Hi everyone! I just joined today. Looks like you have a very nice forum going! I have a question for you all and I hope this is the right place to post. I have been researching invasive plants at the APHIS website and found that several of the California invasive species are available to purchase in the US. One in particular, lingustrum japonica (or privet) is sold at my local nursery. Are there any laws against owning or selling these types of plants? Another one I was interested in is Mimosa Invisa (sensitive plant). If anybody has any info, please let me know. Thanks!
Best would be to check with APHIS on what they prohibit; also check with the California Native Plant Society for what they would suggest avoiding.
Many people use them in containers (can't spread that way) or for bonsai, and as bamboo (so many types are hugely invasive) is sold and planted all over - with some lawsuits resulting from people who don't create borders to contain them - I wouldn't think that a little privet (of which I have some as bonsai and which everyone uses for fencing), for instance, would be a problem. The government usually is only interested in your passing on diseases and pests to other plants, and while they might locally have a ban on uncontrolled kudzu growth, I'd be surprised at anything else. People are selling marijuana online all the time, and others buying it, so...
Noxious weed listing vary by state and even county, with there being different levels of restriction for each weed. Look to see if your state has a noxious weed control board web site or similar way to find out what plants are listed and at what levels. Here Category A noxious weeds do come with fines attached. California has a history of being vigilant about pest control, doubtless there is a web site with noxious weed descriptions and categories.
