Amur honeysuckle, Lonicera maackii

We are so smart! We recognized this as a terrific hedge row plant. Great for wind erosion control. It forms dense plantings up to twenty feet tall. Hardly need fences at all. Amur honeysuckle was brought to North America by 1855, and has since done its best to take over. It will form virtual monocultures in forest under stories, preventing light from reaching the forest floor and killing off everything else that grows there. Now they have spawned a mini-industry of tools to remove them. The Extratigator works well. But watch out for the Honeysuckle Popper, and don't pop yourself. I've killed hundreds of these, and you should too! Even if they're pretty. Hard to believe they're an endangered species in Japan. They can now be found, at a minimum, in AR, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV, and ON. Lenawee Co MI, 6/3/19.