What invasive plant do you fight in your garden?

1. 89

   The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years ago

   What invasive plant do you fight in your garden?
   
   It seems like all gardeners have one-- that plant they planted and then wished that they hadn't. What plant is trying to take over your garden?

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2. 0

   RTalloniposted 9 years ago

   I don't know the name but it is very pretty.  Dark green heart shaped leaves with a red/wine edge, tiny white flowers that look hearty not delicate, but the plant stinks, stinks, stinks.  Especially when pulled which has to happen a lot because it is extremely invasive.  I wish I'd listened to my friend…    There's a moral to this story--pretty is as pretty does!

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I wonder what it is?!

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   2. 0

      RTalloniposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      She got it from a friend who got it from a friend…  At least it blooms my favorite color flower.

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   3. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      LOL

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   4. 90

      naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That sounds like Cashmere bouquet (Clerodendrum bungeii sp?). It's a good butterfly plant, but it will take over. I once had one grow in the crack between a building slab and a concrete patio.

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3. 95

   eugbugposted 9 years ago

   Montbretia(crocosmia) - I keep pulling the bulbs up, but some get left to re-sprout. It would be nice if they could flower once in a while, but the ground is too fertile and they just produce lots of leaves!
   
   Feverfew - I got one plant from a friend and it's supposed to be a cure for migraine. It readily self seeds and I constantly have to pull the plants up every year.
   
   Aquilegia (Columbine or Granny's Nightcap) - Grew these from a packet of seeds. Every year millions of seedlings appear in the flower beds  which would turn into adult plants if I didn't get the hoe out and deal with them.
   
   Red Valerian - This is nice but also generates lots of seed which easily grows sprouts on gravel paths.
   
   Campanula or bellflower - This tends to spread everywhere unless its hoed or killed with glyphosate.

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like you are swamped by invasive plants. We've had some columbine volunteers in one flowerbed for a few years. I'm going to have to look up bellflower now, as I can't quite place it.

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   2. 90

      naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Wow! I wish I had your problem. It's so hot and humid down here that it's almost impossible to grow most of your problem plants except crocosmia. I would love to grow feverfew, columbine, valerian and campanula... One man's trash....

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   3. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      LOL Yvonne. So true!

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4. 71

   Marie Flintposted 9 years ago

   Burgundy amaranth. It has a beautiful flowering top, but I have no means nor the patience to harvest this tiny grain that originated in South America. I bought it from an organic seed supplier through the mail, now every year it comes up and dwarfs out my wildflower seed. It is ubiquitous!

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Oh my, I planted amaranth last year from seed after seeing it in the beds at Monticello. It's coming up again this year, but . . . not intrusively, I think. Time will tell!

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   2. 90

      naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Have you tried clipping the seed heads when they begin to turn brown and placing them in a large paper bag? After the seed heads dry out you should be able to just close the bag and shake the tiny seeds out, then use a strainer to get the chaff out.

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5. 60

   The Examiner-1posted 9 years ago

   I do not know the name but it grows these beautiful yellow flowers, has green leaves that do not look bad and it has thorns and grows fast.

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ooh, I would not like thorns! Must make it a pain to pull out.

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   2. 60

      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It does. I put on gloves to pull them out and the thorns went through the glove! They are all over.

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6. 83

   heidithorneposted 9 years ago

   I planted something northern sea oats (goes by other names, too) several years ago. Beautiful, hardy ornamental grass that looks amazing when it turns brown in the winter. But... it can be a very aggressive reseeder (not invasive from what I understand) and it's overtaking all my other plants. My summer project to get that one under control.

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not familiar with that plant. I'll have to look it up. Good luck with your project!

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7. 86

   purl3agonyposted 9 years ago

   We have honeysuckle in our yard that I'm trying to control, not necessarily get rid of.  I love the blooms and the fragrance, but it takes over everything.  The previous owners also planted mint in the front yard.  We tore it out, because it spreads like a weed, but we still see it popping up here and there.

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like my ongoing battle with vinca minor. It like it, especially in early spring, just not so much of it. You're lucky you have such fragrant invasives!

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8. 92

   DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years ago

   I've only had trouble with one such plant, that I planted on purpose, and which I left behind when I sold my first house.  LOL  That was Shasta Daisy aka "freeway daisies."  They are very pretty, but they STINK and draw flies!

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      We have some but I've never noticed that they stink! I'll have to check that out once they start blooming.

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9. 68

   chefsrefposted 9 years ago

   Cardinal vine is my worst offender, planted it once, it was pretty but now I have to hoe out thousands. Others are Black Eye Susan vine, somewhat less aggressive but I expect to have it forever because it has spread into woods behind my house and crabgrass.
   Oh, and wild grapes, they stay in the woods but blanket any open spaces.

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   1. 89

      The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like you're battling some really aggressive ones. Vines are tough to deal with. I remember my grandfather dealing with that multifloral rose. It would weigh down fences and break them.

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10. 76

    alancaster149posted 9 years ago

    Bindweed is a tuber. You don't know where it started, and it's hard to stop from spreading across your garden. We've combated bindweed for donkey's years.
    My wife planted something else that's taken over the garden. Our bit of lawn vanished years ago amid a jungle of some other weed whilst she had her 'rabbit run' in the back garden (to exercise them in the open air without them falling prey to urban foxes that prowl even by daylight - mangy things! - to find food for their cubs. I used to feed it to the rabbits, they thrived on it).
    Down the road, beyond the railway viaduct that passes behind our houses, there's a garden that's been infested with Japanese Knotweed. Let's hope that doesn't spread our way - it costs £000's to get rid of and you can't sell your house until it's been certified as 'eradicated'. Even then, people are wary of buying property that's had an infestation. Some clever d**khead brought it over in the 19th Century, thinking it would look good in his garden. It's spread in places like wildfire, and it's also a tuber.

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    1. 95

       eugbugposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I forgot about bindweed, although I've virtually eliminated it with glyphosate. It really strangles everything and is tedious to unravel when it climbs up over everything.

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11. 90

    naturegirl7sposted 9 years ago

    Here in South Louisiana, we have some noxious weeds that are choking out native forest habitats and also my garden plants. Most are imports from the Orient including bush killer vine, Chinese privet, ligustrum, Japanese honeysuckle, wisteria, Japanese climbing fern and, chamber bitters.
    
    The bush killer vine has leaves shaped like Virginia creeper and flat clusters of pinkish flowers that ooze nectar and a fleshy root that can travel underground for many yards to pop up with new growth. It can cover bushes, trees and out buildings in a few weeks. It laughs at Roundup! This is number one on my hit list. Privet takes the number 2 spot.

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    1. 89

       The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       The name bush killer sounds like it's apt. What is Louisiana doing about the problem-- er, what does the extension recommend?

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    2. 90

       naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Basically pull the small ones, cut the big ones & apply herbicide to the cut trunk or stem. Bush killer requires constant digging and pulling & many applications of herbicide. This is a problem because I garden organically & don't like he

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    3. 89

       The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I don't use herbicides either and wouldn't want to. They're so non-discriminant, and they hang around much longer, I think, than the manufacturers claim. Good luck to you!

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12. 91

    LisaRoppoloposted 9 years ago

    I never planted it, but creeping charlie is a big one, followed by Catalpa seedlings that spring up from my neighbor's tree and wild buttercup.  I'm constantly weeding every single weekend.  It is getting ridiculous!

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    1. 89

       The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I feel for you! I am constantly pulling wild ginger, which my mom inadvertently gave me along with some irises. I can't believe people actually plant it on purpose! lol

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13. 93

    cat on a soapboxposted 9 years ago

    Algerian ivy!  This large leafed variety was a landscape staple when our neighborhood was put in during the 50s. It develops thick trunks, deeply roots everywhere, and attaches itself to wooden fences and structures with clinging fibers. It is also home to snakes and rodents. I spend so much time removing its invasive tendrils and clumps from the property border since my neighbor lets it grow rampantly.

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    1. 89

       The Dirt Farmerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Snakes & rodents! Certainly wouldn't want that near the house. It'd be interesting to track plant popularity by the decade. I wonder if there's such a thing as a quintessentially 70s landscape, for instance. Bet it'd feature white rock mulch! lol

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