Best Bets: Plants Tried and True Native Plants for Particular Uses To Replace Invasive Plants in the Mid-Atlantic INVASIVE PLANT: Chinese Silver Grass (Miscanthus sinensis) This densely-bunched grass was introduced to the United States from Asia for ornamental purposes in the late 1800s. Today some 50 forms are sold in the nursery trade, and it is often used in both commercial and residential landscapes. Unfortunately, it escapes from these plantings and has become invasive in national parks in Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. It is listed as an invasive species in Alexandria and Arlington, Virginia. Problems Chinese Silver Grass & Indian Grass Invades roadsides, rights-of-way, clearings, fields, and meadows Outcompetes and crowds out native vegetation Little wildlife value Colonizes by wind-dispersed seed Seeds build up in soil seed banks Spreads also through rhizomes Small bits of rhizome can start new plants Hybrids from infertile cultivars can revert back to aggressive wild type Highly flammable, may become a fire hazard Desired Characteristics Grass with vertical and winter interest Native Alternatives Chasmanthium latifolium (River Oats) Elymus hystrix (Bottlebrush Grass) Panicum virgatum (Switchgrass) Schizachyrium scoparium (Little Bluestem) Sorghastrum nutans (Indian Grass) developed by Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, serving Arlington and Alexandria Images by Elaine Mills, Sunny Garden and Meadowlark Botanical Gardens Virginia Cooperative Extension programs and employment are open to all, regardless of age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. An equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Virginia State University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Edwin J. Jones, Director, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg; M. Ray McKinnie, Administrator, 1890 Extension Program, Virginia State, Petersburg..