What's the cultivar name for your's? I had to move C. takesimana 'Bellringer' last year because it was spreading underground.
What are you sorry you planted......Part 3
Crocosmia, saw it loved it, never thought it would almost take of my beds, I pull hundreds out every year, never ger rid of them.
I bought c. Punctata 'Cherry Bells' this spring because I loved the description and pictures, then read the dire warnings in the plant files. For the time being I have it in a pot. I may end up putting it down by the road if it looks better than the grass/weeds mix that's there now. Or not.
That's it! C. punctata 'Cherry Bells'. Pfg. I may as well try the same thing. My front garden is like cottage style. I don't want a wild jungle growth of something that cannot behave itself in a confined bed. Can these 'Cherry Bells' take some shade? Anyone has experience with them? How about drought or dry'ish condition where Echinaceas grow? Thanks.
Buffy, I planted 'Lucifer' C. and was given a yellow cultivar. Neither really spread too terribly. What kind of condition do you give them to cause them to "love" it too much? Mine are kept in semi-shade area. (Not by choice -- but the garden is gradually becoming shadier as big trees grow).
I have Cherry Bells in some shade. Matter of fact, it is taking over a hosta in the same bed at the moment and must be removed. Never thought about potting it...thanks for the suggestion. And to think, it looked so innocent when I put it in, lol!
Wow, tggfisk, many thanks. I'll try to avoid having them interplanted with Hosta...do they look straggly or do they add color to the area? Have you any pics. to share?
CindyM, here is the pf on C. punctata "Cherry Bells". http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53595/
No, unfortunately, they look tall and lush when they bloom. If they didn't come up in the middle of other things, I'd love them for their tall, beautiful blooms. I suppose that's the only reason that they're still here at all. I'm going to have to give in and try to contain them this year. They didn't seem to take the hint when I yanked a ton of them out last year.
Ornigothalem nutans. Lovely, but it takes over the planet. I was sent it by mistake!
Garlic Chives.....need I say more? :-p
Well, you probably didn't make the mistake of receiving ONE PLANT, saying, oh how pretty, and putting it in two other places in your yard, where it continues to flaunt it's presence by sprawling over everything else..
Have you noticed that some of your heavy handed plants were sent by mistake? That how an order for 3 Salvia Rose Queen became an order for 3 saponaria bouncing bett, and an order for camassia quamash included the ornigothalem nutans? From first rate companies (which I kindly won't name)? And by the time you realize what they are, they're off to the races.
My Crocosmia are planted in morning shade and hot afternoon sun. I do have some in a bed that get dappled light all day, the soil is never too moist because I live on a hill. Gonna have to try and pull some this week when I am off work.
How awful. It's become your vacation project!
Yesterday I took a personal day off from work and spent 10 hours in the yard. Part of that was spent pulling out most of the Cherry Bells that had overtaken a small bed (as well as part of the lawn). Then I dug up as much of the houttounya as I could. I can't say the garden shop owner didn't warn me about its invasiveness. Sigh. I suppose I will never be rid of it.
My next door neighbor planted something her grandmother gave her called Chinese (or maybe Japanese? she wasn't sure) lantern. OMG is that stuff invasive!!! Its runners are about 8 inches deep and it is popping up all over my garden that borders her property. She didn't know it was such a prolific and determined spreader. I still could cheerfully wring her neck, though! Another plant I will be dealing with for the remainder of my gardening life.
Goldenberry, the houttounya if that indeed the same plants that I couldn't get rid of. Amazing they're hardy as far north as where you're. Winter freeze doesn't affect them? Ummm. I'm so glad to have found the forewarns on the 'Cherry Bells'. I've learned a similar lesson with mints. Mints, an herb, but they do tunnel just below the surface of the garden, like that of houttounya (If that's the same plant that I'm thinking of).
I have Cherry Bells I planted out by the road. I have a hard time with stuff growing well out there and thought I needed something aggressive in order for it to survive. It's been slow but I can see signs of it's spreading now. So far not too bad however I grew it from seed and it just bloomed the first time last year so I may regret it sooner or later. My friend keeps trying to give me some of those chinese lanterns and I keep decling.. My husband brought me some from a clients yard and I put them in a bucket with no drainage holes and let them drown. ( On purpose) lol. Thank goodness I did!
These colorful leaves (not the daylilies) are the evil Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'. I am in the process of digging up over 400 square feet of my own hybridized daylilies and some lovely purchased daylilies so only the miserable/rotten/awful Houttuynia will be left and then we will continue to spray with Round Up repeatedly, even if it takes years, to kill it.
Last year it invaded the lawn and we thought we had killed it with Round Up: wrong! It's back and stronger than ever.
pirl, I have that nasty chameleon plant in one of my beds too! The previous owners had planted it. I HATE IT WITH A PASSION. I love most plants, but this one makes me shudder. I hope you have luck getting rid of it.
It's so easy to hate and stinks when it's pulled out and pulling it does no good at all. It probably encourages more growth. If I ever win the battle I'll post here...happily.
I was told to use a syringe to inject the roots but the thought of 400 square feet of roots, going down more than 2', is just too much for me.
Hi, pirl. What variety is the yellow/red-eyed daylily please? I like it.
It's one of my own hybrids so it has no registered name.
Wow, Pirl, what a disaster!
We planted houttuynia years ago on a shady hillside to prevent erosion.
At the time, I knew it was aggressive, but thought that's what the situation needed.
Fortunately, it just sputtered a few years, then mostly died out.
I recall the shame of not even being able to grow an invasive plant!
Now I feel fortunate for my failure.
But I still occasionally see a leaf pop up in the area.
Now I'm worried it will somehow jump into a cultivated area of my yard.
I was successful getting rid of Houttuynia. But, I only had a small area, and it has only been gone two years, so time will tell. I have visions of it popping up again. About a month after planting it, a neighbor who worked at the nursery I bought it at saw I planted it. She said... "you want to pull that up right away and be sure to get all the roots. Bag it and put it in the trash!". So I did. I have been battling it for about six or seven years since then, after only having one plant for one month!
I finally cut all the leaves from the surrounding plants so I could easily treat it.
I got a foam paint brush and painted the leaves with full strength concentrate roundup. I buy mine at a farm store, it is a much stronger concentrate than what you get at Lowes. Then, I painted it with concentrated 2-4-D. Still, a few new leaves came up a couple weeks later, and I did the same thing.
I hope it is finally gone.
I've heard from two DG people, in Las Vegas and Arkansas, who really wanted it, and it appeared dead and then revived and is thriving in Las Vegas but still appeared dead in Arkansas. I guess it likes cooler weather.
My helper, Neri, and I dipped each leaf into straight Round Up day after day and it turned brown and looked dead. Not so! It's back in full force and the roots not only go beyond two feet deep but twine around huge pine roots so it's really impossible for me to just dig up the roots.
I started to remove it, again, April 15th and I'm still working on it.
Daylily, Thanks for the tip. I think I'll have to try that. It's quite the thug!
I also admit to having tried Houttuynia and had planted it in conditions similar to weerobin's and, fortunately for me, it also died out after a couple of years. Of course, I then planted Campanula rapunculoides in it's place. Will I ever learn??? Also had tried Chinese lantern in a pot, knowing that it was invasive, but it didn't do well in a pot for me.
Those Chinese or Japanese lanterns took us a few years to rip out entirely and I'm never really sure they're gone.
I've done battle with Aegopodium as well. I'm not sure we ever learn what's aggressive or invasive in time to avert the tragedy. Many people have the same problem with Gooseneck Loosestrife.
I'm dealing with the aftereffects of chinese lantern now - trying to get each leaf as it comes up in my yard and painting constantly with Round Up. I thought I was finally done with evening primrose and a few nights ago I noticed two small plants in the front bed- looks liek I'm back on patrol for those as well.
It only took three to four years, here, to get all the evening primrose. How I wish more plants came with labels regarding the aggressive and invasive qualities underlined in red.
Wild violets are another pain but they're only in one garden.
When we moved into this house, there was a flower bed all of the way across the back of the house with violets - on purpose and never touched. They were huge and pretty, but 25 years later they are all over the yard. The only way to pull them is soak the ground and then pull, but leave a root and they come back, but at least they aren't a foot tall anymore.
Goodness, and here I'm been wanting to plant some of those lanterns.
Thanks Cindy, I may try that. I've a "movable tropical garden" in the back deck. I may just try that.
Beautiful! I love that windchime, very cute. :)
Thanks Meredith. Another potential head-ache provoking plant is this one. I do no not object to its "invasiveness" much, for they're butterflies magnet when they're in bloom. Can anyone name this plant?
p.s. pic. was taken last summer. Currently these plants are making flower buds. They too tunnel underground and spread prolifically especially within cultivated garden soil.
This message was edited Jun 4, 2011 7:08 AM
I'm not sure but they look like some type of silene....
Meredith, it's Clerodendron bungei. Pic. was taken on mid. August last summer. Other Clerodendron such as the 'blue butterflies' are frost tender down here (which I love dearly). But this one they are deciduous, if the winter has prolonged freezing period (which is seldom), they get killed back to the ground. But in the sping they send back offsprings (in the form of tallons) in many folds.
