What's Your [Least] Favorite Invasive Plant

I'll start out - Ranunculus Repens - it's everywhere. The flowers are pretty; it's just that I have to rip it out from my beds 4 or 5 times a year in the summer and almost as often in the winter!!

Something that my neighbor, the professional garden planner, said I should pull out. She told me the name but of course I forgot. It has variegated green & white leaves and sends out runners and climbs shrubs. I have pulled out most of it and plan to get to the rest today. I think I'll be pulling out the stuff for years to come, but if I keep at it maybe it will get discouraged and go away!

Judy, From your description, sounds like it might be lamium. It is one of the things that I planted that I would take back if I could. Montbretia is another. Should never have let my Lady's Mantle go to seed....it is now everywhere. And zebra grass is really cool...if you plant it in a pot!

Ranunculus repens - 2 votes.
Dock - grrrhhhthp!
Dandelions - i rip the heads off after opening. Love the saturated yellow - hate the seed heads.

Himalayan blackberry.

I think I've exceeded the limit.
May I buy a vowel please?

Judi, some of the Lamiums are tame. Lamium 'Archangel' is not. Here's the little beauty:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&um=1&sa=1&q=lamium+archangel&aq=f&oq=

I don't know what it is called, but it is a kind of thistle that forms patches from underground runners. Very nasty stuff. Also, false dandelion, buttercup (the infamous Ranunculus repens), grass rhizomes, and of course the battalion of H. blackberry that is advancing from the south.

Ooh. I don't have that thistle. That doesn't sound fun . . .

Yes, Julie, it's lamium. Bad bad stuff. The previous owner of my house planted it, and I will get rid of it if it kills me!

I forgot the blackberry....that comes close to number one.

Judi, At least you have the previous owner to blame for the lamium...I only have myself to blame. Bad Bad move!

I really like the salmonberry less than the blackberry, even. If it likes where it is, it takes over and is just as hard to get out!

Geesh...forgot about the salmonberry too! Hate that stuff too...if you pull the right way, it comes out OK, but if you can't get the right angle, it is permanent! Funny how you block these things out, even if you were yanking them out just yesterday!

Humm. I put a patch of salmonberry in my yard. Great plant.

As to my bottom dwellers, I would say Equisetum, Herb Robert, Dandelions and that Pea that infests my yard or the larger clover that seems to run everywhere.

Seriously, Rob? It will spread, so be sure you mark the perimeter and check it every year. I don't think it's a bad shrub, but it does take over and it's a b_tch to get out once it's established.

Did anyone mention the large english ivy that is taking over the world?
Also mountain ash trees. Hate them completely (except for the pink one Holly just got) Seeds everywhere and each one sprouts. This tree just seems to drop trash all the time.

Linaria 'canon went'. Talk about 'reseeds'! I pull that plant out all the time.

I can understand Salmonberry being tough to remove. Especially when it has taken over an area. But mine is one single plant collected from the wild, and it is not running anywhere, but doing well on its own. I think that it is more shade than it should be, against the north side of a fence, so I luck out with no berries to spread the seed. I got it for the birds, as I am a nature freak, too.

Oh, and while I do not have any Hedera helix (english ivy) in my yard, I have chopped out big sections of the vines in conifers. I love to pry it loose and shake it tearing it off the tree even higher, seeing if I can get it off the poor tree. That stuff is all over urban forests, and I have a problem with it even being sold around here, it takes over so badly.

I no - it'll do just fine in shade. It just really likes water at its feet. Plese let me know if you want any more - I have all sizes, very healthy. I also have Indian Plum if you're looking for that. It's a nice native and is one of the first things out in the spring.

I inherited an ivy problem at one edge of my property and whack it back a little every year. But I confess that I'd have to devote a whole summer to it to get it back to where I had any hope of eradicating it.

My neighbor (not the garden designer, the one on the other side) has ailanthus trees, English ivy, and butterfly bushes. All invasive plants listed on the do-not-plant list from the Portland Environmental Agency. All the rest of the neighbors have tried to talk to her about it but she says she is right and all the experts are wrong. She and her sister live together and they are both a little, well, to put it nicely, f *!#!*!! crazy.

Bindweed, Blackberries and English Ivy....I detest these three!!!

Ditto bindweed.

Oh my goodness. If you look at the link to the left (clearly based on plants mentioned in the thread), there's a Ranunculus repens 'Buttered Popcorn' for sale at Bluestone. And it's sold out!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

I saw that! I couldn't believe my eyes!
Rob, you are soooo right about the English Ivy and having a righteous rage when dealing with it! When we moved into this house the entire back area and doug fir area was covered in the stuff. This whole area of lakewood, which is almost all large plots of at least 1/2 acre with forested areas, is covered in it. There were vines 6 inches thick growing up my doug firs. There is so much of it here that I'll always be pulling up seedlings from the seeds the birds eat. People don't realize that you have to keep that stuff from going vertical. Once it grows 'up' it starts flowering and then it's all over.

Hey Rob, weren't you the person interested last year in seeing a photo of the giant hogweed? I think I may have a couple growing. The last load of compost I got (from my local supplier who is organic certified, etc) I think had some weed seeds in it because suddenly I'm getting stuff I've never seen before, plus a couple of really big umbellifers I didn't plant. If you want a photo, I'll let them go until they begin to flower. I probably will anyway, because I'm the curious type.

I don't even know where in the immediate area English ivy is planted but i find seedlings in the bamboo (another potential problem!).... English Laurel serves a great purpose in on my property but it reseeds itself liberally. Thankfully I only have to pull the seedlings once a year. Don't forget the chameleon plant which I love but keep a weary eye on. In the book "The Botany of Desire" Michael Pollen says it is the plants that make us plant them.........on the same level as the bees. I for one am happy to have an excuse for my outta control behavior.

Linda, I love Michael Pollen's books.

Looks like we should all boycott Bluestone.

I really don't like plants or anything taking over the beauty of nature. Unless it is a nice spot, but most subdivisions don't rate in my book.

But I also like to see the odd, rare and bizarre. So my quest for a giant hogweed, and all the other weirdos. If I can grow them better. I look forward to your pictures, but beware the sap is quite nasty if you get it on you.

Blackberries, Scotch Broom, Foxglove (even though its pretty), Indian Onion, dandelions - peafowl love them though, tansy, mushrooms, moss, and the list goes on and on...... lol

There is something that seems to mimic some kind of pumpkin plant or something. Its a vine that climbs the trees, fences, anything it can find with sort of a orange or yellow bloom. Leaves are large & whole plant is sticky. Bout that time to go pull it off all the trees again. Seems to like the Alder & Firs. Any ideas what it is & how to permanently get rid of it?

Thanks!
Cheryl ~ Pea

I have heard there is some kudzu down in SW Washington, and the state is working to eradicate it before it gets too far...could it be Kudzu?

One good place to ID the nasty weeds of this state is the Noxious Weed List: http://www.nwcb.wa.gov/index.htm you can find plants and their ratings with recommendations for getting rid of them.

Peafowl, can you get pictures of the vine? I'm interested.

Rob, I think it was Growin' who said last year that they were also having some issues with Kudzu in Vancouver, BC.

Not Kudzu!! OOH NOOO! I was hoping that wouldn't make it past the mountains. Next it will be Japanese beetles. I shudder to think.

I'll keep an eye on the giant plant, Rob. It grows by leaps and bounds!

Sorry Katie, First camera issues (battery) then computer......

Here is a general pix of the vine itself. On chicken wire now, heading up the trees. It attaches itself much like a pea vine does, with a spiral wrapping around whatever it can.

A close up of the leaf with flower. I thought it got a bulb like growth with another flower along the vine. Don't remember for sure though, I tear it out before usually before now. Camera died before I looked much further. Didn't feel much like fighting the sticky leaves and blackberries growing below it....

Thanks!

Cheryl ~ Pea

This is interesting.

Peafowl... I've seen that vine around here too. I can't remember what it is called unfortunately. However, it's not Kudzu, which is a good thing!

I have all of these growing in or now at the edge of my garden: Scotch broom, english ivy, japanese knotweed, vinca major (growing uncontrolled for many years), black berries, Tansy, and i think that I'm missing one. I can't stand all of the above!!! However, I believe the one that would be at the top of my least favorite list would be..... drumroll please........ japanese knoteed!! however, followed very closely by english ivy!

Cheryl.... can you put your pictures up on the plant ID forum? It's driving me nuts that I can't remember it. lol.

The Kudzu reminds me of wild perennial morning glory.......another fun thing to pull off the chain link fence.

I've never seen that vine before. It's an attractive plant so I wonder if it started out in a garden somewhere.

I've recently heard of a wild clematis that is a garden thug in north Tacoma. Anyone ever heard of this before? My friend says she was told by a master gardener that what is growing out of control in her yard is a wild clematis. She describes the stems as having purple on each side. She is not a gardener so I couldn't get much more out of her than that.

I have seen this wild clematis! It was near the road ways when I took a trip through the blue mountains in north eastern oregon. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a clematis going nuts like that!!

What is the species? Do you know?

I think that i heard someone call it "old mans' beard", which is clematis vitalba. But, I'm not positive on that. But, it was definitely a nuisance to anybody who had a fence!

It is a nice plant, if you want it to take over. Lol Guess if I wanted it to cover the chicken wire it would be OK, except it keeps going - way up the trees!

I copied & pasted my post on plant ID.
Thanks!

Cheryl ~ Pea

Edited to say - do you think it is a form of wild Clematis?

This message was edited May 26, 2009 11:08 PM

Thanks Cheryl.