bgrow, I have a tree issue too. No flowers to get invasive yet. Shortly after we finished our house, my husband and the neighbor decided to take down what I believe was a dogwood tree out back. This was the ONLY tree we had, I was so mad. But they didn't just take it down, they were playing w/ a bulldozer and just buried it where it once stood. Now I have all kinds of little tree/shrubs coming up all over. If I go w/o mowing for 2 weeks, I have about a 20x20ft section of mini bushes! And it keeps spreading!

You asked such a loaded question! It is very much dependent on sun/shade, wet/dry, sandy soil/clay and of course, the biggie--your climate.

Obedience isn't invasive for me--I've been encouraging it for 3 years now.

Goosneck loostrife was VERY invasive in the first spot I gave it so I moved it to the back corner with less sun and less compost dug in. It is battling the sundrops and both are winning. One blooms in June & the other in August.

Perilla was VERY invasive following the first year I planted it. It makes millions of seeds and they all sprout. Now I cut off the flowers before they completely go to seed. (I grow this more for the dark foliage than for the flowers.)

I have a very pretty variagated artemesia that would probably be invasive in the sun--so I purposely put it in dry shade to brighten a corner and keep it in check.

Wild orange day lilies (Pennsylvania ditch lilies) spread like wild fire. So they're in part shade and have a root barrier made from the scraps of furnace duct work.

The all-time winner is still the Maple trees. They drop seeds twice a year. I've counted as many as 50 sprouts in a square foot and this is a great year for them! By the time I get them all pulled they'll send me another litter.

I don't think I've ever let invasiveness stop me from growing a flower I like. I just find a spot where it's not quite as happy.

I had spearmint in my other garden a spot behind the garage, had it for years and it never was invasive; but I had it in part shade too. So I agree with hoehum on how happy it is, determines how much of a problem child you've got.

hoehum.
lol I know what you mean by the maple whirly birds, I see them hanging from my maple tree right now. Makes me want to go out with the shop vac and suck up as many as I can before they hit the ground.

I had a problem with obedient plant and mint and something called "Pagoda Plant" at our previous address. But here even weeds don't seem to do that well. I can't even get Bishop's Weed to thrive!

The Pagoda Plant was Clerodendrum paniculatum and that stuff spread like crazy all over the neighborhood. YIKES!

I'd vote for the gooseneck loosestrife. I had a few "purple" ones (that I understand are a problem in other parts of the country, but they were fine here, (didn't spread much) in my yard - - -so I bought a pretty "white" flowered one. OMG - - Great the first year, battled with it spreading by underground runners for 3 years. Would shoot out 6 - 8 ft from the mother plant. Wouldn't even die with the round up I resorted to -no kidding. I finally had to spend an entire weekend (18 hours or so?) digging all the runners out and being sure not to leave even a tiny little piece behind! Good Grief!

In my garden obediant plant spreads, but it is fairly easy to pull out early in the season. Cleome reseeds like crazy, but again easy to pull out. I have planted purple millet for 3 years now and never had one naturally reseed, so I wouldn't worry too much about that. But I did save seed last year and I am saving a few bucks by not having to buy the seed for this years babies again. I have some more seed left if anyone needs some. It's a great accent plant. Send me an email.

Nancy

Cirsium arvense (creeping thistle) - I just didn't know any better. It started to grow at alarming rate last year, so I ripped it out in a hurry, watched for spawn and ripped those out too - am fully expecting to battle it again this year, but I WILL ultimately win.

I'm fight my neighbor's purple deadnettle. If I ever catch this guy outside he's going to be sorry and disappear back into his house for the year. His weeds are taking over the neighborhood.

Karen

Malva keeps jumping all over the place, and the roots are hefty!

BUCKTHORN!!!! Then Creeping Charlie, Then that grass that grows by underground runners, archangel michael, obedient plant, oneothora primrose sundrops things - and all the other wild invaders like sheep sorrel, buttercups, thistle, burrs and nettels that the animals like to bring home- oh and ostrich ferns.
As far as reseeders- Perilla, snake root, asters, impatients, maple and ash trees, violets, rudbeckia, dianthus (yes!), campanula glomerata- ladybells, cherrybells -
And well- all of the suckering shrubs.....
Way too many for my yard......

I think it would be my hardy hibiscus...they reseed like mad--I don't mind a few, but a hundred is just too much.

Morning Glory here. I never planted them, they were here when we moved in. They do die back in the winter but I know there will be runners all over the place this summer trying to choke out the other things. I hope we got rid of this past winter by some hardscaping that we did but I won't be surprised if they show up again.

I have 1 Obedient and it has not shown an invasiveness. I wish it would spread a little - its a cutey.

not annual. Hhmm, haven't noticed anything yet since I don't have much. I suspect I'll have a different answer next year.

I did WS some Spearmint. Want it for sweet tea. I think I will container that one.

Chinese Lantern Plant (Physalis alkekengi) - My MIL and her sisters wanted some of this until I had them help rip out my patch of it. They pulled about half of it out and decided that they didn't want any for themselves after all.

Greater Celandine (Chelidonium majus) - Although it is easy to pull, it self-seeds like crazy and I can spend an entire day pulling up sprouts. It is very sneaky, spreading everywhere, sprouting at all times of the year, and blooming and going to seed before I even discover it in its new spot.

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) - Both are incredibly invasive and extremely painful to eradicate.

Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) - This isn't really that invasive here, but I don't like its nasty tendency to come with a side order of poison ivy.

All of our invasive perennials were here when we bought the place. Just goes to figure since this place was untended for about 4 years before we bought it... only the toughest plants were going to survive that kind of neglect.

I agree about the O-Plant; I got seeds from "Miss Manners" variety to try this year since others have had good luck (and gorgeous pics!) with it.
Mints I don't generally like the look of, but do like the Monardas, so planted Jacob Kline a couple days ago (more RED!!!)
Oenothera (sp?) currently sits in a spot in the back against the foundation since I learned of it's spreading habit, but now that I know it's easily controlled, I think I might find a good home for it where it can just be PRETTY (cuz it is very nice in bloom).

Not too much experience with invasives yet; it's a matter of personal preference with me; I happen to also LOVE Oswego Tea/Centaurea Montana, and Malva Fastigiata, and they can take up as much space as they like!

Gooseneck Loosestrief - UUUGGGHHHHH - working on year #4 of keeping it irradicated in the main gardens but it keeps popping up somewhere. It does have a place out in the woods tho

purple perilla - but I do love it as an accent plant and have learned to keep it topped - seedlings are not to hard to pull out

varigated vinca - again love it as an accent and just work hard to keep on top of it

common purple violets - It travels in my gardens and when done blooming I just dig out the entire plant - it will always pop up somewhere in the winter and give a nice spring show

there are many more - mainly re-seeders. Since my husband and I work extensively in the gardens everyday it is just a part of our garden maintenace to keep them under control. Every plant has a place somewhere in my gardens - some plants like children just need a little smack on the bottom to keep them in check :)

Lynne

TANSY - the plant from HELL.

Weeds.. I have this yellow flowered viola that is everywhere. It has broad leaves and a tuberous root. I keep pulling it out but it keeps multiplying. I guess i don't get it all. I can hear it laughing at me in the yard right now.
I don;t wna to use chemicals but if i must then so be it. I keep thinking if I cover it with enough leaf mulch it will disappear. I think it makes it grow more.
Any ideas as to how to get it out would be great.
UGH
Cherry

Trudi: Wow, I didn't know that hardy hibiscus did that. I have had one for years and have never had a volunteer one come up. I guess it's because mine was just planted in a hole dug in the middle of the lawn, not an actual flower bed. I guess maybe they do reseed back there but keep getting mowed down and shaded out by the grass, just like the bajillions of maple trees that result from the bajillions of whirlybirds.

The hardy hibiscus did WS well for me and I planted a couple more the same way as the first- in a hole in the middle of lawn. They do look so pretty like that and do very well.

Karen

Karen,

My hibiscus were grown from seed, not divisions or bought plants that might be particular hybrids with low seed viability. Also, I do try to maintain a habitat garden for birds and don't cut back the plants which produce seeds that birds are happy to eat in Winter. Birds are quite messy eaters, it seems like they knock out of the pods half of the seeds, and if those aren't eaten by other birds or critters they can germinate if they've been able to snug into the ground well enough for germination. I've got a good forty or so hibiscus that germinated in the ground last year which I must dig up this month. I'll pot them up and off they go to a charity plant sale.

Well than I'll never start those Mimosa bonus seed I recieved in trade!! I don't even think they are hardy here are they?
OK.....
I'll have to say as for trees, our Cherry is it. It seldom suckers but re-seeds like crazy...it partially hangs over a south facing bed. I've been yanking sprouted seeds for 2 weeks now and believe me it aint over! Then for flowering plants it would have to be my Catmint (Nepeta mussinii). I love the pretty thing, but it is a heavy reseeder and these too I am already getting after. Haven't found a way to harvest the seed yet without a gazillion falling LOL!

How about snow on the mountain? It is now out of the bed and poping up in the lawn. In addition I also have the gooseneck loosestreif but I love the look of it. They are all in a group like little soldiers, and they have not gotten out of the bed that I planted them in. In addition I have obiedent plant - I just move them out into the wild area to do their thing there. I don't allow them into the beds. They are not welcome there!!

The most invasive plant for me is Campsis Radicans. I didn't start my original one from seed but it does reseed quite freely and sends out runners everywhere. I've been trying to get rid of it for the past 8 years.
Karyn

About 15 years ago at another house, I had the brilliant idea of planting peppermint directly below an outside spigot. Whatever you're thinking right now, it was worse.

Another time, I let a Scotch thistle go to seed. Yes, I really did. I have no excuse for that.

I have obedient plant, black eyed susans and some daisies in the same bed. Waiting for them to duke it out, but so far everyone's polite as can be and staying put. So is the barberry. On the other hand, the yarrow has spread amazingly in just one year !!

Karyn1 I have to agree with you on the Campsis radican's... At my old place/ranch this flowering vine took over... Not only is it ancient. It has spread through an old valley oak tree and along 30 some odd feeet of 3 rail white horse fence to boot..I don't know exactly how old this particular plant is however I was there for 16 some odd years.. The trunk of this is at least averages from 4-6" in diameter and it is to the top of the valley oak and then some..This particular valley oak is at least 40 some odd years old and marture as well..It is easily 30-40+ feet tall. The combination is impressive and is a haven to all those loveing hummingbirds. They like it so much that they always ignored the feeder attempt's I would put out for them! I just left the whole mess of radican's alone because between it and the oak they appeared to have somewhat of a symbiotic relationship going. Why ruin a good thing?? It is spectacular to see that thing in bloom when it does. If I can I will attempt to post a pic later when it is in blooming condition..1st. orangie/red flowering oak tree I ever saw ;)! Of course we have a quite a bit of property so just let this particular plant go as it goes...All in all I know most folks don't have that kind of room so I don't blame em' for whacking it voraciously back! Yes they are really tough. For example from my personal experience my ex was sent some campsis radicans cuttings from the dreaded michigan bulb co.. they sat in a plastic bag for 3+ years in the living room of his house ( a true pack rat he never throw's out anything...) One day he just up and gave them to me.. Well I can't just let a plant die.. so what do I do with this invasive thing??? I potted it up in a 3 gallon tree container. That plant sent out tendrils that rooted up in my bark/plastic underlay. An attempt on the owner's part to make things look 'pretty' and weed free.. This vine just does not care. So I uprooted it and planted the 2 worst individual's off of momma plant into 1 gallon container's...I then moved it into some shade so they would not be quite so vigorous this year! Momma plant has not bloomed as of yet.. I'm still waiting on that she & her kidlet's however did survive the freeze's in CA this year as well and are comeing back up.. I am waiting to see what happens on this one maybe she needs to be pot bound before producing flower's??? I do move the pot's now and then just to be assured that they are not escaping into never, never, land!! I know I'm playing with fire here, however, I am not just the sort to kill vigorous plant's just because.. I'm thinking of replanting them back on the original property just for more hummer food. I won't pass them onto the next poor renter here that's for sure. I know they are rambunctious to say the least. At least whomever, I give them to will be warned in advance they need lot's of room to grow! And then some to be sure they will be warned that they are invasive to say the least!
That is just my 2 cents when it comes to campsis radican's..

I better mention the Sedum album! Arghhhhhh

This is a fasinating thread. Interesting that a few things I was planning to plant might become thugs. I won't be trying them now.
I have pleanty of thugs already and none are the polite dainty type that will be dispatched with the gentle stirring of a hoe. Probably the worst are honeysuckle and trumpet vine. Close behind them are Maples, cherries, mulberries, and privet. The place was a major jungle and I expect to be doing battle for years.

{{gwi:381540}}
This is an effort to get rid of the honeysuckle that has strangled a lot of nice pines. The man is using a bulldozer/backhoe after I gave up on hand tools and elbow grease.
It was not a pleasant site.

I have a few:
A fairly small clump of coreopsis. The first year it was only a rosette, but the second year it looked like it had trippled in size. Then the seeds came. The following year, I was ripping them out of the lawn and all over the bed. The seeds are extra viable. They are easy enough to rip out but sheesh. I have better things to do like fight back some sort of ageratum. It was only one plant but each spring, I have to go a huntin'. This stuff spreads...like a weed. It finds it's way all over and is resistant to round up (even in it's concentrated form). Runners creep all over the place. I can't get rid of it. But on the other had, it makes a great filler in the bed and has nice flowers thru fall. I eventually give in to this one but not until I have spent countless hours trying to rid myself of it. Wish me better luck this year. I want to use the space for something else.

Black Moudry Pennisetum. Thought it would be nice to have the look of full grass plumes all winter. It did, until the following spring when the wind and weight of the snow planted most of the seeds all over the place. Let me just say, when this grass gets hold, you can forget it. Not easy to pull up at all.

I've had Oenothera trying to reseed all over my garden. Keep pulling it out.

Also, the single white Datura acts like a perennial in my zone. It reseeded in the bed and then grew out into the lawn. I dug up the entire mother plant at the end of last year and heaved it into the trash can. Bet I'll still be pulling Datura seedlings out this season regardless!

well for me it has been of all things,varigated 4'oclocks.
when we first moved here i did an area of morning glories, 4'oclocks and moon flower. well for 7 or 8 years i have had 4'oclocks fighting me.easy to pull but constand babies pop up all summer.they reseed like crazy.last year i gave in and make a place just for them behind a ladder fence.solved my floppy plant problem, (thats why i didn't like them) and they filled it. i hope to do the same this year, but now that i like them they will probably go away.

my second were some mountain blues.Looks like a cross between bee blam and bachalors buttons.They took over before the end of thier second season.They were always full of dusty mildew.i sterlized the soil, took out alot of the soil and started fresh.no luck, so they were evicted.I hope they don't come back but i'm ready if they do!

Sweet woodruff. Although I rather like the little rosettes that come up in the lawn [g]. The stuff does want to take over the world, though.

Oh, and forget-me-nots. *Everywhere.*

I forgot to mention spiderwort and liatris. I leave them alone in the butterfly garden because the finches love the liatris when it goes to seed but I'm always ripping it out everywhere else. It's still not nearly as bad as the campsis radicans.
Karyn

Thanks for all the info about some of these plants.
The only two that I have had problems with is, spearmint and wild violets. (You know; the ones that grow on the edge of the woods with the little, pretty, blue flowers.)
My mother-in-law talked me into taking a small piece that was rooted. Didn't have any problems at first, but man, after that 2nd year, it was EVERYWHERE! It was even competing with the spearmint! Between the two of them, I have been pulling them up for the past 6 years, and it looks like they may win the battle.
So now, the plants that people warn me about being invasive; I put them in a big, very DEEP, black pot (the cheap kind). Place the pot into the ground; about 2/3rds down the hole, and put mulch all around it to hide the rest of the pot. So far; it has been working for 5 years now.
Still pulling up my two FAVORITE plants though. :-(

Don't even get me started...I could go on and on, and my stomach might start churning.

Maybe I'll be better able to talk about it some other day.

Sue

Cerise Queen Achillea (yarrow).We had 5 feet of snow and when it melted a few weeks ago, my mother plants were still green!! The babies come up pretty easy tho. I dig em up & give em away. Johnny jump ups are pretty prolific here too. I don't mind them tho. Purple loosestrife is a bad problem here too!

Chameleon Plant. There should be a bold red 'WARNING' stamp on those colorful catalog pics!

Totally agree with the Chameleon Plant - I received it at a plant swap and it will never be gone. Also yellow tansy, oregano and mint - especially chocolate mint. Many of the campanulas are invasive, but I like them so I deal with it.

Don't even get me started...I could go on and on, and my stomach might start churning.

Maybe I'll be better able to talk about it some other day.

Well, it is another day, and I have since been able to talk about it.

My horrid invasive is a bulb, that I inherited when I purchased the property. I finally explained it to the Yard Doctor, at the newly reopened Ask the Yard Doctor Forum.

I'm now waiting with bated breath for his answer.

Maybe someone here has experienced my frustration with this bulb, and can provide input in killing it off.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: My question for the Yard Doctor

I had/have mint from last year and can see where it can become a pain. After reading all these post I should probably do something about it this spring before it goes hog wild. The one that I had some trouble with last year was GAURA. I had 2 of these from 05 & one of them didn't make it over the winter but the one that did oh wow! The entire summer last year it was spreading, I had little babies everywhere, not enough that I couldn't keep it in check however I do spend a lot of time in my yard (2 or more hours a day). I didn't get rid of it last year so it will be interesting to see how bad it gets this summer.

Strouper

I have Lilac suckers coming up all around the tree. It appears to be quite an old tree, with one main trunk cut off at some point, but it is in great shape with lots of limey green leaves unfurling now. Maybe i should pot them up and pass them around.
deepti

I forgot about Star of Bethlehem - I got 2 little bulbs from a plant trade one spring. The next year there were 4-5 pockets of it growing in the flower bed. I thought it was a bit invasive but so cute, then I noticed my neighbors yard (the way the wind blows) - hundreds and hundreds of them everywhere in just 2 seasons!! I feel so bad unleashing that one on the neighborhood. From one plant trade I took home Star of Bethlehem, Spearmint Mint and Chameleon Plant - and the least problematic is the mint!

Sorry, just had to add one after my experience yesterday.

VINCA VINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to my mothers yesterday to dig up some climbing rose bushes. She planted 2 vinca plants oh a few years ago, they have taken over EVERYTHING!!! I found a poor daylily under the rose canes, dug it up to move it. The Vinca vine had completely entwined itself throughout the root system of the daylily! I have a ws jug marked Vinca, if it's the same thing, I SOO do not want it!! (I'm not sure if there is a Vinca plant and a Vinca vine, or are they the same?) Hopefully I will find someone who wants it.

Wish I could take some of that vinca vine (Vinca minor aka periwinkle) off your hands to plant on a shady bank before the weeds take over there. The annual vinca (Vinca major) ... now that's another category ... a well-behaved beauty that likes it hot and dry and blooms its little head off until frost.

I have to ditto the chameleon plant! I was trying in vain to think of the other name, Houttuynia cordata! What a horror! I shudder when I see this for sale. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who doesn't find it invasive...and awful! Also must include obedient plant, although I have two small pots waiting to be transplanted into my new Indiana garden in the hope that it won't be invasive here. Mistake?

Have had mint, monarda, obedient plant with little to no problems. Campanula punctata reseeds but cute so I remove most of it in spring and leave few clumps. Macleya cordata reseeds, easy to pull.
Bishop weed was planted because of my own stupidity- still trying to get rid of it but the bed full of bulbs and perennials so it is pretty hard to remove it completely.
Chameleon plant died on me- I wanted it to grow.
Petasites japonicus was speading last year with alarming speed- well, got killed this year during recent cold snap- barely found couple survivors and potted them up.
Got some running bamboo last year- it is marginally hardy for me...

play in dirt dirt- you gave me the seeds I sowed, I think it's the minor, right?(I have the packet around, just don't feel like looking right now) Will those spread like crazy?

For me, first plant in the list is the chameleon plant, though before I was able to plant it, I've googled it and learned that it is as an invasive plant, so to contain it, I planted it in small pots and placed it in my pond, there's no way they could send their runners underground..hehehe... next is creeping jenny, it multiplies FAST and of course, the dreaded morning glory.

I have some Vinca vine that I dug up and put under the pine tree where I wouldn't mind it going crazy. I just set the clump on top of the dirt under the tree (threw it there, actually). I ignored it all through last winter, and what was the first thing to bloom once it got a bit warm??

However, it hasn't come up in the old area since then. So I think it was sufficiently eradicated.

Catnip, catnip, catnip. It's everywhere. Some I dig out, others I just leave. My cats like it and the bees like it and it makes a good tea when I have a cold or need help getting to sleep. I figure the best way to control a plant is to eat it!

Linda

Linda

kek, I sent you seeds for Vinca major, annual vinca. It's not a vine and has never been invasive for me. The invasive one is the vine and some people call it periwinkle. The annual vinca (V. major) is an upright plant a foot or so tall and has never been invasive for me. It loves hot and dry and once it starts blooming, nothing stops it but frost.