I just put porcelain vine in to grow on the grillwork of my front porch. I looked (NOW I look!) and it is considered an invasive in Connecticut. Should I pull it out or can I keep it if I am careful not to let it spread? I know - birds will eat the berries and spread it. I feel SO guilty already! I thought it would be pretty twining around the front porch. If the vote is to pull it up - A) anyone (not in Connecticut)want the plants? B) what do I plant to replace it that will vine, produce something edible and looks pretty? It is full sun probably the roots are shaded. Clematis doesn't produce anything edible - so that is out.
I planted an Invasive - should I pull it out?
YankeeCat, I would probably pull it out. It seems like it is already bothering you, so it's probably not worth the mental anxiety, never mind the invasiveness. Did you buy it locally? If so, I would bring it to the attention of the owner/manager of the store you bought it at. You knew enough to look it up. Others wouldn't necessarily have done so, and this place shouldn't be selling it.
Sorry, can't think of anything off the top of my head which is a good replacement. The edible part has me stumped at the moment...
:)
Dee
Pull it out. Edible for birds? There is non-invasive honeysuckle that gets berries that the birds will eat.
Here is one that I have Cat.
http://www.rainyside.com/features/plant_gallery/vines/Lonicera_periclymenum_var_serotinaFlorida.html
Here's a not so great photo of mine. I'll get a better shot soon.
It is real pretty - I wonder if there is a yellow cultivar? (I have a theme going - warm colored flowers - and, quite frankly, not much else.)
They'll be even warmer with the steam venting out the house now!!
*rolling eyes in disgust* Cheap shot.
Sorry - couldn't resist. By the way, did you get any ideas from the other forum?
Actually - they are full of cheap shots, too. Like a big gnome smoking a cigar. Or changing it for the seasons with appropriate characters. The best suggestion was to paint the pipes to match the house - which I will do as soon as I get a chance and putting up a lattice to hide it a ways out from the exhaust - which I will do as well. I am just cringing to see what will happen in the winter when the condensate freezes. At least my contractor will have to look at it too - his wife and I are good friends and I see them most every weekend. The boiler will fit in a closet so I guess I will raise the back roof when I re-roof and put in that half bath that is already stubbed in and get the boiler to the back of the house in the attic. Now all I have to do is start saving up the money to do it. Good thing the roof will last a couple more years. Good thing I don't spend a lot of money on silly things like invasive plants! I looked at another list and it is on the likely to be invasive list not the already invasive list.
Yankee, I'm not up on that plant but I would not pull it out just because someone saw it as potentially invasive. First, they are still selling it in CT and there are plants they can't sell. Second, some people really overdo the invasive label, IMHO and in the opinion of some people I greatly respect. I have a cup plant which is on the invasive list and can no longer be sold. Strange thing is that I've seen exactly 2 cup plants in my life. How invasive is it?
When I walk through the woods I see scrawny burning bush plants all over. That is invasive (and still sold). Purple loosestrife all over the wetlands: invasive.
Dave
True Dave. I was talking from personal experience though. I had quite a bit of it and there are plenty of other nice options. Also, it's still small so pulling it won't leave a gaping hole in the garden that removing large plants would. But I agree with the 'mania' about invasives. I have some mature Barberries and Butterfly bushes. Though I would not plant them now, I can't bring myself to remove them. They are very mature and in some cases coordinated with surrounding plants. To boot, some of the Barberries have Clematis growing up them. It's not an easy call. I do pull all the volunteers. Japanese Maples seeds themselves everywhere also but I don't hear many people calling for their ban.
Victor - let the clematis choke out the barberrries ;)
We have a cup plant, it's more of a space bully - I do see it a lot in wetter areas.
They still sell buckthorn for some reason around here.
Yankee - I, too, would delete it. We had it running wild through our old pines when we first moved here and it's a menace. I thought we had pulled the last one but saw another one today that has to be removed.
I have a pair of beautiful golden yellow foliaged barberries. They have been contentedly growing in my shady side yard for years. I have never seen volunteer plants from these anywhere in my garden or at the neighbors. Believe me. The color is unique and if they were suddenly flourishing in the neighborhood, I would have seen this.
Perhaps they are not as prolific as the regular kinds? I know these two grow kind of slowly.
Martha
This message was edited Jun 3, 2007 9:02 PM
YankeeCat,
In my first years of gardening on my property, I planted a lot of things that became so invasive they were (and still are) a gardening nightmare. Twenty years later, I am still struggling to eradicate them... I wish someone had warned me not to plant them. I'd rather spend my time planting flowers!
I live near a Holly Reservation run by the Audubon Society. They do not work on the land at all, other than mowing a few paths, to leave things natural for wildlife. Porcelain Vine runs rampant (and unchecked) there- if you have ever seen Kudzu in the south, that's exactly what it looks like- it runs over and kills the small trees- they look like elephant topiaries from a distance.
Good luck, whatever you decide to do.
Cindy
Well, I checked it out and this one does seem to be truly invasive. I still wish they would seperate the true thugs from the annoying or even slightly ambitous plants.
Yankee cat,
Of all the native vines I've tried the native Honeysuckle, Lonicera sempervirens, has been the one I've been happiest with. I like the red flowered Blanche Sandman best but I also have the yellow flowered John Clayton. It attracts hummingbirds and also gets small berries that start green and turn red orange. The birds must eat them because they disappear. It does not reseed itself easily and I take cuttings if I want another plant. I usually trim it back in the spring to keep it in it's spot. The one cultivar I wasn't as happy with was Magnifica because it has a short blooming time and the flowers are much sparser. Both of the other 2 bloom all late spring to fall. They will even bloom in part shade in the spring but will not bloom all summer in the shadier spots. They can be hit by aphids but recover well if I just dislodge them with a spray of the hose.
This message was edited Jun 13, 2007 5:26 AM
Here is a photo of the fruits or berries of the lonicera sempervirens in early winter.
I found someone in Arizona who wants the plants - so I will send them off to get some sun. Before I put in honeysuckle - I have to check the invasive list - there are several honeysuckles on the list. Barberry is on the list and every where I look people are landscaping with barberry! I might just plant a giant sunflower on each side of the porch this year. This all happened because one of my two perennial hollyhocks died this winter. Thanks everybody for all the information and support. I'm now wondering if we should get Dave to post links to invasive lists for each state.
Dave47 - I bought the porcleain berries from an eBay vendor. They always have disclaimers on the auctions about invasive plants - now I know why.
This message was edited Jun 4, 2007 10:02 AM
Cat, it's not difficult to get that list. Just google CT invasive plants and you'll probably get it.
I know - I just thought it would be a good feature for Dave to add.
New England Wildflower Society website has an invasives list also.
Their site is: www.newfs.org
I am sure their list covers CT as well.
Martha