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Some plants are easy to grow because they want to grow. They don’t need your help, they don’t need any coaxing, and they’re not all that picky about soil quality, location, or sunlight. All these plants need is a foothold. Give them that, and you’ll spend the next decade trying to get rid of them (if you didn’t want them).
This isn’t a list of plants to avoid forever. Some of these are beautiful or have great uses. We don’t think of plants as being bad or good — just some have a bit more complicated relationship and need to be approached with caution. Every single one of these plants requires a plan before you put them in the ground — and a realistic idea of what you’re signing up for.
We’ll also cover what to do if you move into a house and find any of these already waiting for you. Because that happens a lot!
Mint
Mint is awesome — it smells great, is good for seasoning and flavoring, and makes a great mojito. It can also be problematic in the garden. Mint spreads by runners — underground stems that creep outward and pop up wherever they feel like it.
You can plant mint in one spot and plan on keeping it in that one spot, but the mint won’t listen. It’ll spread and sneak, and you’ll be finding it in new spots for years. It will move into your lawn, your other beds, and eventually your neighbor’s garden if you let it. It isn’t particularly aggressive growth or even unmanageable; it’s just unrelenting. Every year, you will find it somewhere else.
If you want to mint: Plant mint in a container. A large pot with no drainage hole sitting inside a slightly larger pot works well. The reason for the two pots is to keep the plant up off the ground — mint roots will sneak through drainage holes. Check occasionally that it hasn’t found a way out through the drainage, even when double-potted.
If it’s already there: Dig it out and get as much of the root as you can. Then come back in two weeks and do it again. And again after that. You won’t get it all the first time. Keep at it through the growing season, and you’ll make serious progress. If you only dig it up once, it’ll just pop back.
Wisteria
Wisteria is a gorgeous plant with flowers that smell incredible. It’s also one of the most aggressive climbing plants you can put on your property. It wraps around anything it can reach — fences, drainpipes, trees, gutters — and squeezes. It’s strong enough to pull apart old wood structures and damage masonry over time.
It also spreads by runners underground, just like mint, but on a much bigger scale. And it can take years to bloom after planting, which means beginners often think something is wrong and plant more.
If you want to grow it: Give it a very sturdy, purpose-built structure — not your pergola, not your fence, not anything attached to your house. Prune it hard twice a year, in late winter and again in summer. This is not optional. Skip a season, and it gets away from you fast.
Be prepared for it to spread. The underground runners will pop up in other places, and you’ll have to catch them quickly to stop the growth.
If it’s already there: Cut it back hard first. Then dig out the root crown if you can get to it. Treat the cut stems with a concentrated brush killer immediately after cutting — don’t wait, the plant seals itself off quickly. Expect to repeat this for two or three seasons before it gives up. Old established wisteria has a root system that goes deep and wide.
Bamboo
There are two types of bamboo: clumping and running. Clumping bamboo stays roughly where you put it and spreads slowly. Running bamboo does not. Running bamboo sends underground rhizomes outward — sometimes 10 to 15 feet in a single season. It comes up through lawns, under fences, and into neighboring properties.
If someone sold you bamboo as a “fast privacy screen,” there’s a real chance it was running bamboo. The part they left out is what comes next.
If you want to grow it: Only plant clumping varieties. If you want running bamboo, install a physical rhizome barrier — at least 60cm deep, made from heavy-duty polypropylene — around the entire planting area. Check the barrier every spring and cut off any rhizomes that have gone over the top.
If it’s already there: This is a big job. Cut all the canes down to the ground. Then mow or cut down every new shoot as it comes up, without exception. The plant is drawing on stored energy in the roots each time it sends up a new shoot.
Keep cutting it whenever you see it, and you'll deplete those reserves over time. This takes one to three years of consistent effort. Digging it out is an option, but the root mass on established bamboo is enormous and takes a lot of effort.
English Ivy
English ivy looks tidy on walls and fences, which is why people plant it. The problem is, it doesn’t stop there. It moves across the ground, up trees, and into gutters. When it is on trees, it adds weight to them and blocks their access to light. Over time, English ivy can kill a tree. When English ivy is on walls, it works its way into the mortar and gaps in brickwork.
Another way it spreads is from birds. Birds eat the berries and spread the seeds, so new plants turn up far from the original. It’s classified as invasive in parts of the US, Australia, and New Zealand. It's a serious problem across the Pacific Northwest, the South, and the Mid-Atlantic, and once it's established, it's very difficult to get rid of.
If you want to grow it: Keep it on a wall you can reach and trim it back hard every year. Never let it fruit fully — trim it back when it starts to form fruits that will then spread the seeds. And, don’t let it touch the ground. Before planting it, make sure to check local rules about English ivy growing.
If it’s already there: Cut the stems at the base and let the top growth die in place — pulling live ivy off a wall, or tree often does more damage than leaving it. Once it’s dead, it comes off more easily. Then dig out the roots. Wear gloves when you do this; some people have a skin reaction to the ivy sap.
Japanese Knotweed
This one is in a different category. Japanese knotweed should never be planted, ever. It is horrifically invasive and is already wreaking havoc on the native environment. It isn’t just about wild nature, though. This plant affects property valuations, causes legal disputes between neighbors, and, in some countries, is illegal to grow. It grows fast — up to 4 inches a day in peak season — and the roots go down 10 feet and out 15 feet wide.
The primary problems with this plant are that once it secures its location, it is basically impossible to remove. It will completely upend building foundations, take over stream and brook sides, and push out native plants. A piece of root the size of your fingernail can grow a new plant. When you dig it up and put it in your regular green waste bin, it actually makes the problem worse, not better, because that root will now grow wherever it ends up.
If you want to grow it: Don’t. There is no good reason to plant Japanese knotweed deliberately. If someone tells you otherwise, they are wrong. Some people mistake Japanese knotweed for bamboo because they do sort of look alike. If you intend to plant bamboo, make sure you’re getting actual bamboo (and make sure to read up on the issues with running bamboo discussed previously).
If it’s already there: Check what the rules are in your area first. The eradication and disposal are regulated in the UK, parts of Europe, and some US states because of how quickly it will spread if not removed properly. Doing an herbicide treatment over multiple seasons is the most realistic approach for most home gardeners.
If the infestation is large or close to a building, get a professional assessment. This is one situation where that advice is not an overreaction.
Horseradish
Horseradish is useful, and it tastes great. It’s also nearly impossible to fully remove once it’s established. Any piece of root left in the ground — and when you dig, you will leave pieces — grows back. People have been fighting horseradish in the same spot for 20 years.
If you want to grow it: Grow it in a large container or dedicate a bed to it that you’re happy to give over permanently. And, harvest regularly — that keeps it in check better than anything else.
If it’s already there: Dig as deep as you can and get every root fragment you can find. Then keep after any regrowth immediately. If you let the leaves get established, the roots get another season of energy storage, and you’re back to square one.