritious food sources have been exhausted, the birds turn to the red berries for food.

That's the first problem.

Birds need food with a high fat content to make it through the winter. The Amur Honeysuckle produces berries that are high in carbohydrates. This is bad for the birds, but it's good for the plant: it can produce more of the berries, which means that there are more seeds to spread.

That's the second problem. These plants spread quickly. They also grow quickly, and they don't have any native pests or diseases. They can grow in just about any conditions, sun to shade, wet or dry soil, compacted soil, poor quality soil.... Because they grow so quickly, they quickly shade out native wildflowers and trees - the sources of high quality food that the native birds depend on. Within a few years, an infested area will be a monoculture of pretty red berries.

More problems? Birds face another threat from this plant: one study found that birds who built nests in Bush Honeysuckle plants were more likely to have their nests attacked by predators. Scientists think that the low hanging branches and a lack of thorns or other defenses contribute to this problem. I've also read that mosquitoes like to congregate around these plants.

The Amur Honeysuckle is native to Manchuria and Korea. It was introduced to the United States in the 1800s as an ornamental, and promoted widely for erosion control, privacy hedges, and decorative use. It is similar to other invasive Bush Honeysuckles, growing like a shrub or small tree instead of vining like the Japanese Honeysuckle.

I find it quite satisfying to attack a stand of these plants with a machete and shovel. You'll have to be persistent and use a variety of strategies to control them. Pull up the young saplings roots and all. Dig out the roots if you can - any part of the roots left in the ground can resprout. You can also clip the young shoots, but you might need to clip for several years in a row before the roots die. Clipping in the winter can cause rapid resprouting. You can also try small quantities of Roundup or other herbicide applied directly to the clipped stump. Prescribed burns can also work, but again, you'll need to repeat for a period of years.

Native Alternatives:

spicebush (Lindera benzoin)

ink-berry (Ilex glabra)

gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa)

northern bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)

red chokecherry (Aronia arbutifolia)

arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)