At our first home we had an issue with
Southern Sword Fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia) taking over a huge part of our backyard ... almost impossible to eradicate due to those little bulblets that travel everywhere!
Most of us native or long time Floridians have seen the beautiful but horrid
Brazilian Pepper Tree (Schinus terebinthifolia) around the state. We had one pop up in our yard once that I immediately had my husband take his chain saw to. It sprouted back from the roots so we had to get someone to grind the stump.
Although I don't think
Four o'Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) are listed as invasive here in Florida, we once had a problem with the white variety completely taking over an area outside our fence between our property and the roadway and eventually encroached on our property. One year we spent many weeks trying to dig them out and it was such a chore ... we never managed to eradicate them completely and I think I will drive by our old place some time soon to see if they are still growing there. Some of the stalks and tubers were really huge. I wish I'd taken photos of the area when it was covered with white blooms; it was pretty but gee, I think like the Sword Ferns, these things could take over the city! The photo below is some of the small tubers; wish I'd gotten pictures of the huge ones. I remember being so stunned at the size of some of them that my husband dug out because I couldn't budge them.
Another pest that's considered invasive here in Florida is the Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum) We've had issues with that one a couple of times over the years. At our home where we lived here in the Daytona Beach area for 36 years, it was a huge pest but we finally managed to eradicate it. Then, when we purchased our home in Sebastian, we found it growing in a wooded area on our property; trailing along the ground and climbing up and over pine trees and palm trees.
I also once had Wild Morning Glory pop up in the yard and begin to take over everything in sight. It ended up in a couple of my container plants; took over some rose bushes in one area and dwarf azaleas in another part of the yard ... it even climbed the pole to the top of a purple martin house.
