“BOLA” means “be on the look out”. And in this case, it’s serious.
Porcelainberry entered the USA from Asia disguised as a desirable garden plant
-- soooo pretty, yet easy to grow. However, like our native Poison Ivy,
Porcelainberry turned out to be a public menace. It’s too easy to grow and the
birds spread its seeds too rapidly. Like Kudzu in the South, Porcelainberry
smothers its unfortunate neighbors with a thick shroud of light-blocking vines.You might first see a Porcelainberry seedling in your garden and think “How
nice, a wild grape”. Don’t be fooled. While the foliage looks a bit like its
grape relatives, Porcelainberry leaves are smaller, with rounder and more deeply
cut sinuses (the concave indentations in the leaf’s border). If you don’t
pull Porcelainberry up immediately, it develops long, thick, drought-proof
taproots that are hard to dig out.
Since it spreads only by seed, if you keep it cut down so that it can’t
flower, you can at least contain it.
See http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/common.htm
for more information on Porcelainberry and other invasive plants.
