If your woods or fence rows look like a solid green wall, it's probably not native. A handful of invasive shrubs and trees have taken over a lot of the ground around Cincinnati. Here are the ones we run into most and how to spot them.
- Bush honeysuckle is the big one around Cincinnati. Green early and late, red berries.
- Callery (Bradford) pear has thorny wild offspring and white spring blooms. Ohio banned selling it in 2023.
- Autumn olive, multiflora rose and privet fill in field edges and fence rows.
- Mulching clears them out. Recuts and ground cover keep them out.
1. Bush honeysuckle
The king of Cincinnati invasives. Amur honeysuckle can grow into a thick, multi-stemmed shrub well over head-high and form a solid understory that shades everything else out.
How to spot it: leaves in pairs across from each other, white-to-yellow flowers in spring, and red berries in pairs in fall. The easiest tell is timing. It leafs out before almost everything in spring and stays green into November after the native trees are bare. Older stems have shaggy, striped bark.
More in our honeysuckle guide and on our honeysuckle removal page.
2. Callery pear (Bradford pear)
Planted everywhere as a street and yard tree for decades, Callery pear has escaped into fields and roadsides. The wild ones grow in thick stands and many have nasty thorns. Ohio added it to the state invasive plant list, and selling or planting it has been banned in Ohio since January 2023.
How to spot it: masses of white flowers in early spring (with a smell people don't love), glossy oval leaves, and often thorny branches on the wild ones. Check old fields and roadsides in April. If they're white, they're probably full of it.
3. Autumn olive
A big, spreading shrub that was once planted for wildlife and erosion control. Now it takes over old fields and field edges.
How to spot it: the leaves have a silvery underside that flashes when the wind blows. It has small fragrant flowers in spring and tons of small speckled red berries in fall.
4. Multiflora rose
The thorny, arching thicket that grabs your clothes on every fence row. It roots wherever the cane tips touch the ground, so it spreads into impenetrable tangles.
How to spot it: arching green canes with curved thorns, clusters of small white flowers in late spring, and small red hips in fall.
5. Privet
A common hedge plant that escapes into woods and stream banks and forms dense evergreen-ish thickets. Ohio's invasive list includes common privet, with its sales exemption ending at the start of 2026.
How to spot it: small, smooth oval leaves in pairs, clusters of small white flowers in late spring, and dark blue-black berries that hang on into winter.
What to do about it
- Clear it. Forestry mulching grinds invasive brush in place and leaves the trees you want. No burn piles, no hauling. See forestry mulching.
- Recut the regrowth. Most of these resprout from the roots. Knock the sprouts down while they're soft. See Ventrac recuts.
- Get cover back. Grass or native plants fill the space so the invasives don't. See land restoration.
Not sure what's on your property? Send us a photo or have us walk it. We'll tell you what you've got and what it'll take to clear.
Common questions
What is the most common invasive shrub around Cincinnati?
Bush honeysuckle, especially Amur honeysuckle. It's in woods, fence rows and yards all over the area.
Is it illegal to plant Bradford pear in Ohio?
Callery pear, which includes Bradford pear, is on Ohio's invasive plant list, and selling or planting it has been banned since January 2023. Trees already in the ground aren't required to come out.
Can forestry mulching get rid of invasive brush?
It clears it out fast and leaves the trees you want. Many invasives resprout from the roots, so plan on follow-up recuts and getting ground cover established.
How can I tell if the brush on my property is invasive?
Look in late fall. Anything still green after the native trees are bare is likely bush honeysuckle or privet. Or send us a photo and we'll tell you.
Get a free quote
Bulk Co is a forestry mulching and land clearing contractor based in Harrison, Ohio, serving properties within 50 miles of Greater Cincinnati. Tell us what you've got and we'll come walk it.