The saga continues........We came from here http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1118541/
Sorry about the mix up guys. Forgive me :(
What are you sorry you planted..... Part 4
**i'm watching**
I'm thinking hard about more - what i'm sorry i planted, but can't come up with any.
Nicotiana -- that is one plant i can't even get to grow. Had the "white" version one year, tried other colors, zip nadda nothing.
Ahhh- Brunnera macrophylla (perennial forget-me-not) - I have a love/hate relationship with that plant. Love the blue flowers in the spring but it's a pain trying to pull out all of the seedlings. Those roots are tough! The plain species is the worst when it comes to reseeding. I have a white-edged one (name unknown) that doesn't reseed but it's more likely to get dead-headed than all of the other numerous plain ones.
Wild violets are the bane of my existence. In my innocence and ignorance planted 4 little plants from a pass-a-long some 40 odd years ago. The have come up every place you can think of. I cut them, pull them, before I went organic, I even tried chemicals. Too bad they are pretty for less than a week in early spring. Left alone they will choke out anything that is desirable.
CindyM, I feel the exact same way about Brunnera! I have found a way to slow it down with the reseeding, and I think the plants look so much better all year because of it. As soon as they are done flowering, I cut them to the ground. They bounce right back with new foliage, and look better than ever. It really slows down the root growth this way too. You are right about those roots being tough, and if you miss one little piece, the plant comes right back! I gave some to a neighbor across the street, and when it's done blooming I tell her grandson to mow it down because it's on the edge of her lawn. Her plants have never reseeded (at least not in her yard!), but she has a lot less of it than I do. Also, none of mine is where I can mow it or they would get mowed here too! Most of mine are in the shade, but I do have some in full sun. I cut the ones back that are in full sun as soon as they look like they are getting baked (at least 3 times each summer), and they return and look great.
Natalie
Lou, I've never had problems with wild violets - I planted four of them around the base of a maple tree and it takes so much water from them that they've never really established themselves yet. I dodged the bullet on that one.
Wild Violets can be a problem for me too, so whenever I see them I do my best to dig them up. I don't know anyone who's ever gotten all of the root out! I have a large bunch of them on the north side of my house, and they get no water other than rain, and they usually look fantastic! As long as they stay put, they are welcome to live there, but the minute I find them creeping away they will be gone! My Mom has then all over her back lawn. She thinks they are marvelous, so at least she's happy with them! I'm not happy though! I take care of most of her flower beds for her and found a huge clump of them in one of the beds yesterday! I'm sneaking over there after midnight and will try to dig them out! I've got a purple pansy to put in their place, so I'm hoping she won't notice! I love these middle of the night, secret ops!
Natalie
Natalie, you are welcome to come to my house in broad daylight and dig all the violets you want. Only thing equal in my eyes (and I have conquered it) is bermuda grass. Once had a beautiful veggie garden and finally gave it up because of the B grass. Pretty such some of my neighbors are unhappy with my violet crop and they seem so spread everywhere. We even got rid of a whole bed of monkey grass.....one plant at a time by digging it up. The violets are a whole nuther story.
DH hated the violets in the lawn - not his idea of a "lawn" so they're gone now. I do let some of them grow in the wilder sections of my garden but do edit some of them out if they're encroaching on other plants. Spring isn't the same here without them. DD in TN valiantly fights the B grass battle in her veggie garden but it's definitely tough.
LouC, Thanks for the invite! The next time I'm in TX, I'll pop on over and give you a hand! I decided to be a good daughter and warn my Mom that if she doesn't supervise me, those violets in her flower bed are going to meet their demise. I told her how bad they can get, and she agreed to let me remove them. I told her she can keep the ones in the lawn, and that made her happy!
I'm not sure if I've ever seen Bermuda grass or Monkey grass, but I do have a problem with Crab grass!
Natalie
Native violets are the host plant for fritillary butterflies so they stay in my garden.
I just keep them between the slate path and the rocks that line the beds.
They are right next to the shady, heavily mulched beds so the caterpillars can hide there.
They spread more into the sunnier beds.
I still can't get rid of the sweet woodruff I planted years ago and the daffodils had to be removed for the most part since they completely took over some beds.
But the one thing I am sorry I planted is the Harry Lauder's Walking Stick.
I wanted this tree so badly to view out of the kitchen window in the winter.
The contorted twigs form a wonderful silhouette in the snow and the branches can be cut for a large vase.
It even has interesting catkins before it leafs out but once it leafs out the foliage is puckered and contorted also.
People always ask what is wrong with the tree (leaves).
oops this is the perennial forum, trees are not perennials.
And it suckers from the base with the straight twigs so you have to watch it and cut them out before it reverts.
I wish I had planted a dogwood or redbud or a witch hazel, any native small tree instead.
This message was edited Jun 27, 2011 2:54 PM
I keep the wild violets out of my garden beds, but have a lot in the lawn on the east side of the house. They spread like crazy. Cindy, how did you get rid of them in your lawn?
B. grass is the bane of gardens! I received a crepe myrtle tree 15 years ago from my brother. There must of been one root of B. grass amongst the soil. It has shown up the last two years. We have been spraying round up on it--killing everything in the area, but the B. grass is still qutie vigorous. So, we have dirt and b. grass in the area.
Thanks, Cindy.
sempervirens, I've had a problem with Sweet Woodruff also. It seems like such a delicate plant, but that is deceptive once you take a look at it's roots! It seems like they are one giant net! I had a huge shade garden full of it that I decided to make into a hosta garden a few years ago. I planted my hostas a little before the sweet woodruff began growing, and before I knew it, the sweet woodruff started smothering the hostas! I was shocked at what that little delicate looking plant could do to those big hostas! I pulled what I could so that the hostas could breathe, and in the fall, after things started dying back, I dug out what I could. I thought I had done a good job until the next Spring! It's like I hadn't removed anything! I've been working on them for a couple more years now and I'm starting to make progress, but I can see this is going to be a long battle. I think I'll try brushing some Round-up on some tomorrow to see if that slows it down some. I hate resorting to that, but I'd much rather have healthy hostas, than ones gasping for air!
Natalie
I think my wife introduced the oxalis into our gardens and it comes up everywhere. I have just this year been systematic about digging them up when possible, at least pulling off foliage, and throwing away every flower I see. They are indeed pretty but not well behaved for me. Otherwise bermuda grass is the most difficult weed for me to control. Sweet woodruff spreads but is not difficult to pull. Violets are more or less under control and they are pretty. I really like the yellow ones growing around our cabin in western NC but I'm afraid to bring them here (Decatur, GA)
I call it 'weed woodruff' because to me that's what it is. It smothered all my creeping phlox and hostas in one bed and it trying to take over another as we speak. I hate it.
janaestone, sorry to hear about your creeping phlox getting smothered! My creeping phlox tried to smother a bunch of plants this year! I can't believe how huge mine got! It's so easy to cut back after blooming, so it's not a pest to me, and the other plants survived just fine. If the creeping phlox gets too unruly, I'll threaten it with a "weed woodruff" neighbor! Love that name, and that's what mine will be called from now on!
Natalie
I certainly didn't plant it. We just moved into my fiances grandmother's house, and his great grandparents were there before. His great grandma planted peonies, and I'm not sure if she planted the perrywinkle or creeping Myrtle too, but it's EVERYWHERE!!! blah
LOL Natalie - threatening it. I spent 3-4 years getting that creeping phlox 'just so' and then planted it. I love the phlox and it's so easy to pull if it gets out of hand but this weed woodruff is one tough plant to get rid of!
Good luck, Cindy!
I have friends who bought a house years ago with wild violets and lily of the valley on it. The violets multiplied into the hundreds and spread everywhere. Lily of the valley has partied madly, has drunken wild parties and is also everywhere. I've been trying to give them low maintenance clumping plants like ladies mantle, woodland strawberries and a Heuchera Firefly (I grow it, and it persists beautifully) but there is nowhere to put them. The violets and lily of the valley have taken over the entire yard, killing all the grass.
And now they want to sell the house!
Fully understand the futility of trying get rid of the violets. They even come up in my potted plants.
I suspect that a lot of people got nightmare plants because they inherited them when they bought a home, or some clueless landscaper put them in (like mine gave me gooseneck loosestrife, which within four months marched four feet underground and killed almost everything else in the bed).
But coming up in your potted plants?! Amazing.
DonnaMack, we were discussing our dislike of Lily of the Valley before the thread got too long and was moved to a new thread. I've been over-run by it myself, and had recently painted a bunch of it with Round-Up, and the plant seemed to use it as a fertilizer. Well, I've got an update! The Round-Up did it's job finally! I was out in the back where I had painted some of it on the leaves, and they finally turned brown! They are actually crunchy brown! I think I may finally be making some progress with getting rid of it now! If your friends have it in their lawn they would have to be very careful with the Round-Up, but so far so good for me!
janaestone, I planted 2 four inch pots of creeping phlox last Spring, and they grew into circles about 12 inches across, and were so pretty. This year, those 2 little plants covered an area about 7 feet by 4 feet! I was shocked! I have lots of other plants in the same bed, so I did my best to try and steer the phlox around some of the plants, but finally gave up and let them do their thing. Everyone in the neighborhood came over and asked what they were because it was so pretty! When they finally stopped blooming and I cut them back, I was amazed at how many other plants I really had under them! Some hadn't come up yet for the year when the phlox started growing, but they were all fine, even without sun on them for a while!
Natalie
When I hear about yards overrun with violets or LotL all I can think is why don't they plant shrubs, trees and shade-loving conifers. Plants that can hold their own with the invasives.
There are hundreds to choose from. Much easier than fighting a losing battle.
If you absolutely have to have perennials plant those that can also hold their own with the violets and whatever else.
Be glad you don't have to mow and can spend the time instead on maintaining a beautiful woodland garden or a sunny one if that's the case.
Am I wrong?
We have lots of trees but lost 6 or more to a tornado. For sometime have been planting Texas Natives and they do fairly well with our 100+ summer. The violets get mowed in the yard but the beds are another thing all together. If I don't keep at them, they drain the nutrients and our precious water from more desirables. If I don't fight them they will choke out everything else. When we moved here Feb, 1967 it was a new house in the middle of a former hay field. Getting rid of Johnson Grass was easier than violets.
Why don't plants like lilies and roses have that kind of fight in them?
My husb. & I were touring our yard a few mornings ago and discovered we have Bermuda Grass in our phlox sublata. Darn! I am willing to give up the phlox to get rid of the B. grass. If it gets a good hold in our yard, it would be all over but the crying. I can't figure out how the B. grass got there.
Yes, come to think of it - the most exquisite plant is no good if you can't control it.
birder, Ornamec will remove your BG and leave your phlox just fine. Unless you are averse to using chemicals.
I will check out this "Ornamec" along with the "Bonide". Thanks.
Is Ornamec the stuff that kills the grass but not the flowers? If so, I tried it a few years ago and it took several months for the grass to die. Maybe I used something else though. I used all of what I had and no longer have the container, so I can't check it. I had a bunch of grass coming up in a huge area of creeping thyme and didn't know what else to use! If Ornamec works good I'll get some, just in case it isn't the same thing that I used. I've got a lot of crab grass moving into a flower bed in the front yard and I can't seem to get it removed!
Natalie
Chinese honeysuckle. Bought it at Lowe's before I found it was an invasive species here. Dug it out and still pulling out runners here and there. Then I found it growing wild on the back side of my property. Could have saved the $ at Lowes.
Ornamec will kill Bermuda but it does take a while to show the effects. It doesn't work as fast as RU or selective weedkillers.
I have also used it on Johnson Grass to good effect. It will kill desirable grasses also so be careful.
Thanks for the info on Ornamec. Maybe I'll give it another try.
Natalie