Invasive Plant Rules in New Jersey (2026)
16 rules on the books across New Jersey, 11 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Bamboo Restrictions
Rules about planting running bamboo near property lines, containment requirements, removal obligations, and fines for bamboo that spreads to neighboring properties.
Hackensack
Heavy RestrictionsHackensack has banned running bamboo outright. Since October 1, 2022, Section 162-3 of the City Code makes it unlawful…
Read full rule →Ridgewood
Heavy RestrictionsVillage of Ridgewood Code Sec. 260-5H flatly bans planting running bamboo, phyllostachys aureosulcata or any bamboo of…
Read full rule →Woodbridge
Heavy RestrictionsWoodbridge Township prohibits planting any native or non-native bamboo directly in the ground anywhere in the Township…
Read full rule →Brick
Significant RestrictionsBrick Township treats running bamboo as a regulated invasive plant: new in-ground plantings are strictly prohibited…
Read full rule →Edison
Significant RestrictionsEdison bans planting or growing running bamboo in the ground township-wide, allowing it only in fully contained…
Read full rule →Hamilton
Significant RestrictionsHamilton Township bans planting or maintaining bamboo within 40 feet of the edge of any public roadway, and requires…
Read full rule →Prohibited Species
Plants that are banned or regulated in your area, including Japanese knotweed, kudzu, purple loosestrife, and other species that threaten native ecosystems.
Brick
Heavy RestrictionsBrick Township prohibits all new in-ground plantings of invasive species like bamboo, kudzu and multiflora rose…
Read full rule →Elizabeth
Some RestrictionsWhen Elizabeth residents remove a tree with a DBH of 2.5 inches (street trees) or 6 inches per acre (other trees)…
Read full rule →Hamilton
Some RestrictionsHamilton Township requires landowners to control invasive plants such as running bamboo, ragweed, multiflora rose…
Read full rule →Newark
Some RestrictionsNewark's landscaping code bans ten specific tree varieties outright and layers on a second, broader prohibition…
Read full rule →Toms River
Some RestrictionsToms River Township requires every property owner to control invasive plants, defined by Township Code § 340-2 as vines…
Read full rule →Long Branch
Light RestrictionsLong Branch's West End Design Overlay (WEDO) District landscape standard requires infill development in the West End…
Read full rule →Ridgewood
Light RestrictionsVillage of Ridgewood Code Sec. 260-2 names twelve tree species, from black locust to tree of heaven, as invasive in the…
Read full rule →Front Yard Gardens
Whether your city allows vegetable gardens, wildflower meadows, or native plant landscapes in the front yard, including any height limits or appearance standards.
Tree-of-Heaven Removal
Rules requiring removal of Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven), the invasive species that hosts spotted lanternfly, including state programs and city-level mandates.
Hackensack
Heavy RestrictionsHackensack outlaws ailanthus altissima, the invasive tree of heaven. Since October 1, 2022, Section 162-3 makes it…
Read full rule →Newark
Some RestrictionsNewark's zoning code flatly bans planting Ailanthus altissima, the tree of heaven, anywhere a site plan or subdivision…
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