Its a good thing you got the "Florida Friendly" neutered type, I can't imagine how bad off your yard would be with the invasive kind.

Lou

I wish I could say I have this problem, but mine are relatively well-behaved. I'm sorry you are having trouble with them. I have the same problem with mother-of-millions and Bolivian wandering jew.

Teeheeee - I'm constantly fighting the same battle - I just keep them mowed to the ground.

I forgot to mention that this all actually started when I rented my house and my tenant planted the "UN-neutered" non-Florida friendly type. Then, I added to it with the Florida 'friendly' type. So, now, I have both types in my yard.

Not a 'mild' threat though. I planted it next to my baby-orange tree and it ended up competing with the Ruellia for all the nutrients -- and losing! I had to baby the tree back with fertilzer and dig up the ground to eradicate as much of the Ruellia as I could. And -- it's baaack!

How can it NOT die by spraying the leaves with RoundUp???...

Try cutting it to about 6 inches, then immediately spraying with Roundup while the cuts are wet so the chemicals get sucked back into the plant.

Also, spray twice - about 7-14 days apart.

Pulling and persistence is how I am getting rid of it (from the neighbors yard).

Good luck!

Thanks, Ladywingr....I will definitely try that approach, especially since you have had success with it yourself.

I have to be so very careful with the RoundUp because the Ruellia is planted in with things I don't want to kill.

It's quite a shame as it's a very pretty plant- blooms every day, butterflies love it. I'm sure there is a smart way to control it which allows you enjoy it. I have no idea what that would be!

Might be able to grow it like some of the bamboos - with a collar deep in the ground. You would have to keep it trimmed so the branches didn't root, but then, no blooms.

I really enjoyed it in the neighbor's yard :-)

I feel your pain. The family who built my house planted the invasive type in two different places. By the time I learned how nasty it is, it had spread and was crowding out nearly all of my other plants and taking over the lawn. An underground barrier can't stop it because it also spreads by seeds and by falling over and rooting from long stems. What seems to be working for me is to pull it out every time it shows its leaves above ground. It makes good mulch if you let it die completely and then grind it up in a chipper. I was afraid that the mulch would grow, but it hasn't. It's one weakness is water - it needs a lot. Try depriving it until it looks dead, then pull it out by its very long roots.

I will come over and help you pull out your ruellia if you will come over and help me with the wedelia I planted.

@Bill: I'll bring my flame-thrower! ;-)

@Timetraveler: ugh...I have both the invasive and the 'neutered'. One just is slower to invade.

I know what you mean about the water deprivation. The problem is as soon as water appears in that space, it pops right back up again, kind of like one of those dormant desert plants that seems dead until the rainy season.

Idiot that I am, I planted it (the invasive kind) ALL over my front yard. Freaking everywhere. I think I'm just going to have to RoundUp everything and re-boot my front lawn.
I had NO idea. Apparently, neither did HomeDepot and Lowes -- hence, no warning. They should not be able to sell this stuff with as little information as it contains on the label.

Oh, I thought it was a GREAT idea to plant it as an under-plant under my baby orange tree too! HAAA! I cannot seem to eradicate it now to save my life. It's literally grown into the roots of the tree.

The spreading roots are a fine, hair-width....then, they latch onto a spot underground that they like and plump up. So, when you dig it up, you pull a thick bulbous root similar to a bamboo or other. But, the spreading roots are fine, feathery roots.

So, it's very difficult to erradicate the entire system because you cannot see it. Am I pulling a grass root? Tree root? Other root? Or, is it the Demon Root? You cannot tell.

I put this in "What would you miss". They drive me out of my mind. I see them everywhere, under plants, in the tiniest bit of dirt. I may ask the neighbors if I can pay to take the trees down.

I dream about them!

CB

I have the same sentiments about Clerodendrum thomsoniae - Bleeding Heart. This vine is so invasive - beautiful, but it spreads it's roots out in runners and pops up everywhere now. I got it from Lowes, of course nothing on the tag indicating this problem.

I have sprayed pulled and burned.The most luck I had was after doing all that covering said plants with heavy cardboard and mulch.The problem is where the cardboard stops and starts out pops their head. And wedelia UGH Both of these were planted when I arrived here. May I say that japanese honeysuckle(did not plant it either) has behaved rather nicely compared to these two thugs!

Mom has the same problem with ruellia but at least it's only in one flower bed. The problem is that it migrated into their neighbors backyard and every time my parents think they're gotten it out of the flowerbed it just moves back in from next door! I'ts also worked it's way into a massive mexican sunflower from which there's no getting it back out.

Between the ruellia, the nutsedge, swamp vine, and florida betony any plant mom gives me now either gets planted in pots and quarenteened until I'm sure nothing else came with it or else the plant gets bare rooted with the roots rinsed out before being added to one of my flower beds. The one time I barerooted a plant without washing the roots I ended up with nutsedge in the front flowerbed!

We've actually managed to kill the wedelia growing between mine and my parents houses. Of course we did so by cutting down the large laurel oak it was growing under ( the tree was rotting from the inside out), removing the azaleas it was climbing in, and then ripping it out by hand and burning it. Also had to remove wild blackberries, camphor seedlings, and a small cherry laurel from the same area. Then the entire area was covered with heavy black plastic in the hopes of finally killing both the wedelia and blackberries. The wedelia looks to be dead but the blackberries seem to be trying to grow through the plastic!

CB, this seedling looks like Chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach) to me..

Are you sure that you are referring to Ruellia and not Wedelia. My Ruellia is a very well-behaved upright plant with pink or purple paper thin flowers. However, the Wedelia...well, let's just say that I need to murder it and can't! It is doing exactly as you say. I hate it!

Ugh, I have wedelia too. It's taking over the wooden bridge out back, but at least it outcompetes the Brazilian pepper which is also always trying to come back up. I had large trees here when I moved in, cut them down, and it's always trying to grow back from the roots. The wedelia smothers it though, so it's not all bad.

Oh yes...I planted wedelia too... I love it out in the "natural" areas....but I let it into a bed...and OMGosh...it's never going away..takes over everything UUGGHHHH :( I planted Ruellia too, but only where I wanted to spread in meadow like form...and it sure has taken it's time doing that...Oh and the seedling most definitely looks like a Golden Rain Tree to me.....they pop up where water puddles...they are invasive...but oh so pretty... :)

I've had a massive outbreak of Carolina Geranium which is driving me nuts. That and this lightgreen, creeping weed with little white flowers along with this green fleshy one with fern-like leaves and small purple flowers. .... bastards.