Landscapers will soon receive a civil penalty for planting invasive species like English ivy and Japanese honeysuckle, instead of the current criminal charge.
The General Assembly passed two bills that reduce the penalty from a class 1 misdemeanor to a civil fine for failing to notify property owners before installing invasive plants, along with other bills that regulate the invasive plants and noxious weeds.
Del. Justin Pence, R-Shenandoah County, introduced HB 710, and Sen. Timmy French, R-Shenandoah County, introduced SB 383.
Landscapers or contractors are currently required by state law to provide written notice to property owners when recommending or installing plants listed as invasive by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. Violations are classified as a class 1 misdemeanor, carrying up to 12 months in jail, or a $2,500 maximum fine, or both.
The Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services will be able to assess civil penalties of no more than $250 for a first violation, $500 for a second violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation. Proceeds of the civil penalties will be deposited into the Plant Pollination Fund, a nonreverting state fund account used to support pollination-related programs.
These efforts build on the 2023 legislation that established an invasive plants species list updated every four years, and also asked the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services to regulate the professional installation of plants on that list.
Rod Walker, founder and president of Blue Ridge Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, contributed to the 2023 legislation.
“Once the tradespersons are aware that this law and these regulations have been implemented, I’m seriously hopeful that many of them will actually just stop recommending these plants in the first place,” Walker said. “Because if they don’t have to deal with the paperwork and the discussions with the customers, all they have to do is stop recommending these plants, and life gets easier.”
Kevin Heffernan, invasive species coordinator at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, said this issue reflects longstanding tension between plant sellers and conservationists. While the landscaping industry seeks to support business and consumer demand, some species sold commercially can create environmental and financial costs elsewhere.
Invasive plants can spread beyond private properties, creating challenges for state parks, natural areas, public lands and private landowners.
“A lot of people, I think, are just completely innocent of not knowing plants they put out in their yard or in a landscape setting might actually be landscaping and doing damage out of sight to most people,” Heffernan said.
The DCR invasive plant list is an educational tool, Heffernan said. The department evaluates species using a formal, science-based assessment process and assigns rankings from high, medium or low invasiveness, as well as insignificant or unknown. The review includes peer-reviewed research, reports from state agencies and conservation groups and input from field researchers and other experts.
“It’s a lot harder to get enforcement types of laws into the books and you could spend a long time trying to do that when you could have been educated,” Heffernan said.
Under Virginia’s definition, invasive plants are species introduced outside their native range that cause harm to ecosystems, the economy or human health, Heffernan said. Most introduced plants are not invasive, but those that are can cause extensive ecological and financial damage by outcompeting native species and disrupting wildlife and food webs.
Former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed legislation in 2024 that aimed to create civil penalties for selling certain invasive plants, noting the department provides educational purposes and penalties would burden small businesses.
In the 2025 session, legislation required 39 plant species to be clearly labeled as invasive when sold in Virginia. The legislation regulates retail signage and references the DCR’s list of invasive species.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services estimates that any fiscal impact can be absorbed within existing resources.
Del. Holly Seibold, D-Fairfax County, also introduced HB 109 this year, which passed both chambers of the General Assembly. The bill removes former exceptions made for noxious weeds, which are also detrimental to ecosystems.
Now any plant designated as a noxious weed, even if commercially propagated in Virginia, will be phased out. The bill allows a phase-out period of two years for grasses, forbs and vines, four years for shrubs and seven years for trees.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Richard T. Robertson School of Communication. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.