Chinese Lanterns

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Sue_WA Seattle Burbs, WA(Zone 8b) May 15, 2003

Before my veggie garden was a veggie garden, it was a perennial bed. I had grown Chinese lanterns there. Today while digging, I kept digging up these plants with roots that looked like dense, orange clumps. Does anyone know what the root systems look like?

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Lenjo Mount Angel, OR(Zone 8a) May 15, 2003

Sue, I have a plant called Chinese Lanterns that almost becomes a weed, it has a big thick white root and it can grow pretty extensively too. It spreads underground kind of like quack grass. I have also seen in various plant catalogs a different cute little plant called Chinese lanterns that might grow from a bulb. Hopefully somebody knows a lot more than me. Good Luck.

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lupinelover Grove City, OH(Zone 6a) May 19, 2003

Oh, Sue, I am sorry to hear that you have Chinese Lanterns in one of your beds!!!!! This is one of the many plants that is almost impossible to get rid of. Yes, those are the roots that you have found. Leave a single speck of a single piece of root in the ground and it will sprout and grow... So tilling is simply a great way to make them grow even thicker than before.

I suggest doing something really radical that means giving up the bed for the year. If you have a weed plant that bad, about the only way I have found to eliminate it is to heat-treat the whole bed. I am not sure if it will work in WA, but my neighbor is resorting to it this year to try to eliminate her chinese lantern and gooseneck loosestrife. Pulling and sifting the soil last fall just made them sprout many more than ever this spring. E-mail me if you want help about how to do this. It does work great to eliminate fungal and bacterial disease, as well as eliminating weed problems, but it means giving up the garden for about 3 months.

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Sue_WA Seattle Burbs, WA(Zone 8b) May 19, 2003

Oh wow. You are right, found more today! I'm not sure about giving up the veggie garden this season though. Eveything is growing so nicely! By heat treating I'm thinking that I would have to cover the beds with plastic or something to heat it all up? Wow, maybe I will seriously consider it next season. A double edged sword. They will just continue to grow and invade until I do.........

Thanks Lupi! I appreciate your knowledge.

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