Dallas, TX Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)
Key Facts
- Invasive plant standard
- TX Parks & Wildlife / Ag Dept classification
- Scope of ban
- Required landscapes only
- Palm trees
- Banned in required landscaping
- Ash trees
- Nursery stock and transplants banned citywide
- Approved list keeper
- Director of Development Services
- Governing law
- Dallas Development Code Sec. 51A-10.103
Summary
Dallas Development Code Sec. 51A-10.103(e) bans invasive plants from any landscape required by the city's tree and landscape ordinance, and Sec. 51A-10.101(29) defines an invasive plant as one classified as invasive to the Dallas region by Texas Parks and Wildlife or the Texas Department of Agriculture. The same section separately bans palm trees and ash tree nursery stock from required landscaping and city property.
(a) Artificial plant materials, including synthetic turf, may not be used to satisfy the requirements of this article.
(b) In satisfying the requirements of this article, the use of high-quality, hardy, and drought-tolerant plant materials is recommended and encouraged.
(c) For a lot or tract of land two acres in size or greater, no one species of tree may constitute more than 35 percent of the replacement trees planted on the lot or tract of land.
(d) Palm trees may not be used to satisfy the requirements of this article.
(e) Invasive plants are prohibited in required landscapes.
(f) The director shall maintain a list of acceptable plant materials for required landscapes.
(g) All nursery stock and transplanted ash tree species are prohibited in required landscaping or on city property.
Full Breakdown
Sec. 51A-10.103 governs what a developer or homeowner may plant to satisfy any landscaping requirement in Article X of the Dallas Development Code, whether that is the mandatory yard trees for a new house under Sec. 51A-10.125 or the buffer and parking-lot landscaping required of commercial development. Subsection (e) states flatly that 'invasive plants are prohibited in required landscapes,' and Sec. 51A-10.101(29) defines an invasive plant as any plant that has been classified as invasive to the Dallas region by either the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or the Texas Department of Agriculture, tying the local rule directly to the state agencies' own invasive lists rather than a separate city list.
The same section adds two more targeted plant bans. Subsection (d) prohibits palm trees from being used to satisfy any landscaping requirement, and subsection (g), added by a 2022 amendment responding to the emerald ash borer, bans all nursery stock and transplanted ash tree species from required landscaping or city property citywide, an effort to stop new ash plantings that would become a future host for the beetle. Subsection (f) requires the director of development services to maintain and publish an approved plant list for required landscapes, which developers use to confirm a chosen species is not on the invasive or banned list before it goes into a landscape plan submitted under Sec. 51A-10.123.
Violations & Fines
There's no separate criminal fine written into Sec. 51A-10.103 itself; enforcement runs through the landscape plan review and inspection process in Sec. 51A-10.124 and Sec. 51A-10.127. The building official can reject a landscape plan that specifies an invasive plant, palm tree, or ash tree species, and can withhold a certificate of occupancy or final inspection approval until a compliant plant list is substituted.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an invasive plant under Dallas's landscaping rules?
Can I still keep an invasive plant already growing on my property?
Why are ash trees banned from Dallas landscaping?
Are palm trees allowed in Dallas required landscaping?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dallas
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Dallas to another location·View the Texas invasive plant rules overview
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Prohibited Species in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dallas County handle prohibited species.