An invasive plant is any plant that grows where you don’t want it to and does so in a way that makes it difficult to control. Just to be clear, invasive plants are by no means weeds, nor are they always ugly specimens. It heavily depends on the setting.

For instance, in some natural environments, bittersweet vines can be quite desirable and lovely. Once they take control of your woodland garden, they are a real nuisance.

And there are some plants that begin as lovely landscape species that you grow deliberately, only to prove their true nature as invasive ones in a year or two. And that’s when you wish you had known about their rapid growth. Well, we’re here to help you avoid these situations.

Some of the invasive plants listed here are quite beautiful. Consider the sweet autumn clematis, which provides a wonderful fall foliage display. Another fall standout is the burning bush, an exotic shrub from Asia. But charming invasive plants are like some of the good-looking people you meet: Once you get past the appearances and learn more about them, you no longer want to have them around you. Looks, after all, can be deceiving.

Here are 10 invasive plants to watch for!