Plants You Can't Beat To Death With A Stick!

Just wanted to tell everyone I've enjoyed your post. They've had me chuckling this morning.

Peonies grow and flower in LA! 'Festiva Maxima' is one of the best. It even grows and flowers in central FL (zone 8).

And with y'all able to grow gardenias and jasmines, and passionflowers, and oleanders, and camellias... (do I sound jealous??) LOL

Uh-oh! We're going to have to check out that 'Festiva Maxima' peony. Now if they could only adapt 'Sorbet' to grow in Louisiana! (sigh)

Balsam, touch-me-not is incredibly hardy here in Minnesota. I pulled it all out because it was taking over and threw it in my compost pile..it keeps coming up in my garden and took root in my compost pile, which is actually a good place for it.I thought it was an annual but it returns every year. Most of the plants you warm weather guys mention as invaders are the "exotic" plants I could not grow in one summer. (but wish I could)..cj

LOL, I just spent half of the day chopping, cutting, pulling and otherwise rooting out the field daisies from around the floribunda roses and English roses (only 5 of them, but there were a LOT of daisies). So, anybody want a bouquet to bring back memories of the '60s????

there are, by the way, enough left so that if you decide to think about this for a bit, I'll still be able to supply you with some.

Hi Kaathleen. What is a field daisy? -- Jean

C'mon you zone 4's!
This has been a great thread! It reminds of the saying about weeds. Something about them being flowers except that it's not what we planted.
I have about 1/4 acre of bare backyard that I want to plant with something I don't have to mow every week. Any suggestions?

Rudbeckia and echenacia! Otherwise known as black-eyed susan and purple cone-flower. Both are very hardy, self-sow like crazy, and bring tons of birds to feast on the bounty every fall and winter. You can't kill them with a stick! I know -- I have tried!

Try some prairie grasses, too -- many are clump-formers, just cut them late summer before the seeds set, and they are well-behaved ornamentals. Plus, lots of dried grass flowers for arrangements all winter long.

More? Hemerocallus. The hated (by day lily lovers) tawny daylily that is by every road-side in America. It is sterile, and they have all spread by underground runner. Try to kill them? good luck! Absolutely no care required.

Jean, just big white daisies. They grow wild and will pop up in any place they can find. They seed readily and there are probably two little plants getting ready to bloom later for every one I pulled out today. I did save some for a bouquet.

Shuttlebunny, how many plants do you want me to send out??????

Kathleen, I have never grown daisies, but if I purposely planted them and nurtured them, I know for sure they would croak. But if you have any extra of those "invasive" daisies, I'd like to try starting a few. If you can, I'd be glad to cover the cost of postage and your packing materials. -- Jean

I was looking around my yard yesterday (when the rain finally stopped) and everything looks pretty good except for one plant. I can't believe I managed to kill a Louisiana Iris ...
and I'm IN Louisiana! The poor thing's leaves are yellow and lying on the ground. I don't know what happened!

Zulu?
Since they already listed the plants,
is buying the book worth it?

Zuluqueen, is it dead, or just going dormant?

I was reading about Louisiana Iris this weekend, and the only thing I remember reading that would kill them is lack of water (not a problem, lol) sun-scald (rhizome not covered with mulch and getting burned by the sun) and iris borers. Also, they want acid soil. 'Course, I'm no expert.

I'm thinking of growing more of these next year, which is why I was reading. Hate to hear you are having trouble. I was thinking it was a bullet-proof plant.

Let us know how it turns out.
Cheri'

Cheri'

It's been two weeks and I think my iris is offically dead! I'm scared to check the rhizome in case there's some sort of nasty critter in there muching on it. Don't know what happened but I'll definitely try another iris! Are they good for fall planting?

Mary Ann

Violabird, Sorry for the late reply. Yes, I think the book is still worth it. There are a lot of plants in the book not mentioned on the web site. Also, there's a lot of good information in the book about each plant including which cultivars are the toughest.

Zuluqueen, I think fall is when you are supposed to plant Louisiana Irises. You have to keep them watered tho, unless the tropical storms do it for you. =/

I'm not giving up on your iris yet.

from http://www.louisianairis.com/irises_in_gulf_states.htm#planting

In choosing location and coordinating planting with other ornamentals, consider that the growing season for the iris begins in September and extends through April. During this period the foliage will grow and turn an intense green and is in sharp contrast to the otherwise dormant growth of other plants. It is particularly pleasing during the winter months. During bloom season the colors will be magnificent. However, by mid-summer, the foliage will die back (this loss will depend upon the moisture in the beds), and the sight is not as pleasant. The foliage may be cut back or you might want to plant smaller ornamental plants to block this natural process.

Give it time, see if it comes back in the fall.

Cheri'

Thanks a lot Cheri'. I'm going to cut back the foliage and see what happens. I bought it in May after the bloom cycle so maybe that's why it looks sick. Thanks again!

Mary Ann

That could be it, it was already at the end of it's growing season. Hopefully, it's been developing strong roots in all the rain during June and the first two weeks of July.

Reading abut them, I'm thinking Louisiana Iris may be a good candidate for under this one oak tree that I have, that doesn't start leaving-up until April. It would be in full sun from November until April, filtered sun after that, lots of acidity (the azalea loves it) from the oak ... hmmmmm.

Cheri'

I've found two more hard-to-kill plants just by looking at my neighbors' yard. They have lantana and nandina planted on the side of their house and these plants have flourished through 2 years of drought and this year's monsoon without any special attention from them. Their yard guy cut them down low back in May but they've already bounced back.

I found another supposedly easy and hard-to-kill plant in one of my books. Clerodendrum (glory bower, cashmere bouquet) was recommended by the author, but when I checked the plant database it was described as an invasive weed! Do any of you have any experience with this? It's a beautful plant but I don't need a new headache!

For the north, one of my favorite-ladybells-adenophora confusa-not only is it hardy and nice for bouquets, but when done, you cut it back(or in my case yank out the spent stem) and get a fall bloom. I also love spiderwort-again, cut back after it's long bloom time and get a fall bloom. I started with a few plants and got hundreds, with crossing(?), I have different shades of purples, along with my white and Red Clouds; daylily "Kwanso" so very "common"-but one of the best doubles that I have found and so reliable.

Oh yeah.... I forgot about the Lantana! I bought a cute little mounded 1-gallon plant from Home Depot and planted it this past spring. The tag said that the plant would get about three feet high (I was still thinking "cute-neat-mounded-little").

It grew into a monster! I think the folks who give height estimates for those plant tags must mean if you grow them in Canada or something. For Louisiana, you have to double the height and width :)

What are you feeding that thing! I've never seen lantana get that big in my life!

I have 2 clerodendrum(glory bower). Mine are in pots though because I had read that too. lol I got my first little bitty start from tiG(she has one in the ground). I didn't have time to plant it out so I kept it in a shallow seed starting tray with some dirt thrown over the roots out on the front porch. Well, it did really well in those less than ideal conditions, and even produced it's own pup. So now I have 2 in pots. I'm going to keep it that way I think even though tiG says it was easy to control. :)

LSP I can't believe how huge that thing is, in one season. Wow.

Ain't it the truth tho, about height and width estimates. You have to read between the lines. I think South Louisiana and Florida should have their own plant information. ;-)
Plant tags should say

Full Sun. In Florida and South Louisiana Provide Afternoon Shade
Height 2 - 4 ft. In Florida and South Louisiana 5 - 8 ft.
Keep Soil Constantly Moist Do not allow to dry out. In Florida and South Louisiana provide well drained soil, water as usual.

lol. OK, it isn't really that bad.

Cheri'

LOL. Sundry, that IS true! I am glad that you and Zuluqueen confirmed my suspicion that the lantana was not "normal." As a kid, I always remember lantana growing around the yard somewhere, but never a wild, wooly bush like the one growing in my yard now.

It is growing through the chain-link fence and hanging over the neighbor's driveway. I offered to cut back the lantana, but my neighbor told me that his wife had threatened to kill him if he touched that shrub (she likes to see the flowers). Maybe she is throwing fertilizer on it?

And I recently purchased a Clerodendrum (Glory Bower or Cashmere Bouquet). Like ecobioangie, I planted it in a pot because I also had read that it spreads like a weed (but the flowers are so pretty).

Can't believe Yarrow and shasta daisies haven't been mentioned. My yarrow flourishes in hot Texas sun or total shade. I was surprised that not only the white, but the Cherry Queen is so hardy. However the yellow or red are not.

I've heard of people wanting Creeping Charlie. To me it is a weed and anyone who plants it will have the biggest mess you can imagine. This plant and White Clover are the two things that drive me nuts in Iowa.

I can't BELIEVE anyone would want Creeping Charlie. It is the bane of my existence. All over the lawn, always creeping, no make that galloping into my beds. I hate the stuff. I try to garden organically as much as possible. The only organic recommendation I have found is to pull it up by hand!!!????!!!! Whoever wrote that is either living in the desert or a mental institution.

BUt you see, some plants love cooler temps, more water, shorter summers, etc, so they are much less exuberant about life in a place like TX< FLA< or LA than up where Ya'll are!

Then there are the tropicals which grow like weeds in southernn climes/earmer temps, wetter/drier areas, but refuse to do anything in the north unless they are shamlessly babied.

Vive la difference!

Like here, we have wild sunflowers, and they ARE like weeds.
BUt in Fla, you have artillery fern, which is a cultivated succulents here, when you can get it!

At least this way every yeard everywhere is not identical!

Love this thread, please keep them coming!

So true Lavanda.

Sapronaria, aka soapwart. It is impossible to kill, well, I haven't sprayed it but have pulled and dug out a ton of it. It thrives on neglect. It spreads underground and probably makes seeds too, the flower is pale lavender, plant gets about 18 inches to 2 ft high, likes sun or shade, blooms when a lot of other things have finished, mine is blooming now.

This thread makes me chuckle, because most of the plants that everyone considers as weeds, in other places, we pay money to buy here in Louisiana (like 'Creeping Charlie'). LOL.

I like creeping charlie and artillery fern.

The regional differences with climate, soil, amount and intensity of sun, etc, make growing some things that are a problem elsewhere impossible in other places even with a lot of pampering. Azaleas for instance, I planted 4 of them and they were dying by inches when I gave the survivors away to a friend 300 miles away in a climate known for growing them. Ferns? no way. Humidity at 20% or less most of the year does not make them happy.

One more plant that I can't kill with a stick (or even find, for that matter) are my glad bulbs. A big clump is inhabiting my veggie garden, and digging to a depth of 12" hasn't found a single one! Of course, the way they lean, it looks like I often beat them with a stick *grin

My first post here. Great topic. here in Northern Vermont we have a really viscious ditch weed called Japanese Knotweed. When we moved to our house, it was all the way up to the windows, and the roots were growing through the fieldstones of our foundation. I pull it daily as part of my after work garden tour. I think I'm winning, but only through trememdous effort.

Also, BURDOCK!!!!! Our pastures are too wet and rocky to brush hog, and the burdock is epidemic. Still, it attracts great birds, so all's not lost.

And finally, goutweed, bishop's weed. Whatever you call it. I think it'll survive nuclear devastation.

You all crack me up!! I haven't found ANYTHING I couln't kill! Of course I too have the bare acre (5 is more like it) Come on guys send me something and then BET me I can't kill it. That's probably the only way it'll live!!;)

tiG that St john's Wort is absolutely beautiful!! I had no idea it flowered that profusly.

Tina

tmbolin, send me your address, and I'll send you some swamp iris ...

Cheri'