Sherrie Kopacz of Kopacz Nursery & Florist in Hermiston holds a planter of English ivy the store has for sale. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has banned the sale of English ivy and butterfly bush effective June 1.<br><i>Staff photo by Dean Brickey</i>

Sherrie Kopacz thinks it’s another case of statewide rules adopted to solve a Western Oregon problem.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has amended its noxious weed quarantine to add English ivy and butterfly bush, two popular but potentially invasive plants.

Kopacz Nursery & Florist in Hermiston has both plants for sale. Other stores contacted don’t expect ivy supplies to arrive until April, if they arrive at all.

Effective June 1, the propagation, transport, purchase or sale of English ivy, Hedera helix and Hedera hibernica, will be prohibited in Oregon.

“We had learned last year that they were wanting to get rid of it,” Kopacz said. “Good luck. It’s pretty tough.”

The prohibition includes indoor or patio uses as well as floral arrangements. The state is offering a grace period so businesses that have ivy in stock still can sell their inventory. However, those businesses are not allowed to bring in replacement plants when stock is depleted.

Meanwhile, effective immediately, the propagation, transport, purchase or sale of butterfly bush, Buddleja davidii, is prohibited in Oregon with the exception of sterile varieties that produce little or no seed.

Kopacz said butterfly bush also is known as summer lilac.

“The butterflies like it,” she said.

The Agriculture Department approved sterile varieties of Buddleja, including inter-specific hybrids. They may be propagated and sold if labeled as “Seedless Butterfly Bush” and produce less than 2 percent viable seed.

The agency will issue exemptions to nurseries that wish to sell B. davidii they have on hand to out-of-state customers. These exemptions will be issued through the end of 2010 and will not be extended.

English ivy and butterfly bush are considered noxious weeds in Oregon because of their threat to the state’s natural habitat and their ability to outcompete native vegetation. Both have been found to escape from gardens and even indoor settings. English ivy can easily smother trees and other vegetation.

Kopacz said neither plant is a big problem in this area, and that’s why the statewide quarantine is overkill.

“As far as I’m concerned,” she said, “it’s more for the west side than it is for us.”

The state’s noxious weed quarantine also has been amended to prohibit the growing or sale of Scotch broom in Oregon regardless of the variety or cultivar. Cytissus scoparious should not be grown or sold in Oregon effective immediately.