The dense leaf cover of a Norway maple in full view. The trees are considered invasive. Shutterstock

Some people hunt deer. I hunt invasive plants.

As with deer hunting, the best time to hunt invasive species is from late October to early November. I hunt in a heavily wooded area, about 30 feet by 50 feet, where nothing, at least to my knowledge, has ever been planted on purpose.

When we moved onto our property about half a century ago, there were oaks, red maples, a pine, and a few blackberries that never seemed to ripen. The ones I leave alone. The main target of my annual hunt is Norway maple seedlings. The neighbors on both sides have huge Norway maples, so we have plenty of seedlings. The trees are easy to find in November because they retain their leaves much longer than native maples and oaks.

Norway maples, popular in Britain, were first introduced to the United States by the famous botanist John Bartram in 1756 and became popular as a street tree in the 19th century. They grow quickly, have dense leaf coverage, produce lots of typical helicopter maple seeds in early to mid summer, and, if you ask me, are not special in any way. Over the past hundred years, Americans have planted a lot of Crimson King, a cultivar of Norway maple with red to purple leaves that I find attractive in the right environment. However, as with most cultivars, the seeds produce trees with the green leaves of their original parent, not the cultivar. These very abundant seeds grow in our vegetable and flower beds every year, and we regularly remove them when we maintain the beds.

Of course, we don’t weed the woods, except at this time of year. I first try to pull out these Norway maple plants, but often I can’t. In these cases, I cut them close to the ground, knowing that next year the roots will produce another plant that I will have to cut back. This aggressiveness is why Norway maples, including Crimson King, were on the state’s first list, in 2018, of plants that are now illegal to sell or import in Maine. Like all invasive species, these trees outcompete native plant species for resources, in this case water and nutrients. They also reduce biodiversity in the environment and generally provide less food and shelter for insects and other native animals.

To be clear, the Crimson King is a different species from the native red maple. We have three natives, which have green leaves most of the year, turn a beautiful red in early fall, and lose their leaves early. When our children were young, we tapped red maples in the spring. Boiled sap will produce maple syrup, but not as generously as that from sugar maples.

You can see why gardeners have been drawn to these plants: their glossy foliage is eye-catching. But Burning Bush is invasive and no longer legal for sale in Maine. Staff photo/Joe Phelan

While hunting for Norway maple plants in our garden a few weeks ago, I was surprised to find several other plants on the do not sell list. The scariest, for me, were three burning bush plants, Euonymus Alatus. The stems of these bushes have ridges, which is how I recognized them even though they weren’t red. In full sun, the bushes turn bright red and can be spotted from several blocks away – which is why gardeners often find them attractive.

We purchased two bushes shortly after moving into our home several decades ago, then discovered their highly invasive nature and removed them even before the state banned their sale. We still see burning bushes in many gardens and sometimes want to talk to homeowners who are harboring this pest. Be on the “don’t sell a list” however, this does not mean that homeowners may be required to remove the plant; these specimens essentially benefit from acquired rights. I have come to think that the color is garish and wonder if the law could be changed to fine people who continue to let them grow. I have no way of knowing whether the three I found this fall germinated from seeds of the bushes we once grew or whether they were left behind by passing birds, who ate the berries elsewhere and took them. inadvertently spread this invasive plant. This is possible because a large number of burning bushes grow in Cape Elizabeth on municipal property near us.

I also found multiflora rose bush, the invasive plant (from Japan) that I hate the most. He was climbing one of our oak trees. A neighbor removed a hedge from this rosebush a few years ago, so I wasn’t surprised to see it. I was just surprised it was so big. I must have missed it last year.

Bittersweet is in the woods every year and I remove it with no problem. I just need to make sure I get there before it produces berries. I have some good news on this subject: a neighbor came over and said he liked to make bittersweet wreaths for the holidays, but couldn’t find any. Perhaps it is less abundant than before?

I haven’t found any other invasive species during this year’s hunt, but I expect barberry, honeysuckle, and privet to appear at any time. But I will be ready. I enjoy a good hunt.

Tom Atwell is a freelance writer who gardens in Cape Elizabeth. He can be contacted at: [email protected].

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