# What should you know about hackberry, privet and honey locust removal in North Texas?

> Hackberry, privet and honey locust removal in North Texas: which brush is truly invasive, which towns protect or exclude it, and how clearing is scoped.

URL: https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/guide/north-texas-invasive-brush/

Hackberry, privet and honey locust removal in North Texas is mostly an understory and fence-row job, and only one of the three is a true invasive. Chinese privet is a non-native that Texas A&M Forest Service says can outcompete native plants. Hackberry and honey locust are native but aggressive. Local tree codes treat each one differently, so check the town first.

This guide from [Homestead Land Clearing](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/) describes the brush that most often crowds out pasture, creek edges and wooded lots around Frisco, how the area's tree rules treat each species, and what a clearing plan for it looks like.

<KeyTakeaways items={["Chinese privet is the one truly invasive species here; the City of Denton runs a removal initiative for it.", "Hackberry, honey locust, bois d'arc and greenbriar are native, but they fill fence rows, creek bottoms and understory fast.", "Prosper excludes hackberry, honey locust and bois d'arc from protection outside the floodplain; Lucas protects bois d'arc and sugar hackberry; Celina puts them in its 1:1 tier.", "Floodplain and riparian rules can protect even excluded species, so creek-side brush needs a separate check.", "Regrowth is likely for several of these plants; a follow-up plan belongs in the scope."]} />

## Invasive or just aggressive?

"Invasive" has a specific meaning: a non-native species that spreads and displaces native plants. Most of the brush that frustrates landowners around Frisco does not fit that definition. It is native growth that got ahead of the mowing. The distinction matters because tree ordinances, wildlife value and follow-up plans differ.

| Plant | Native? | Where it shows up | What makes it a problem |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese privet | No (introduced as an ornamental) | Creek bottoms, fence rows, forest understory | Dense evergreen thickets that shade out native growth |
| Hackberry (sugarberry) | Yes | Fence lines, drainages, lot edges | Seedlings spread by birds; fast volunteer trees |
| Honey locust | Yes | Creek bottoms, riparian areas, old pasture | Thorny trunks and branches; dense thickets |
| Bois d'arc (osage orange) | Yes | Old fence rows, Cross Timbers woodland | Thorny; common in old fence rows |
| Greenbriar | Yes | Understory, fences, thickets | Thorny vine that binds brush together |

## Chinese privet

Texas A&M Forest Service lists Chinese, glossy and Japanese privets among the invasive plants of North Texas. The agency says they were brought to the United States by the mid-1800s as ornamentals and can outcompete native vegetation, changing a forest's understory if left uncontrolled. The Texas Invasive Species Institute describes Chinese privet forming dense thickets, particularly in bottomland forests and along fencerows, and notes that it tolerates shade and that its seeds are spread by animals.

Locally, the City of Denton runs a Chinese Privet Removal Initiative, describing thickets invading fields, fencerows, roadsides, forest understories and riparian sites, and Dallas County lists Chinese, Japanese and glossy privet as prevalent in North Texas. That is useful context: privet is a recognized regional problem, not a single property's bad luck.

Because privet sits under taller trees, clearing it is usually [selective clearing](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/selective-clearing/): remove the thicket, keep the oaks, elms and pecans. [Forestry mulching](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/forestry-mulching/) is a common method for privet understory because it leaves the material on site, although it leaves root systems in the ground. A dependable Texas agency source on how privet regrows after cutting was not found for this guide, so plan to watch the area after clearing rather than assume either outcome.

## Hackberry

Texas A&M's range plant database lists sugar hackberry as native to Texas, growing in draws and low areas with adequate moisture, with fair value for wildlife, mainly birds. Extension and native plant sources tie hackberry's spread to birds that eat the fruit and pass the seed, which is one reason seedlings so often line up under fences. On lots that sat for a few years, hackberry is often the dominant volunteer tree.

## Honey locust

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Brush Busters guidance describes honey locust as a frequent invader of East and Central Texas creek bottoms and riparian areas, with densely thorny trunks and branches and clusters of thorns on older trees. AgriLife also says controlling it is not a one-time job, because livestock and wildlife spread the seed, and recommends monitoring land regularly for seedlings.

That makes honey locust a pasture and creek-bottom problem more than a backyard one. Clearing it from creek areas runs into floodplain rules; see [clearing near creeks and floodplain](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/guide/clearing-near-creeks-and-floodplain/).

## Bois d'arc and greenbriar

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department describes the East Cross Timbers, which runs through parts of Denton County, as post oak and blackjack oak woodland where eastern red cedar, mesquite, osage orange (bois d'arc) and greenbriar are also common. Bois d'arc lines many old fence rows. Greenbriar binds brush piles and fences together and makes hand work slow. Where poison ivy is mixed into vine thickets, do not burn it: CDC NIOSH warns that smoke from burning poison ivy causes lung irritation. Old fence rows are the subject of [fence line clearing](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/fence-line-clearing/).

## How local tree codes treat these species

This is where the species question has real consequences. The same tree can be unregulated in one town and protected in the next.

| Jurisdiction | How it treats these species |
|---|---|
| [Prosper](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/service-areas/prosper/) | Excludes hackberry or Texas sugarberry, honey locust, bois d'arc, mesquite, cottonwood and others from protection outside the 100-year floodplain; inside the floodplain any species 6 in. or larger is protected |
| [Celina](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/service-areas/celina/) | Common hackberry, bois d'arc, cottonwood, junipers, cedars, mesquites and willows are Type 3: 10% value, 1:1 replacement; floodplain trees of any species are Type 1 at 5:1 |
| [Lucas](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/service-areas/lucas/) | Lists bois d'arc (osage orange), sugar hackberry and eastern red cedar among protected large trees; property zoned agricultural and actively farmed is exempt |
| Cross Roads | Excludes thorny honey locust, hackberry, mesquite, eastern red cedar and others from protection |
| Frisco | Excluded species list sits in the Development Application Handbook and was not reviewed here; any tree of 4 in. or more in the riparian buffer is protected regardless of species |

Two patterns stand out. Prosper and Lucas treat bois d'arc and hackberry in opposite ways. And floodplain or creek rules override species exclusions in several towns, so a hackberry thicket on a creek bank may be regulated even where the same tree in a fence row is not. The [Frisco tree removal permit guide](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/guide/frisco-tree-removal-permit/) covers Frisco's process.

## Planning the clearing

Clearing this kind of brush follows the same approved process: walk the property for boundaries, trees to keep, slopes, wet spots, fences and anything buried or overhead; check the rules for that address; write the scope with method, finish level, stumps, debris plan and erosion control before a price; then clear to the agreed finish.

For this brush in particular, a scope should say:

- **Which trees stay.** Flag keepers before work; privet and hackberry often hide good oaks and pecans.
- **Method by area.** Mulching for understory, [brush clearing](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/brush-clearing/) for open thickets, grubbing only where structures will go.
- **Stump height.** Low enough to mow, if the land will be maintained.
- **Follow-up.** Regrowth is common for several of these species. Herbicide work is a separate decision; your county AgriLife Extension office can explain options. See [does brush grow back after clearing](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/guide/does-brush-grow-back-after-clearing/).

To plan selective work on your land, [contact Homestead Land Clearing](https://homesteadlandclearingfrisco.com/contact/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chinese privet illegal to keep or plant in Texas?

No. Texas A&M AgriLife's aquatic plant management site says it is not illegal to possess Chinese privet in Texas, though it should not be introduced into new water bodies. Texas A&M Forest Service still lists it among the invasive plants of North Texas because it can outcompete native vegetation, so many landowners choose to remove it.

### Why does honey locust keep showing up in a pasture that was already cleared?

Because the seed keeps arriving. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension says controlling honey locust is not a one-time job, since both livestock and wildlife spread the seeds, and recommends checking land regularly for seedlings. A cleared pasture needs a follow-up plan for new plants, not just the first round of clearing.

### Is it better to clear hackberry volunteers along a fence line while they are small?

Often, yes. Frisco, Prosper and Celina all start their protected-tree size at 6 inches in diameter, and Frisco's replacement table charges nothing for trees under 6 inches, so removing young volunteers early keeps them below those replacement thresholds. Frisco still requires a Tree Removal Permit for any tree outside platted single-family and two-family lots. Exceptions matter: Frisco protects any tree of 4 inches or more in the riparian buffer, and Lucas lists sugar hackberry as protected with lower survey thresholds.