We inherited this from the gals who lived in our house before us. It's very invasive, and has a smell that I can't stand. Does anybody know what it is, and whether I can kill it?
What is this ground cover, and how do I kill it?
It looks like a chameleon plant, or what is known as Houttunynia. See here: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2164/
This plant is very invasive. Some people we know that are a couple of blocks from us put this plant in and it tried to take over their whole yard. She was fighting it for several years. This plant laughs at Round up from what I understand.
It only takes a small peice of root to be left in the ground for the plant to regenerate itself. This is why it took my neighbor so long to get rid of this plant.
I used to trade plants and seeds and the like, until one person who was trying to be a kind soul, sent me some plants as a bonus. This plant was one of the bonuses that she sent. When I looked up the plant online and found out how invasive it was, I immediately pulled it up from the ground and took a lot of surrounding soil with it. I then stopped trading plants as I was concerned that there would be the tiniest bit of root from this plant intermixed with what was being traded. I decided it just was not worth the risk. Perhaps I overreacted, but I felt that I did not want a potential problem as a result of some of the more invasive plants.
Best of luck to you on this. Let us know how you make out.
Carolyn
Ugggghhh! That's what it is. Any advice on how to get rid of it?
This my method of dealing with invasives.
Remove all wanted plants from bed, store in a temporary bed.
Cover bed with black plastic for several months to kill all under.
After removing plastic make sure to pull any remaining plants that show up.
I did this with aegepodium aka bishops weed several years ago.
Aline
That evil monster Hottunynia came with my house too. After 14 years of fighting a loosing battle, I finally got rid of it once and for all! I moved three states away! Now I am fighting another monster..Euphorbia Chameleon. It came with a division of Daisies from a friend(?). Just beware of well meaning friends bearing plant gifts!
Pgt, I pulled and pulled that stuff and it seemed the more I pulled, the more it grew. If at all possible, what Aline said is worth a try.
The only way I got rid of Bishop's Weed (another awful weed) was to sift through the dirt with my fingers to pull out every bit of root I could find. And I had to keep doing that for a few years. It finally began to diminish but it was a massive amount of work.
There is a Brush killer that I bought a Lowes that did a great job behind my chain link fence. It might be worth a try.
Thanks for the replies. I'm going to try digging as much of it out as I can - it'll probably take all summer, there's just so much. I'll dig again in the spring, and then spray whatever comes up with that Brush killer Smokey recommended. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll resort to the black plastic. At least I get to hang out outside with my hands in the dirt, and I'll get some exercise using my pitch fork.
Thanks again.
--Pam.
I have been fighting both of these plants for years. I can't move all so will just have to keep pulling!!!!!!!!
This message was edited May 28, 2010 11:19 PM
I have used roundup on some and it killed it but cn't hardly find any that is out by itself. It likes to come up in the flowers.
I keep taking some from my friend because she has it and it looks so pretty!! She controls it fine with Round Up. I read how invasive it is so I have tried it in my barrel planter. I have visions of the tri-color foliage draping over the side but it doesn't seem to like it there. Maybe if you try it in a container it gets mad?? LOL
Incidentally - I like the scent of hers - very citrussy. I have read that some can smell almost like tar though.
I know several people have mentioned Roundup, however, I have been using Spectracide's killer and have found it does a much better job and costs less.
Might be worth a try.
Thanks for all your responses! I've pulled most of it out by digging into the ground about 2 feet with a pitchfork, and attempting to remove all the roots. I still have a small area to work on, but I need a break from it. I'm going to have my chemicals ready for what ever comes back. I'm going to buy roundup, the spectracide stuff, and the brush killer, and rotate them each week. Hopefully, one of them (or the combination) will kill what comes back eventually. Thanks so much for all the advice. It looks like its going to be a long process. It helps to know that it's taken a few years for other people, so I won't get too discouraged when it keeps on popping up. I'm just going to keep at it. Thanks again. You guys are the best.