A WARWICK plant nursery has taken the opportunity to caution Southern Downs gardeners against planting a nasty pest that has blossomed in popularity after a recent television segment.

The Southern Downs Garden Centre has seen a "marked increase” in demand for golden rain trees (Koelreuteria paniculata) in recent weeks.

Horticulturist Brent Macdonald said the popular trees were actually a declared pest that could spread rapidly in Warwick climates.

"The conditions are so good for them here which means they set seed really, really easily,” Mr Macdonald said.

Despite their pest status, golden rain trees are displayed in some prominent locations around Warwick, making them all the more enticing to gardeners.

"The biggest issue is that you end up with way too many, they are a tree that will proliferate,” Mr Macdonald said.

"If they get into a water stream, like the Condamine River, we could potentially spread the issue downstream.”

The spike in interest for golden rain trees came after a local television gardening segment promoted the pest as a tree to dig up and give to other gardeners.

But the garden centre took the recent popularity as an opportunity to educate gardeners on the risk of the pest.

"The last thing we want to do is sell someone an issue,” Mr Macdonald said.

"I think it is more about selecting the right species of tree for the situation - right plant, right place as we say.”

Mr Macdonald said golden rain trees were an issue for the whole country, not just Warwick.