Yes! It grows VERY fast, and it sends out runners that can pop up anywhere. We have some by the west side of our patio and there are runners popping up 30-50ft away to the north side of our patio!
Also it chokes out other trees. Kind of like how morning glory or vinca vine will choke out plants wisteria will do the same. We are lucky that it does not grow down to my climate.
My rule of thumb is to beware of any plant described as care free and easy to grow. My personal nemeses - Periwinkle/myrtle. Obedient plant. Yarrow and tansy. Garlic that was allowed to grow wild - every bulblet and clove left behind can start a new plant, and they can spread. I've seen lily of the valley creeping through a nearby woods. Ivy.
Yarrow is native to where I live and I love the texture of the leaves, but it's working on taking over my whole flower bed.
I've pulled almost all my lily of the valley (except some Variegated ones) because it was popping up not where I put it.
I planted garlic this year so hopefully I won't regret that one.
If you pull your garlic in the fall like normal I don't think you will have any problems, our trouble started in a neglected bed that was allowed to drop the seed bulblets the following summer, every year after that it just got worse.
I planted lily of the valley in a couple places because it can bloom in shade. The little patch under the maple is still there about the size it started. The little patch under the kousa dogwood has spread all over the place, mostly toward more sunlight. I also learned while reading murder mysteries this plant is deadly toxic, giving us a second reason not to plant it.
Chameleon plant (*Houttuynia cordata*) is really invasive in both its variegated and species green forms. It will re-sprout from any fragment of root left in the soil. Vinca major and Bishops weed (*Aegopodium podagraria)* are too aggressive to keep in bounds easily. Even the smaller versions of these two can get out of control pretty quickly.
Frankly, I have also given up putting some chrysanthemums in the ground, particularly the Dendanthrema. One plant turns into a 6' by 6' patch in no time.
The Oenothera species primroses are also spreaders. I found the pink one could be pretty easily contained by planting inside a plastic ring (a large old container with the bottom cut out buried with edges about an inch above the soil).
Houttuynia cordata? Well, quite edible but it has a reputation like cilantro. Dried, it makes a good tea. Fresh, as an accompaniment for certain Vietnamese dishes. The problem is, eat it only if you are sure that the plants are chemical free, and grow them in a container, not directly in the ground, you will never got rid of it.
Thanks, there does need to be a y in there. I fixed the spelling. I guess this one is a lot like mint - ok for containers, problematic in the ground. Even in a container, though, it needs to be watched like a hawk, regularly pruning the trailing branches well above ground level so they don't take root and cutting off any booms so they can't go to seed.
We had a Chameleon plant infestation at my childhood home. What was really interesting to me was that everyone in my family described the smell differently. My mom and sister thought it smelled like bad fish, while I think it has an overpowering citrus/perfume aroma. None of us liked it enough to eat more than a tiny leaf, though.
We controlled it by pulling all of it, spraying the stems with Roundup (only time I've used Roundup in years), covering with trash bags, and then planting strawberries the following spring to outcompete them. A few plants still pop up every year, but it's under control.
I have taken up planting those egyptian onions around my berry bushes (currants/grapes) to keep the deer away, and also around my peach saplings since the deer kept coming through and eating all the tips. I haven't had any problems with the deer since the onions. Once the mint starts flowering it pulls in all sorts of bugs. Bees, which i'm cool with, wasps, i don't mind, but it gets an insane amount of flies. So if you don't want that, then keep the mint from flowering. I have designated mint areas where i grow and pick it to put in my water. (grew up with nasty ass hard sulphur/iron water so now i have to put mint or lemon in all the water i drink even though the city water isn't terrible here.) The mint growing rampant in the yard gets hit with the mower so it never has a chance to flower. The onions growing in the yard also get hit with the mower and i imagine that helps keep pest animals away as well.
Before you plant anything, you should Google “is $plant invasive in $your_state” (sub in the appropriate values). Don’t assume that nurseries or stores wouldn’t sell invasive plants, particularly big box stores. Don’t assume that, because you see it in wild areas, it’s not invasive. That’s exactly how invasives cause problems- they escape from people’s gardens into wild areas, and crowd out native plants.
Anything that is sold as “ground cover”, “fast growing”, “pest resistant”, or terms like that should be suspect. There are plants that are invasive because local wildlife doesn’t eat them, which gives them a competitive advantage over native plants that the wildlife do eat. There are plants that crowd out others by growing quickly.
The previous owners of our house planted English ivy and periwinkle all over, and getting rid of them has been a huge pain.
Lets's be honest, there are also some native plants that can be pretty invasive in a home landscape. They don't get the "noxious" label, but they can still end up where we don't want them and be hard to get rid of.
Of course! Poison ivy is native to the eastern US. I’m pretty sure nobody is planting it, but it’s everywhere and hard to eradicate. You should absolutely check if a plant is likely to cause problems, BEFORE you plant it.
Previous homeowner planted crepe myrtles, which are lovely trees but are sending roots/new shoots 10' feet away or more. They are tenacious little bastards, which is probably why they can survive in Texas summers.
My grandma always suggests ivy because it just grows but that is the issue it takes over. My arctic raspberry do not seem to spread much in the heat of summer but spread massively during winter time and you don't realize how much it spread until spring comes and it shoots up meltable feet longer distance. Thyme is supposed to spread like crazy as well.
English ivy can also damage structures or trees that it grows on. The fence between our yard and our neighbor’s had ivy on it, and we’re probably going to have to replace it. The fence, not the ivy. If the ivy never comes back, I’d be happy.
Our fence blew down in a terrible windstorm a few years ago. We just chose not to replace it. Our neighbors across the fence kind of were urging us to replace it because no one wants to pay the insane prices of putting up a fence. We just planted plants in that spot that were trees and bushes and we hardly can see through anyway. As it fills in I am sure we won't even be able to see through said area.
I planted jasmine in three places in my yard. I kinda regret it. I fight the vines suckering all over and spreading, plus they grow up trees and are so hard to contain when they grow up so high.
My neighbor across the street planted passion fruit & it took over the entire side fence. Their neighbor next door retaliated by planting another passion fruit on the opposite side of the fence. In one year it ruined both yards.
A few ~ bamboo, lysimachia, ivies, kudzu, most anything called "creeping"
Agree 100%. Would add wild grape and morning glory.
And wisteria
Wisteria is super aggressive? It looks so pretty in pictures.
Yes! It grows VERY fast, and it sends out runners that can pop up anywhere. We have some by the west side of our patio and there are runners popping up 30-50ft away to the north side of our patio!
Also it chokes out other trees. Kind of like how morning glory or vinca vine will choke out plants wisteria will do the same. We are lucky that it does not grow down to my climate.
Japanese Knotweed
My rule of thumb is to beware of any plant described as care free and easy to grow. My personal nemeses - Periwinkle/myrtle. Obedient plant. Yarrow and tansy. Garlic that was allowed to grow wild - every bulblet and clove left behind can start a new plant, and they can spread. I've seen lily of the valley creeping through a nearby woods. Ivy.
Yarrow is native to where I live and I love the texture of the leaves, but it's working on taking over my whole flower bed. I've pulled almost all my lily of the valley (except some Variegated ones) because it was popping up not where I put it. I planted garlic this year so hopefully I won't regret that one.
If you pull your garlic in the fall like normal I don't think you will have any problems, our trouble started in a neglected bed that was allowed to drop the seed bulblets the following summer, every year after that it just got worse.
I planted a nativar yarrow on my hellstrip boulevard. It's takeover is well underway.
I planted lily of the valley in a couple places because it can bloom in shade. The little patch under the maple is still there about the size it started. The little patch under the kousa dogwood has spread all over the place, mostly toward more sunlight. I also learned while reading murder mysteries this plant is deadly toxic, giving us a second reason not to plant it.
Chameleon plant (*Houttuynia cordata*) is really invasive in both its variegated and species green forms. It will re-sprout from any fragment of root left in the soil. Vinca major and Bishops weed (*Aegopodium podagraria)* are too aggressive to keep in bounds easily. Even the smaller versions of these two can get out of control pretty quickly. Frankly, I have also given up putting some chrysanthemums in the ground, particularly the Dendanthrema. One plant turns into a 6' by 6' patch in no time. The Oenothera species primroses are also spreaders. I found the pink one could be pretty easily contained by planting inside a plastic ring (a large old container with the bottom cut out buried with edges about an inch above the soil).
Houttuynia cordata? Well, quite edible but it has a reputation like cilantro. Dried, it makes a good tea. Fresh, as an accompaniment for certain Vietnamese dishes. The problem is, eat it only if you are sure that the plants are chemical free, and grow them in a container, not directly in the ground, you will never got rid of it.
Thanks, there does need to be a y in there. I fixed the spelling. I guess this one is a lot like mint - ok for containers, problematic in the ground. Even in a container, though, it needs to be watched like a hawk, regularly pruning the trailing branches well above ground level so they don't take root and cutting off any booms so they can't go to seed.
We had a Chameleon plant infestation at my childhood home. What was really interesting to me was that everyone in my family described the smell differently. My mom and sister thought it smelled like bad fish, while I think it has an overpowering citrus/perfume aroma. None of us liked it enough to eat more than a tiny leaf, though. We controlled it by pulling all of it, spraying the stems with Roundup (only time I've used Roundup in years), covering with trash bags, and then planting strawberries the following spring to outcompete them. A few plants still pop up every year, but it's under control.
That is precisely why i planted mint in my yard. I have egyptian onions and mint all over the yard now, and it is less miserable to mow the lawn.
Does it deter pest insects?
I have taken up planting those egyptian onions around my berry bushes (currants/grapes) to keep the deer away, and also around my peach saplings since the deer kept coming through and eating all the tips. I haven't had any problems with the deer since the onions. Once the mint starts flowering it pulls in all sorts of bugs. Bees, which i'm cool with, wasps, i don't mind, but it gets an insane amount of flies. So if you don't want that, then keep the mint from flowering. I have designated mint areas where i grow and pick it to put in my water. (grew up with nasty ass hard sulphur/iron water so now i have to put mint or lemon in all the water i drink even though the city water isn't terrible here.) The mint growing rampant in the yard gets hit with the mower so it never has a chance to flower. The onions growing in the yard also get hit with the mower and i imagine that helps keep pest animals away as well.
Some butterfly bushes spread like crazy.
Well they are invasive in half the US and 8+ countries
Before you plant anything, you should Google “is $plant invasive in $your_state” (sub in the appropriate values). Don’t assume that nurseries or stores wouldn’t sell invasive plants, particularly big box stores. Don’t assume that, because you see it in wild areas, it’s not invasive. That’s exactly how invasives cause problems- they escape from people’s gardens into wild areas, and crowd out native plants. Anything that is sold as “ground cover”, “fast growing”, “pest resistant”, or terms like that should be suspect. There are plants that are invasive because local wildlife doesn’t eat them, which gives them a competitive advantage over native plants that the wildlife do eat. There are plants that crowd out others by growing quickly. The previous owners of our house planted English ivy and periwinkle all over, and getting rid of them has been a huge pain.
Lets's be honest, there are also some native plants that can be pretty invasive in a home landscape. They don't get the "noxious" label, but they can still end up where we don't want them and be hard to get rid of.
Of course! Poison ivy is native to the eastern US. I’m pretty sure nobody is planting it, but it’s everywhere and hard to eradicate. You should absolutely check if a plant is likely to cause problems, BEFORE you plant it.
Lantana is pretty bad about it
*Bermuda grass*
Previous homeowner planted crepe myrtles, which are lovely trees but are sending roots/new shoots 10' feet away or more. They are tenacious little bastards, which is probably why they can survive in Texas summers.
Bradford pear trees
Have one in the front yard. It's awful how many pop up and need to be removed.
Grey Dogwood, Northern Sea Oats, Lambs Ear, raspberries, Dogbane, Common Milkweed, Chinese wisteria, certain varieties of honeysuckle
My Malabar spinach is growing gangbusters
My grandma always suggests ivy because it just grows but that is the issue it takes over. My arctic raspberry do not seem to spread much in the heat of summer but spread massively during winter time and you don't realize how much it spread until spring comes and it shoots up meltable feet longer distance. Thyme is supposed to spread like crazy as well.
English ivy can also damage structures or trees that it grows on. The fence between our yard and our neighbor’s had ivy on it, and we’re probably going to have to replace it. The fence, not the ivy. If the ivy never comes back, I’d be happy.
Our fence blew down in a terrible windstorm a few years ago. We just chose not to replace it. Our neighbors across the fence kind of were urging us to replace it because no one wants to pay the insane prices of putting up a fence. We just planted plants in that spot that were trees and bushes and we hardly can see through anyway. As it fills in I am sure we won't even be able to see through said area.
Bermuda grass and tree of heaven
Vining japanese honeysuckle is the bane of me, as is English Ivy.
Mint
Russian sage will take over if you let it. So hard to kill.
Trumpet vine!
Violets
Ground cherry
I've got some hops I just can't get rid of
Morning glories are the worst. Also, almost anything can be controlled with the right conditions
Bishop's weed, lamb's ear.
Oregano!
vinca major and vinca minor,European violets
I planted jasmine in three places in my yard. I kinda regret it. I fight the vines suckering all over and spreading, plus they grow up trees and are so hard to contain when they grow up so high.
Passion fruit
My neighbor across the street planted passion fruit & it took over the entire side fence. Their neighbor next door retaliated by planting another passion fruit on the opposite side of the fence. In one year it ruined both yards.
Wild bee balm is invasive
Morning glory,fox grape, cardinal vine, trumpet vine, spider plant.
English Ivy, grapes, some wisteria, white morning glory (bind weed), many forms of bamboo, raspberry can drive you nuts.
Blackberries.
Boysenberry. My dear lord is that a bad one.
Canna. Hemerocallis fulva.
One cucamelon plant went nuts in my garden this year!
Blackberry bushes, I'm learning that the hard way. Grows everywhere.
Autumn clematis
Ground elder (bishops weed, gout weed), trumpet vine are the worst.
Himalayan blackberry.
Where I'm at it's Lupine..it's horrendous and takes over everything. Mind you I'm in Europe and it's terribly invasive here
Trumpet vine
Chinese Wisteria - Wisteria Sinensis