I'm a little nervous about starting, some new plants this year.I hear people talk about invasive plants.It's only invasive if its unwanted,correct? I've grown catmint and oregano and I'm glad it takes over the planet.Honestly,I like to experiment with different plants.However, I have some concerns with a few new additions this year.Would like to know what to expect from the following: Milk Thistle,Rue,Marshmallow,Soapwort,Cumin,Black Cumin, Caraway,Safflower,Russian Comfrey. Your Comments,Please
Scary Herbs
I've never grown anything you listed, except Rue. I don't find it invasive, and I like the color of the foliage when mixed with other plants...like anything with a bronze tint to it. I once had a nice (unplanned) section of Rue mixed with Chocolate Cosmos...and it was very pretty...when both were flowering.
I've never even seen a Cumin plant....interesting....nor the seed for that matter.
Are you starting the above list from seed or from nursery plants?
I should have clarified.All herbs are being started from seed.
I have read that old patches of soapwort will spread but not aggressively so... I haven't put mine in ground but keep in a big pot to get it established. No experience with the others. pod
I've grown all of your list at one time or another. Milk Thistle, Cumin, Black Cumin, Caraway and Safflower are all annuals in our climate. Black Cumin can reseed itself, but is not a problem. Marshmallow spreds by reseeding but isn't a problem for me. Rue is a beautiful plant, the foliage makes a great accent and I've found it can take quite a bit of shade as well as sun. I've had it reseed, but not prolifically. Russian comfrey is a lot like horseradish. Plant is where you want it permanently as you'll never be able to totally remove it. It will come back from root segments. It's large and forms a collony. It will reseed itself elsewhere. I usually cut it back before it can go to seed. Soapwort runs like mint. So if you want to contain it plant it in a large pot sunk in the ground. It's a beautiful plant and loves moist areas. I grow it by a pond and had it near a creek at our old house. There is a compact form of Soapwort, or Rock Soapwort - Saponaria ocymoides - that is really easy to grow and not invasive.
This message was edited Mar 21, 2007 10:07 AM
This message was edited Mar 21, 2007 10:08 AM
I've been growing milk thistle and comfrey for several years. The milk thistle appears randomly around my yard, whenever it feels like appearing, lol. I haven't re-seeded it, but early spring we always notice several clusters popping up...so I just try to dig it up and relocate it to a better spot. As for the comfrey, it's in a designated area & I was just marveling at how huge it is already this year...loaded with flowers and giant leaves...
Good luck with your garden!
~Kim
Keeping my comfrey in a pot. It's different from having them in the ground, but you can get familiar with them.
Everyone keeps warning me not to plant mint in my garden. Frankly, I like mint in the garden and I don't care where it goes or what it does. We have lots of dogs and I like it when they brush against it or walk on it. If it spreads like wildfire and fills up every bit of available space it's all right with me.
HORSETAIL, on the other hand, is one plant where I take the "invasive" warnings seriously. Partly because it is not something that horses can eat (ironic, huh?) and I do let my horses out on the lawns sometimes. If I decide to move some of that into the garden, it will be planted in a bottomless bucket in a restricted area and if I ever see the first signs that it is spreading elsewhere I will employ a scorched earth policy ag'in it.
It's all a matter of what you like and what you can live with, I guess....
Mints vary in how competative they get with other plants... I've noticed that 'Chocolate Peppermint' will choke out other plants, but the 'Kentucky Colonel' spearmint I have in the bed by my deck just doesn't seem to be a problem that way... maybe it's more shallow rooted or just a bit less vigorous. I had them growing in the same area once, and the peppermint definitely won out over the spearmint.
I would love to grow the KY Colonel spearmint, but I have a question. I read the Plant Files on some of the spearmints, and they said that parts of the plants are poisonous if ingested! The "Danger" section on KY Colonel says "Unknown--tell us". Can someone tell me? I find that scary for a plant used in food!
I can't imagine that any part of it is poisonous... but I don't know why that note would be by any of the other spearmints... perhaps spearmint seeds shouldn't be eaten?
I've been warned about invasive mint, too, but I also like it because it seems to support other plants well (really softens the look of the rose garden) -- I grow chocolate, pineapple, orange, variegated, peppermint, and spearmint all in my gardens and love them all. I pick them back avidly to give them shape (they aren't so pretty when leggy and the middles aren't growing for lack of light), but mint here for me in Texas is doing very well and is manageable.
I use mint in all kinds of food -- just had a basil, mint, rosemary, cottage cheese & french fried onion bit salad with just a touch of raspberry chipotle -- and wow, was that chocolate mint good with the spice of the chipotle and the touch of crunch in the onion bits.
I haven't grown any of the others you mention, edgeoftheworld. I wish I'd tried more of them!
I am growing the 'invasives' in chimney flue liners (bottomless pots). I have 6 mints, 3 oreganos, chives & garlic chives in the flues right now. I planted rue in the ground as it's an annual here.
ScotDeerie, your pot tower is fantastic, as are the plants in it!
grampapa~love the towers! What a great idea! Watch for seedlings with chives and garlic chives. I don't mind them, because they are easy to pull up and give away. They will sort of look like grass at first, but you will not be able to miss the garlicy smell!
I like bronze fennel. I hear it seeds about, too, but apparently not here.
I grow my mints in a barrel with other herbs. It's nice to have them on the back patio and close to the kitchen.
Have fun!
Bev
thanks, Bev. my beds are pretty well-mulched. I don't get any volunteers from any of my other perennials. if I do, I'll pull them out.
Also check if they are invasive in your area. Wormwood, caraway, common tansy, and the common St. John's wort are noxious weeds and prohibited to grow where I live so each area is different.
I love mints but do have them in half barrels and the one herb I find I have a problem with is Lemon balm - it seeds EVERYWHERE!
The rock soapwort (Saponaria ocymoides) is great but the bouncing bet (Saponaria officinalis) is also a noxious weed here.
Out of the plants you've listed, I'd say the soapwort is slowly invasive, (but still manageable) and comfrey just plain takes over. I'm doing my best to harvest as much of it's leaves as possible, now, and I keep Comfrey root on my trade list. I also cut off the flowering tops, as soon as the last lovely lavender bloom on them drops, out of regard for the bees, who love the flowers. What with all the bees disappearing and dying (colony collapse disorder), it seems the least I can do is leave them as many flowers as possible:)