One home gardener recently had to go into detective mode after a nursery tried to sell them a plant they were pretty sure was invasive. They posted about the experience in the r/gardening subreddit, soliciting the expertise of other gardeners.
"A nursery in Georgia is telling me that this plant is a yellow flowering Bignonia capreolata (native crossvine). This is an absolute dead ringer for the extremely invasive Dolichandra unguis-cati (cat's claw vine)," the poster wrote.
"It really makes me angry that a business would give me the runaround like this after taking my money but I want to be 100% sure before I tarnish their reputation publicly. No one should be turning a buck by deceptively spreading invasive species."
After consulting several sources and having a few commenters weigh in, the poster seems to have concluded that the plant sold to them was indeed the invasive cat's claw vine.
Cat's claw vine can grow along the ground or spread up other plants, making it highly adaptable and difficult to contain, according to Gardening Know How.
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It can "[ruin a] tree's health and, in some cases, can even kill it. When the vine spreads on the ground, it smothers grass, small bushes, and other low-growing plants, usually killing them as well," the site explained.
This Reddit post is a great example of why it's always a good idea to do some research before planting a new plant in your garden, ensuring that you're adding a native species that is already adapted to live in your local ecosystem and not an invasive species that is going to cost you a lot of time, money, and stress down the road.
It's also a good example of how, unfortunately, just because a plant is sold by a local nursery, that does not mean it is safe to plant. Although you certainly shouldn't reject the knowledge of professional nursery workers out of hand, it makes sense to confirm things for yourself.
Luckily for this gardener, they caught the mistake before actually introducing the cat's claw to their garden.
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