Free plants are one of the best perks of having gardening neighbors. Someone divides their hostas, thins out an overcrowded flower bed, or offers you a few extra perennials, and suddenly you’ve saved $50 or more at the garden center. But that generous gift could come with something you definitely didn’t bargain for: an invasive pest hiding in the soil around the roots. Even worse, you might not discover the problem until it has already spread throughout your garden.
The hidden threat is invasive jumping worms, an increasingly widespread group of earthworms that can damage soil structure and disrupt plant growth. Exchanging plants dug directly from the ground is one way these worms can spread between properties. Before accepting another free plant, here’s what gardeners need to know.
