Touch-Me-Not

Love the stuff! Grows like a weed!

Mark

Very pretty, Mark. From the spread, I'm assuming it's an annual that self-seeds. Is it easy to pull? Cause it looks like you might have to keep an eye on it.

That's Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)! Great plant for birds at this time of year! It's native and don't pull it. There is a reason why this plant is so prolific. Migrating birds depend on high-energy fruits produced by native plants. Jewelweed fruits at this time of year. Coincidence? Don't think so.

http://www.bcnbirds.org/greenpapers_files/GPflyway.html
http://magazine.audubon.org/backyard/backyard0109.html

Good to know, Equil. I just took a walk around our neighborhood pond and saw lots of it growing. I won't touch it!

I have SO much of it that some has to get pulled from gardens every spring and summer. It does self seed and is very easy to pull. Any area that opens up when a tree comes down is immediately overtaken by the stuff. There must be tens of thousands of these plants in my yard and both lots on either side of me. I know that it offers local and migrating Hummingbirds nectar at this time of year, before the first frost that kills it. Not sure that any "fruits" get eaten, though. The nickname Touch-Me-Not comes from the seed pods. They are similar to the seed pods on garden Impatiens. When they ripen the pod will literally explode when touched and seeds fly everywhere.

This is the fourth year that I've had to kill two large patches with Roundup in July. I had some not so nice bird deliver a type of Dodder that seems to be host species specific to this plant. If the Dodder gets established I'm sure that all of the Jewelweed would be gone. I don't think that I caught the Dodder before it seeded the first year, but should have it under control in another year, or two. The seeds can live for up to five years without germinating, from what I understand.

I have a single wild Cardinal Flower that has bloomed for the past three years that I'm aware of and some nice wild Forget-Me-Not that came with the land, as well. When I get time I'd like to introduce more native bog type plants. I sure wish that Cardinal flower would spread!

I just wish I had cardinal flower!!

Silly you, you don't need to use RU on that. It comes right out of the ground with hardly more than a little tug. Try it Mark! You'll be surprised.

Equil,

Dodder germinates when the seed detects that a host plant is present. This parasitic vine, which has leaves that can only be seen under a microscope attaches to the host plant and detaches from the ground completely. It “roots” in the host plant and quickly spreads to other host plants. I wish that all of my photographs were not lost in my house fire. I had photos of handfuls of Dodder. It didn’t touch the problem. The photos looked like orange “Silly String” sprayed all over my hands. My father is a master gardener, living in Florida. They have a variety of Dodder that relies on Oak trees as its host. When folks call the extension service to resolve the problem the answer is always the same – cut down the tree. There is no other option. I have driven down roads in Florida where all that can be seen covering the ground is Dodder. It goes on for miles and miles.

You could potentially hand pull each host plant in my case and possibly avoid the use of chemicals, but I cannot run the risk of the Dodder flowering and reseeding. The Dodder wraps itself around mixed in grasses and other plants. I actually hunt for any Dodder nearby, but thankfully have not found any other than in my two isolated spots. In frustration, I created a new burn pile on one of my problem Dodder areas this year. I hope that the heat killed any remaining seeds. I managed to get a small number of Touch-Me-Not to flower and reseed this area for next year.

Dodder is the most dreaded plant of any gardener. If you have any good links for dealing with this evil, please send them my way! I used stuff much more potent than RU in my first couple of years trying to kill the stuff. When I learned that RU did just as well I abandoned the strong herbicide. Kill the host and kill the Dodder!

I've pulled more Touch-Me-Not than you would want to know about! Yanked a couple dozen today. :-)

Sorry Mark, I didn't notice the Cuscuta in that photo. Impatiens are a host to Cuscuta. Not much I can say about Cuscuta other than that they're all parasitic annuals and it's best to do what you can to get rid of them before they connect. Dodder is a toughie and I've seen it eradicated once by the complete removal of the host. The area was burned at least once that I can recall and possibly twice. Burning won't kill all of the Cuscuta seed but if the area is replanted with non host species, you'll effectively eliminate it and you can come back in and replant the Impatiens in later years. It's a long process. One thing I recall is that the seed set is greatest at this time of year and that we humans are one of the dispersal mechanisms. Better you than me. Dodder hunting doesn't sound like my idea of fun.

By the way, I don't think there's currently much out there in the way of a biological control just yet. Maybe in about 10 years... maybe not. I'd be interested in anyone sharing what they know about biological controls on this.

No need to apologize. I am currently “Dodder free”. I’ve killed it off in the two affected areas each year very early, so that it does not get a chance to flower and seed. Since I didn’t notice it until it was too late the first year I had it I believe that it seeded and that’s why I have the continuing problem. If some of the Dodder seed didn’t lay dormant for several years I would have controlled it by now. I’m just glad that I found these two spots in time or my Touch-Me-Not would have been long gone by now!

I’ll check at the office tomorrow. I may have some old photos of the stuff saved there.

Photos are great. If you can, add them to the PlantFiles. How long is Cuscuta seed viable? I don't think it is one of those seeds that will still germinate after 25 or even 10 years but perhaps it does have a long life because of those tough little seed coats and that is why it is generally common practice to plant back non host species so that what ever does germinate can't make a connection.