Hi, all:
This is my first post on DG, so y'all go easy on me!!
I bought four beautiful lythrum virgatum, "Morden's Pink," today at a local nursery. I have never grown them and didn't know much about them, just loved the look and thought I had a perfect spot for them. Unfortunately, now through some online research -- a little too late perhaps -- I'm discovering all kinds of bad things about this plant, its invasiveness, its being banned in some areas of the US b/c it destroys wetlands, etc. However, I did find one Dallas, Texas, nursery site that says it's a great perennial and hummingbird attractor for Texas. Yeah, I know. Gardening is a business for some folks.
Sooooooooo...........I guess my question is, has anyone grown this plant, esp in my area (Allen, Texas, 8a)? Can anyone advise as to any problems, successes, failures you've had with it? Should I go ahead and plant, or would this be a terrible no-no? Will some sort of Plant Police come and take me and/or my beautiful plants away? I'm feeling pretty guilt-ridden at the moment for my irresponsible behavior. I promise I'll research before I buy next time, which is my usual custom and practice...............
Thanks,
Stormy
Bought Loosestrife today. What have I done????
Stormy, I don't have any experience with this plant, don't know much about it, but some else will come along who does, surely.
Glad you posted! I know it's kind of scary at first, but you'll see that we really don't bite! :-) It's such a joy to share our love of gardening, explore new plants, and get great feedback from so many folks who are just like us - in love with gardening.
destroys wetlands...heck I need to go buy a few...*LOL* my entire back yard is a wetland! :) Welcome to DG's Stormy, hope you enjoy
Saint
Hello Stormi, is your plant called, Lythrum Salicaria? This is Purple loosestrife, and it is the type of Loosestrife that I have found listed as being an invasive plant, there may be others.
I looked on google, but may be I missed something.
If it is the purple that you have, I think that the only responsible way to grow it would be to cut the flower spikes off as soon as they finish blooming, and never let it set seed. Otherwise don't grow it. You don't want to contribute to a problem.
You can probably take those plants back to the nursery and exchange them for something else.
I almost bought this same plant, 2 days in a row, at different places. It's selling all over like there's no problem. ?? Morden's Pink was the name at both places too.
My "Southern Living Garden Book" says that Lythrum virgatum is a cousin of purple loosestrife, L. salicaria. It says the "Morden's Pink is a hybrid that is said to be sterile, but they may interbreed with L. salicaria growing in the wild and set seed. In some states, it is illegal to plant purple loosestrife and its variants-and doing so is unwise, even if legal, wherever plants have ample moisture and may escape into unmanaged areas."
"Escape"? Josephine you have the expertise so please correct me if I'm wrong, because I certainly have never put any thought into it, but I just would figure that in my yard it's not "escaping" anywhere. As far as I can tell too, there is no place around here that would be considered wetlands. I am pretty regular about deadheading stuff tho. Someone (can't remember if it was here or that other site) always said that the Pincushion flowers, Scabiosa, was invasive and the plants that came from seed were different and it should not be planted. It's sold all over and I have many of them. I deadhead them all the time tho and have never seen a baby.
Thanks to all who have replied and the encouragement! I knew I'd get good feedback. Although I've never posted, I've been a reader for a while now :)
This is not the purple loosestrife but, indeed, the Morden's Pink variety, lythrum virgatum. It's pink and just beautiful.
Konkreteblond, the information you provided is what I had been reading all morning while Googling away, which is why I freaked out a little bit. I thought the same thing, too, that we just aren't exactly overrun with wetlands around here, so maybe it would be okay to give it a whirl? That's a good one, Araness. My hubby has a VERY moist shaded garden plot, and he said the same thing!
I think I'll follow your advice, Frostweed, and just be diligent about cutting off the flower spikes after blooming.
Again, thanks for taking the time to respond, everybody!!
Hello Paige, they claim that birds and wind can carry seeds a long distance, and once they get a hold in the type of environment that is favorable to them, they become a problem by displacing the native plants, and eliminating the natural food sources for the local insects, birds, and small mammals, and in this case, clogging water ways.
However, if you remove the seedheads I don't see how they could escape, so I guess if you are vigilant, It might be o.k. It certainly is a lovely plant.
Ahhh, see Josephine, there's always something I don't think about, being fairly new to gardening. I forget that birds always seem to be able to find those little seeds that my eye can't see. I think I have them to thank for my new poison ivy vine too!
I am always learning different things thru gardening. I had never thought about this problem, seeds blowing and naturalizing in wetlands, clogging waterways. ...very interesting...
What happens if you eliminate "natural food sources" for local insects? hmmm....I guess the only comparison I can think of is something I know about, like if this plant were to take over milkweed then the Monarch cats would have no food!! :(
Something as simple as nandina can become a problem. It is often used by developers in new subdivisions, and birds carry the seeds far and wide. Reports of it crowding out native vegetation in the Hill Country have been in the newspaper.
Storm I don't know anything about plants...BUT I ask the DH who is an environmental Eng (did is masters project on marshland in the UK) and he said please don't do it. It took him about 5 minutes of research on the net about the plant and he gave a firm NO.
Well, I haven't planted them yet. Guess I'll be returning them today to exchange..........sniff, sniff..............
Just sent Stormy an email with the link for the Roundup this weekend!
I guess returning them would be the "responsible" thing to do. Not sure that I would have done it tho. I might have after keeping it in a pot for a while trying to justify keeping it. I've probably got many things that might not be appreciated somewhere else, but how would I know if the nursery doesn't tell me? Everything reseeds and the wind carries things where it wants to, as do the birds. I don't know how it's possible to contain things. Seems like that's just kind of something that is part of nature. Then again, I'm very "uneducated" in this area. If someone has any interesting reading, feel free to post links and I'll try to educate myself.
I am pretty good about buying only things I know about from the nurseries that are out of my town, so that I don't have to drive to return it.
I used to carry my Southern Living Garden Book with me. I am going to have to do that again because I passed up some things since I didn't know about them.
I planted one of these last year, then read about it and wondered too!! It didn't set a single seed all year, though it flowered continuously and it hasn't spread by stollon either. It overwintered dormant and has come back smaller than last year, but taller. I think it is truely a sterile variety.
Hope That Helps!
I lived in Indiana where loosestrife was a problem in wetlands. I grew morden's pink in my garden for 8 or 9 years during that time I think that I had two or three "volunteers" perhaps because of some interaction with a wild variety. It didn't grow wild in the part of the state that I lived in. It was a beautiful plant and in my garden far less invasive that rudbeckia, echinacea, obediant plant and several other plants that I had. I heard that it was banned because unscrupulous or unknowing people sold the wrong variety as Morden's Pink. I would plant it (and will if I can find it) and assume that it's Mordens if I don't get any reseeding in my garden. If I started to get volunteers I'd pull it all out. I confess that in northern Indiana I've seen places where loosestrife was taking over and it was breathtakingly beautiful..... but of course not worth it. Mordens Pink was...is...one of my favorite plants and would love to grow it again.
Linda
Oh, Stormy!! I hope you DID NOT return them?? I have this very plant. I planted it last year, in a corner of a front CONTAINED garden bed, where the soil is always wet. It's happy, it blooms, and it has not gone wild. There's nowhere FOR it to go! And, with being in hot TX, I really don't think it has the growing conditions that could make it take over the universe. I believe that's why our garden centers sell them--Darth Vader elsewhere, but just a plant here. =)
On the Indigenous Plants Forum, there was quite the hot debate, and yes, alot of the "irresponsible" bit......but, all in good humor, I don't think Osama is plotting with gardener's loosestrife.......lol
Morden's Pink is lovely, I enjoy mine, and I hope you kept & will enjoy yours.
=) MKJ in Trophy Club, north of Ft. Worth
Do you remember where you bought it? I'd love to find one! ;-)
Linda
Calloway's in Grapevine, Linda--you know, the manager there once told me that they'd be willing to try putting in orders for things I couldn't find in their greenhouse. Maybe you could check at your local Calloway's?
If you can't find it, and can recommend how I could divide & share mine, I'm willng!
=) MKJ
I got mine at Green Mamas North Richland Hills- on Davis just north of the Mall. They had loads again this year too - and they are a 'green' garden center so I would be very surprised if they sold the wrong sort.
Carol
Green Mama's.......yup, okus, they have good stuff! I spend too much $$ every time I go, but wow!
=) MKJ
Well, MKJ, I must confess. I compromised and returned two of the four that I had purchased. I live by the principle that if one is good, two must be better, if you know what I mean. That seems to be a common theme with gardeners :) Anyway, then I let the two I kept sit in their containers for a few more days while I pondered over what to do. In the end, I have planted them now. We'll see what happens. I really don't have them in an overly wet area of my garden. So who knows??? They may not make it anyway. They are looking pretty good right now, though.
Linda, I purchased mine at Puckett's here in Allen, which would be quite the drive for you from Granbury. I saw that North Haven Gardens in Dallas had them. And I saw an ad in Friday's paper, I believe, that Calloway's has them. Maybe that means that ALL of the Calloway's will carry them, then.
Thanks again to everyone who posted their feedback. It was fun and helpful. Some of you have really made me feel better about my decision. I just needed some gardening advocates, I suppose :)
Well, I got this plant last year and absolutely loved it, and still do. I heard it was invasive, but this spring only the 2 I purchased returned. Its already blooming and so far no "babies". It bloomed all summer until the first frost. So, enjoy and be glad its a new member of your kingdom. Carolyn
It sounds OK for zone 8, but here in 9b we pull about a ton out of the Lily Pond every year.