Invasive Plant Rules in Tuscaloosa, AL (2026)
3 verified invasive plant rules for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Bamboo Restrictions
Tuscaloosa bans planting or allowing bamboo within 50 feet of any residential property line, right-of-way, or public utility easement under City Code Sec. 13-67. No notice is required to establish a violation, and code enforcement can order full removal, including rhizomes, under the abatement procedure in Sec. 13-68.
Tuscaloosa Running Bamboo Planting Ban
Some RestrictionsTuscaloosa City Code Sec. 13-67 (Unlawful growth of vegetation); Sec. 13-68(b) (Abatement)
In order to keep premises and vacant lots within the city free of any growth of weeds or grass or downed trees and/or limbs favorable to the harboring of mosquitoes or other insects of like kind and/or rodents or reptiles, it shall be unlawful for any person owning, residing or having charge or control of any premises or vacant lot within the city to allow weeds, grass or kudzu to grow to a hei...
Prohibited Species
Tuscaloosa's landscaping code bans any plant on the Alabama Invasive Plant Council's current invasive species list, or any species the director of planning separately designates, from every landscape plan the city reviews. The ban reaches all planting material, not just trees, on development covered by the landscape ordinance.
Tuscaloosa Prohibited Invasive Plant Species
Significant RestrictionsCity of Tuscaloosa Zoning Ordinance, Sec. 25-131(d)(5), Division 3 (Landscape and Buffer Standards), Art. VI
Prohibited species. Plants included in the Alabama Invasive Plant Council's current list of invasive plants or plants specified by the director of planning are prohibited.
Front Yard Gardens
Tuscaloosa allows a home garden as an accessory use in nearly every residential district, but Sec. 25-107(m) flatly prohibits placing it between the principal building and the front lot line. A garden has to sit beside or behind the house, never facing the street.
Tuscaloosa Bars Home Gardens in Front Yards
Significant RestrictionsTuscaloosa Zoning Ordinance Sec. 25-107(m) (Home Garden), Table V-5, Div. 3, Art. V (Ord. No. 9572, § 2, 12-17-24)
m.Home garden. A home garden is not permitted between the principal building on the site and the front lot line.