I have no experience with Elderberry. Anyone? Worse that Creeping Fig - Yes or No?

Anyone still fighting Spanish Shawl - Heterocentron elegans? That'd have to be a close second to CF.

Your creeping fig sounds pretty bad. If it's got fig/ficus in the name, I have no use for it whatsoever.

The bane of my existence is the neighbor's Cuban Laurel (ficus "something or the other that depends on who you talk to what the other word is") The original owner of the house planted this lovely, small shade tree in the late 70's.

It now spits pea sized "figs" 3-4 times a year for 2-3 weeks at a time. Nothing eats them. Sticky, stinky, litter completely covers the poolcage, the lawn, the planting beds. Have to wait for a dry day to rake and bag the little boogers. Drops leaves and twigs year round. Of course, it's now just two feet off the property line and wants to drape over our pool and house. Every 4-5 years, it's been hiring a tree trimmer to hack the thing back. The next trip will have to involve a crane that can reach from the street over our house to the tree (heck it's tall, 60 feet maybe?) to cut it back. Yes, a few of the fruits will sprout if not removed. Nothing like the carrotwood though.

We won't even get into the root system which is under around and through the house foundation and pool.

In addition, he's got a lovely ficus something or other "hedge" that I get to maintain, the length of the property line.

Just lovely plants for a small backyard.

Ahhhh Ricky, the brillance is in the simplicity I've been doing it all wrong guess this goes for bougenvillia as well

Katie (checking yellow pages for tree trimmers)

weedelia, spanish shawl, carrotwood trees are all tough to control and get rid of. Mimosa ground cover is impossible to control and killing it is trying my patience.

Mexican Petunias, sure they require little care, but maintaining them in their bed and keeping them from spreading is quite a challenge. Those suckers are tenacious to say the least.

Ricky I think I got it.....Not sure what it is called but it is a weed, at least in my yard it is....Its some type of vine thing and it has pickers....it is very fine and feathery looking and grows everywhere, sun or shade does not matter. It is also very hard to pull out and if you dare try its got the pickers.

A photo, trini, a photo! Show us the offending flora.

Asparagus fern...I had it over twelve years in my old house. I can only kill it by pouring gasoline on the roots, LOL..Worst plant in my opinion!!

Here's a pic I found on yahoo...

Here is a link that might be useful: Asparagus fern

A landscaper-friend of mine told me a story of one of his clients and a bet that he could eradicate a patch of Snake Plant in the client's yard.

He even guaranteed that if any grew back, he'd come get rid of it.

So he used his back hoe and dug it out and crushed and shredded anything that remained. Even extended the perimeters to be absolutely sure. And each time he was in the area of his client's yard, he discovered the bits of broken, shredded plants taking on life and regrowing.

He said it was 10 years of rechecking that yard and removing Snake Plant and it only ended because the client eventually died of old age.

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't make this up and I'm only tellin' it to see what ya think.

Susie

puglvr - I've never had a problem with Asparagus Fern. It doesn't spread, at least not in my garden. And on landscape jobs, it's succumbed to RoundUp easily.

Susie - Could be a true story as I've known nurseries that grow Snake Plants that way. But again, as with Asparagus Fern, it's not been tough to contain.

Dianella Lily aka Flax Lily...very invasive...

I almost forget, I took a tour of Hammock State Park in Highlands county last year and was told that many volunteers removed thousands of these, only to find them later growing all over the park again in no time...the seeds/berries between the birds eating and the seeds falling off and reseeding...its a never ending battle.

They're all over my neighbors yard, and they pop up all the time in mine...I try to pull them out as soon as I see them...they even grow in between the palmettos.

Ok got another one for you a favorite of "developers" here Macho Fern not dangerous but!!!!!!!!!! right up there with weigela and ruellia.

Katie

Katie - You want to get rid of Macho Fern? Just stop watering it. Yeah, it spreads but only as far as the irrigation. True, it is a favorite of the developers and gas station landscapers, but it is a hardy fern if you water it. I would think Boston Fern - a Florida native - would be the one you'd gripe about. I put in a couple of 1 gallon Boston Ferns ten years ago and they've spread to several areas of the garden. Fortunately, they're cropping up under the Crotons that have become leggy.

Listen folks, the prize for this contest is going to the person who actually deals with the worst plant, so tales of your neighbors, friends, and anyone else don't count. Heck, if they did, I could tell you horror stories of places I've seen that are almost as bad as my Creeping Fig, to say nothing of the Poison Ivy I dealt with for twelve years in New Jersey!

Ricky the Macho Fern is in my front yard under kids bedroom windows I swear I haven't watered it intentionaly in 2 years the spread when torn out was 4 feet and it's coming back making the armadillo who lived in it very happy I'am sure. Do they still sell Casaron? lol.

Katie

How do I compete in this contest?

I've got 13 yrs of poison ivy right here in my back yard! The builder buried the roots when they cleared the lot. I dig out 8,10,12 ft at a time. The vacant lot next door has it growing too, and the roots comes in under my fence. And the birds drop the berries and new seedling pop every year.
I've had roots come out from under my house even. Regular garden maintainance is poison ivy patrol.

Carrotwood. It seems everyone around here has carrotwood trees, and they are VERY INVASIVE! If you look under a mature carrotwood tree, you may see HUNDREDS of seedlings that have not grown due to being constantly cut by lawnmowers. One carrotwood tree creates thousands of seeds that are probably a little harder to germinate than an average bean. Some people like them pruned.

katkin - That puts you in the lead for this contest. Anyone who's fought PI for that long deserves a medal!

Virginia creeper grows everywhere around our house. The previous owner must have planted it. It grows over the windows, and the seeds grow even more virginia creepers, causing even more trouble. It is a perennial. We pick out pieces that are many, probably as much as 15 to 20 feet long. Virginia creeper has a very toxic chemical inside it, too, known as oxalic acid that could be potentially deadly. It will be one time, or so you think! The leaves come right back as it looses its leaves in mid to late winter.

Blackberry "vines" can be extremely hard to contain, also, as they are very invasive around here by setting seeds and/or dividing. Pretty soon, the vines will have spread out new plants as far as 20 feet, I would say. Soon after that, those numbers may double! The berries may attract animals, too! Blackberry vines get EVERYWHERE!

HMMMMMMMM...so far I vote for the poison ivy but only because if you just touch that stuff you get all itchy and gross feeling. NOt sure about the virginia creeper? do you have to ingest it for it to be harmful or is it like poison ivy and one touch you're done?

Butterfly Ginger: It smells heavenly and from a distance the flowers look okay but it lays down in a hard rain and won't get up again. I have to use rope to tie it up. It goes where it wants, even under your air conditioning or foundation. It's difficult to dig up, even though the roots are shallow, because the corms and roots are big, strong, and all connected. It laughs at Round Up. I've had bamboo that was easier to get rid of. You know how some women seem to be addicted to men who abuse them? I'm that way with plants. [Contest note: I think this should be limited to things we planted on purpose!]

After today's weeding session, I'd be more than happy to volunteer my lawn as a science experiment. Bring gloves! Besides the regular old weeds, we have inherited years of neglected 'wanderers': oyster plant (easy), elephant ear (easy), carrot wood (difficult, but slow growing), ferns (I have kind of given up on trying to control them), the neighbors' asparagus fern (ouchy), beautiful but rampant heliconia and ginger (hate the idea of pruning them back), and some type of oleander. There are a few sprigs of old fig and some berry-ridden gems from time to time as well. However, by the most challenging deliberately planted perenially painful plant to manage has been the purple Mexican petunia/ruellia. Thanks for the head's up - I will definitely NOT be planting a creeping fig!!

Virginia Creeper is not poisonous, but it certainly is invasive; not as bad as Poison Ivy and not as fast spreading as Creeping Fig, but a real problem in the garden. I'm going hold PI as the lead plant for now. This is really getting interesting, makes one wonder if asphalt and concrete are better choices for a piece of land than green stuff. Nah, just kidding.

Well, I know I won't be able to compete with you but I just want to express my frustration here...

Same as most of you I do want to get rid of my grass... but the HOA requires me to keep some amount of grass with St Augustine. Having said so...

My house is about 2 years old.. and I already am replacing the most with trees and other plants but this is my status:

The lawn in the back of the house in on a slope... starting only few months after we got it, the grass started to die and now I have only patches of grass and the rest is all kinds of weeds or just plain dirt... but being in a slope the dirt started to wash out... (I had to get a few bags of top soil to fill holes at the top of the slope already).. I know I need to buy something to keep soil in place but have not been able to find the proper plant for it.

The grass on the left side of the house has never grown tall or looked nice, basically when I mow it, it barely mow anything on that area.. Still dollar weed grows like crazy there..

The grass in front of the house, I think is the smallest section with grass (because I have a flower bed circle in the middle). I already had to replace section of it in fall last year.. and still it shows many patches of dead grass... It has Bermuda + crabgrass grass

The right side seems to be so far the only area (also small area) that had survived, it does have weeds but not many and now it started to decline as well...

I get PI almost every year and on at least 5 occasions have had to go to the Dr for treatment. There is a 50ft maple tree on the vacant lot next door that the PI reaches to the top. And there is nothing I can do about it. Legally, the owners of the lot do not have to maintain it. The birds eat the berries and deposit the seeds all over my garden. I can spot a PI seedling at a 100 ft.

I have rid my garden of Mex. putinas, blue ganges, Spanish shawl, asparagus fern, creeping fig, & sansiveria.

I can give you a whole list of plants! I'm laying claim to my parents garden since I maintained quite a bit of it while living with them and still help them with the maintenance since I live right next door.

The japanese honeysuckle that mom planted on the fence not long after we moved to florida around twenty years ago. She didn't realize at the time how invasive it is down here. We've tried cutting it off the fence, digging it up, and poisoning it to little effect. Finally last fall we completely excavated along the length of the fence to remove it there but we are still dealing with it where it took off through mom's azaleas in both the fron and back and across my lawn!

Chinese Wisteria that mom planted on the same fence as the honeysuckle. It took a few years to fully establish but once it did boy did it take off! We've finally been able to get it off the fence (the top rail of which now is very warped!) but not before it also spread to the azaleas.

Wedelia is another problem! It was given to us at a yard sale at least 10 years ago and at the time we had no idea what it was. It got planted under a oak tree in the front yard along the property line between mine and my parents yards. Since then it has completely filled the area, moved into the front azaleas which it now blankets, and well into the both of our lawns.

Wild blackberries that the birds brought in. They are also mixed into the front azaleas along with the wedelia, honeysuckle, and wisteria. Talk about a painful plant to try to remove! And now it's marching it's way across my front lawn! Pulling them only slows them down, same with poison.

The worst though is the swamp or skunk vine that was introduced to the garden in a batch of mulch the one and only time my parents got it from the dump! The stuff is horribly aggressive with huge root nodes that like to grow out of the root balls of bushes and clumps of ornamental grasses. It stinks when you pull it and the smell tends to cling to your hands for days. And the way it seeds! I am constantly patrolling my yard on the look out for seedlings that I pull immediately and then either put in the garbage or the burn pit. We've been battling the stuff for around 10 years now.

Lastly would be the florida betony that has taken over large sections of my parents lawn. It was originally introduced to the garden from a large clump of giant liriope that one of dad's coworkers gave him years ago. Turned out the thing was full of betony tubers and by the time we figured out what the weird weed that was taking over the garden was it was too late. It took us at least 5 years to finally get the stuff, which by that time we were affectionatly calling the Mutant Weed From He**!, out of the vegi garden and flower beds. It's still covering much of the lawn and periodically makes an attempt to move back into the garden! Anytime I divide a plant that's in a flower bed that's been exposed to the betony I'm very careful to examine the entire root ball for any evidence of betony tubers. There is no way that I'm importing the stuff into my own flower beds!

Kara

Kara - You sound like you're living in a garden of uncontrolable weeds! Have you tried a flame-thrower? Wow! That list is gonna be tough to beat.

If I didn't think that it would set the nearby woods on fire I would seriously consider a flame thrower! Since each of of us have a 3/4 acre lot and the worst of the problem plants are mostly limited to 2 large beds of azaleas we still have plenty of room to garden without getting too close to the worst of the invasive plants except for the swamp vine and betony. I truly doubt we will ever be completely rid of those two. With the azalea beds I want to cut all of the azaleas down to about a foot tall, rip out everything that doesn't belong in the area, and then poison what regrows. I wouldn't mind getting rid of the azaleas as well but mom keeps changing her mind about that. No matter what we do it will be a massive job!

I vote that katkin should win the contest since her problem plant has actually sent her to the doctor's for treatments. Mine are simply an never ending nusaince!

I agree any plant that is such a nuisance and can hurt you just by touch deserves to win.

Air Potato! I've been fighting it for years and it always creeps back from behind the fence and takes over! If the vine wasn't ugly enough, it drops loads of yucky potatoes that end up taking root or even better...rotting and stinking up the yard. Plus you have to worry the dogs will eat them (I'm assuming anything that nasty would also be poisonous)

Anybody else want in on this? Right now, I'll agree with Kara and TG that Katkin has suffered the most and is in the lead for the prize. I'll give this until Friday night, just in case.

It's amazing to note the number of invasive plants that we all deal with and yet continue to garden. Boo Rah!!!

Brazilian Pepper(Florida Holly). We've been fighting them for 21 years, on 1 1/4 acre.

Every year the lovely Robins eat berries from trees nearby and poop the seeds out in our yard.

This invasive is in every vacant lot out here, under all the telephone and power lines, at every fenceline. All brimming with bright red berries in winter.

Both my husband any I are allergic to them. Touching one causes a 4 week, red, oozing rash that itches like crazy. Treated by Doctors, it still means 4 weeks of misery.

To pull the seedlings, we glove up, to trim the ones in the lots next door, we wear biohazard suits. The debris cannot be burned, it all has to be cut up neatly and left on the berm for pickup. They are very hard to kill, coming right back from stumps that have been treated with treekillers.

I'll take Wedelia any day...

Lisa

Brazilian pepper is in the same family as poison ivy. :o) Don't we have fun!!!

Lisa that is horrible! Now I'm not sure who should win, you or Katkin. Both of you seem to have horrible reactions to plants in the poison ivy family.

I'm so happy that poison ivy is one thing that I don't react to. I can pull it up bare handed without a hint of rash. Now elephant ears on the other hand are pure torture for me which is why it will never be planted in my yard. If I get the sap of an elephant ear on bare skin it burns like I've dipped the skin in gasoline and then lit a match. Most types of grasses also cause me to break out into rashes but nothing as bad as you two have described. I'm happy to say that my allergy to grass is one I mostly grew out of. When I was a toddler I couldn't come in contact with grass without getting blisters from it. I'll take my allergies over your's any day!

I think allergy to any plant is painful. Hubby can't touch hibiscus and the spinach tree makes me break out immediately like I was bit by a 1000 fireants. A friend I know gets that reaction from the pencil tree sap. Oyster plants do the same thing to another friend. It's surprising what plants are harmful.

Mine is a bit different, but I believe it still qualifies. My roses take a tremendous amt. of maintenance. Yes I planted them. Yes I knew that they didn't like this climate and it was going to be a struggle. So I have 50 modern roses in my tiny yard. I spend approximately 4-6 hours a week spraying, feeding, weeding, buying more chemicals since the thrips adjusted to the last insecticide. Oh no, now there are Chili Thrips, Black Spot, Powdery Mildew. I can't water at night because it increases fungal disease. So I get up at 5 AM to do it before walking and work at 7:30 in Ft. Lauderdale. I can't use the sprinklers because they don't like their foliage to get wet. I can't buy the cheap ones at Home Depot. They must be on fortuniana rootstock or the root nematodes kill them. They are sprayed every week with a combo of three different products, are fed $20 vitamins every month. I chop yards of canes off because they grow so huge. I forever look like like I've been in a knife fight with all of the scratches. But here is my reward and I wouldn't want back a minute of the work.
Nancy
{{gwi:214238}}

Well Ricky did say a plant that requires maintenance and I think trying to keep something alive where it doesn't want to be may be a little more time consuming than pulling out dangerous weeds and also cost more money. I know to pull my asparagus fern out is a pain but other than that I don't pay it attention.

Ah yes Nancy. Your pictures take me back to when we lived in Carol City. In fact Roses are what sucked me into this gardening thing! There used to be a rose nursery in Opalocka (Duel Ernest)that sold every color of rose imaginable on fortuniana.I only had 25 and I remember the regimen. It was a full time job but as you say, the rewards are priceless.

Sago (alm pups leep popping up everywhere from the neighbors plants and I can not plant without having to dig them up. I also keeping fibdubg spabusg batibet suckers everywgere abd thet hurt wheb you step on them unknowingly. Linda

I bought a couple of roses from Duel Ernest early on. He really knew roses.

Nancy, your roses are lovely and if they make you happy they are worth the work. :o)

I didn't know that Brazilian Pepper can cause reactions! I'm glad that was mentioned, as I am allergic to poison ivy, so I may very well have a reaction to Brazilian Pepper, too. We have them everywhere down here. The vacant lots around here are teeming with them, and I have found what seem to be BP seedlings under my ficus.

But I don't know whether or not they'll be any harder to control than the Clerodendrum suckers!

Ok so who's the winner?

I've got a Red Pagoda Flower (Clerodendrum) that's great for the hummers but is likely one of my worst invasives judging by the previously mentioned suckers. But, it has been outdone by a passion vine in my yard. I believed it to be the native, Passiflora incarnata, but judging by its ability to spread underground I have to believe otherwise. It started out in one portion of my yard and quickly spread across the yard and then to the front yard and now to my neighbor's yards. It's great for the butterflies, Zebra Heliconias and Gulf Fritillaries, but I can't handle its taking over everywhere. Not to mention that the neighbors are not too happy that my vine has resulted in so much work on their part, removing it from their yards.

Katkin - Having suffered for 12 years with Poison Ivy in New Jersey, I can relate to your pain. Lisa - you take a close second with Brazilian Pepper Tree, but first place has to go to Katkin. I'd say congratulations, but it won't help get rid of your problem! Send me an email so I can forward your prize.

As for my Creeping Fig, I found a piece of it today in the back of the house, growing up the back side of a Majesty Palm. I have no idea how it got there unless the wind picked up a piece I'd trimmed in the front. [sigh] RoundUp tomorrow morning.

Very nice contest Ricky. Congrats Katkin and also Sorry :-)

Take this book on a plane?
Take this book on a cruise ship?
Stay tuned for Ricky's 3rd installment.
Take this book to the hospital!

Congrats Katkin (and Lisa).....now stop scratching.

Tiger lily. Leave no bulb behind.

Congrats Katkin, you've been through a lot, I can't imagine.
Nancy

Thanks Ricky and Nancy too. I have been weeding out 3 to 9 seedlings of poison ivy daily, in my lawn, in the flower beds and in the pots. There is no end to that stuff.

And to make matters worse, I killed 50 baby lubbers today!!!
:o(