On private land from the Blue Ridge foothills down through the Upstate, the invasive plants doing the most damage are kudzu, Chinese privet, multiflora rose, autumn olive, tree of heaven, Callery pear, Oriental bittersweet, Japanese honeysuckle, English ivy and Japanese stiltgrass. Deal first with the ones about to set seed or smothering trees you value, kill the roots rather than just the tops, and expect at least a season or two of follow-up.
Vines that pull down trees
Four vines do most of the smothering. Kudzu blankets whole hillsides from crowns under the soil, and our kudzu removal guide covers it. Oriental bittersweet wraps and climbs young trees, and NC State lists it as a Class C noxious weed in North Carolina; its leaves have rounded tips, while the native bittersweet's come to a point. English ivy climbs trunks and, NC State says, eventually kills the trees and shrubs it covers. Japanese honeysuckle roots wherever its runners touch soil and forms dense mats. For a vine already up a tree, the usual approach is to cut it near the base and treat the cut stem, leaving the top to die in place.
Shrubs that fill the understory
Chinese privet is the shrub most people mean when they say the woods are impassable; see the privet removal guide. Multiflora rose came to the United States in the 1860s as rose rootstock, the N.C. Forest Service says, and was later planted as a living fence for livestock; one shrub can set half a million seeds or more in a good year, and pastures and roadsides are especially open to it. Autumn olive was promoted for erosion control and wildlife, fixes nitrogen in its roots, starts fruiting within about three to five years and resprouts hard after cutting. Birds spread all three.
Trees that take over field edges
Tree of heaven arrived in 1784 through a Philadelphia gardener, according to the N.C. Forest Service, and one tree can make several hundred thousand winged seeds a year. Its root fragments regrow, its crushed leaves smell foul, and NC State notes it is a host for the spotted lanternfly, a newer invasive insect. Callery pear, the wild offspring of Bradford and similar ornamental pears, now lines roadsides and old fields with thorny thickets; Bradford pear bounty programs explain the swap for native trees. Mimosa seeds into the same places, and the N.C. Forest Service recommends cutting larger trees before they set seed and treating the stumps.
The grass that follows every disturbance
Japanese stiltgrass is the easiest to overlook and one of the quickest to spread. It is a summer annual from Asia that the N.C. Forest Service says was collected in western North Carolina in the 1930s and is now widespread across the state. Each plant makes up to about a thousand seeds that can stay alive in the soil for up to five years, and they travel in floodwater, fill dirt and contaminated hay and on boots and animals. It moves into woods, trail edges, pastures and hay fields wherever the ground is disturbed. Pull or mow it after flowering and before seed, every year, until the seed bank runs out.
What each state regulates
Most invasive plants are not illegal to own, but some are now restricted. In South Carolina, Clemson explains that selling any Callery pear cultivar, autumn olive, Russian olive or thorny olive became illegal on October 1, 2024, and that the rule does not affect plants already growing in yards; questions go to Clemson's Department of Plant Industry. In North Carolina, NC State lists Oriental bittersweet as a Class C state noxious weed, and Congress put kudzu on the federal noxious weed list in 1997. The NC Invasive Plant Council's list, cited throughout NC State's plant database, is the usual reference for what counts as invasive.
What to tackle first
You will rarely get it all in one season, so rank the work. First, anything about to seed: female tree of heaven, fruiting autumn olive and Callery pear, and stiltgrass in late summer. Second, vines climbing trees you value, because cutting a vine at the base saves the tree straight away. Third, small new patches, which Forest Service research on kudzu shows are far easier to kill than old ones. Last, the big established privet and rose thickets, which you contain at the edges first and then reclaim a section at a time. Write the order down and walk the property each season to update it.
Machines, hand work and herbicide together
No single method clears invasives for good. Mulching or clearing opens ground fast and brings the regrowth within reach, hand pulling finishes seedlings, and herbicides used by the label kill roots that cutting cannot. Forest Service guidance adds a few rules: clean mowers and machines before leaving infested ground, avoid driving through plants carrying seed, and bring in only clean fill, mulch and seed. For identification, the county Extension office in either state is the place to start, and the N.C. Forest Service county ranger or the S.C. Forestry Commission can advise on wooded acreage.
Common Questions
Which invasive plants are illegal to sell in South Carolina?
Clemson Extension says all Callery pear cultivars, Bradford and Cleveland Select included, plus autumn olive, Russian olive and thorny olive, went on South Carolina's do-not-sell list, with sales illegal from October 1, 2024. Plants already growing in yards are not affected, and owners are not required to remove them.
How do you tell Oriental bittersweet from the native kind?
Look at the leaves. NC State Extension says Oriental bittersweet has broad, roundish leaves with rounded tips, while the native climbing bittersweet's leaves come to a point. The invasive species also hybridizes with the native, so when in doubt, have the county Extension office confirm before you cut.
Where can I get a plant on my land identified?
Start with your county Extension office: NC State Extension in North Carolina and Clemson Extension in South Carolina both help landowners identify plants. Bring clear photos of the leaves, stems, any fruit or flowers and the whole plant, or a bagged sample. For wooded acreage, the state forestry agency's county office can also advise.
What to Do Next
Invasives taking over a field edge or a woodlot? Send photos and your town, and Jordan can talk through opening the ground with forestry mulching so the follow-up work can start. (828) 574-4474.