Common garden weeds in the Yuba-Sutter area are usually non-native plants, but not necessarily classified as invasive weeds. To be classified as invasive, a weed must be shown to pose a serious threat to the survival of native species. Some weeds can pose a tremendous threat to your garden plants without actually posing much of a threat to native species, if the ecological niche they fill is a niche that exists mostly in gardens and that native plants wouldn't have thrived in anyway. This page lists plants that are common garden weeds but not classified as invasive species by the California Invasive Plant Council. All the plants listed on our invasive weeds page may also be common garden weeds, but to avoid redundancy, we will not reprint their names here.

Some people intentionally plant both common garden weeds and invasive weeds, due to the facts that weedy plants are easy to grow and some of them are pretty. It is a very bad idea to plant invasive weeds, because they are likely to kill off all your other plants, all your neighbors' plants, and all the plants in wildlife habitats for miles around. However, it is relatively acceptable to intentionally plant the common garden weeds listed below, because although they may still spread somewhat aggressively, they do not pose a major risk to wildlife habitats.

Annuals are generally weedier than perennials, which in turn are generally weedier than woody plants. The shorter a plant's lifespan is, the more rapidly it has to reproduce. The more rapidly a plant reproduces, the quicker it can take over an entire garden, killing all the other plants in sight. Fewer natives grow out of control than non-natives, because local ecosystems have evolved adaptations to keep natives in check. And certain plant families contain more weeds than others—in particular, the aster, mustard, carnation, goosefoot, pea, grass, and rose families contain significant numbers of plants that tend to be weedy in the Yuba-Sutter area.

Various weeds poke up between the pavers of an untended patio in Marysville. The overwhelming majority of these common garden weeds are non-native. Photo by queerbychoice.

Weedy Annuals

Natives

Aster Family

Rough cockleburr (Xanthium strumarium) in Beckwourth Riverfront Park Complex. Photo by queerbychoice.

Rough cockleburr (Xanthium strumarium) has taken over a large area across the levees from Marysville High School. After it dies off each fall, the spiny seeds dry and harden, clinging painfully to the clothes or fur of any people or animals who try to walk through it. Photo by queerbychoice.

Other Plant Families

Coast fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii) and popcorn flowers (Plagiobothrys) on Table Mountain. Photo by queerbychoice.

Red maids (Calandrinia ciliata) bloom among river rocks at Parks Bar. Photo by queerbychoice. Common bedstraw (Galium aparine) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Non-Natives

Aster Family

Mustard Family

Carnation Family

Goosefoot Family

Lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Pea Family

Grass Family

Other Plant Families

Low amaranth (Amaranthus deflexus) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Spotted ladysthumb (Polygonum persicaria) in a yard in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Weedy Herbaceous Perennials

Natives

Turkey-tangle fogfruit (Phyla nodiflora) on a Marysville levee. Photo by queerbychoice.

Common yarrow (Achillea millefolium) and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Non-Natives

Aster Family

Pea Family

White clover (Trifolium repens) takes over an unmowed lawn in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Grass Family

Other Plant Families

Jimsonweed (Datura stramonium) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Common plantain (Plantago major) in an untended front yard in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice. Spinyfruit buttercup (Ranunculus muricatus) in an untended front yard in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

Weedy Woody Plants

Natives

Pacific mistletoe (Phoradendron serotinum) parasitizes a shrub in Marysville. The chartreuse leaves and pale, greenish berries are the mistletoe. Photo by queerbychoice.

Non-Natives

Rose Family

Nightshade Family

Other Families

Glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) volunteers between loose boards at a house in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

White mulberry (Morus alba) at Beckwourth Riverfront Park Complex in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice.

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