Everything I shouldn't have planted has been removed over the years but here's the list of evil plants:

Ficus tree - taken out by Hurricane Francis in 2004 and a bunch of guys with chain saws.
Spanish Shawl - never saw a more aggressive plant, it took 3 years to get it all out.
Queen Palms - the builder put in 6, we added 2. There are only 4 left. Way too much maintenance.
Sweet Acacia - Acacia faranesiana - Pretty tree, but it smells horrible and every seed germinates.

There were a handful other low growing shrubs and ground covers that were yanked out as well when they became unruly. I don't remember there names, but that's probably a good thing.

I did the same thing, planted that sweet potato vine in the ground and it took off. I dug out sweet potatoes as big as my head. It went under the fence and in the vacant lot, so I had to remove it from there as well. That was a couple of years ago and with constant watching I got rid of it. Now if I could just get rid of the poison ivy that comes from that lot I'd be a happy girl. I have had it 4 times this year at least.

I also gave a plant called blue ganges to GinniBee and it took over her garden. I got it out of my mine, but she still is dealing with it, I feel so bad.

Asparagus fern.

Pagoda Flower

eeewwww asparagus fern!! I didn't plant it but it was in a raised bed in a home I once lived in years ago in downtown Fort Myers. I could never get it all out. Roots like wiry veins everywhere and the plant was so dang prickly. There was no way to get rid of it all!! It laughed at Round Up!

Asparagus Fern!!! Had it in a planter but it escaped and is everywhere!

hi
I can honestly say that all but one of the weeds was planted with my own hands lol. 1.Widelia stole Aix inch sprig from the hospital.2 Bougainvillea Tried to eat the house was torn down by the hurricanes and is still surviving on Roundup lol3 Nephrolepis ferns .Thought they were pretty .4 Travellers palm .cost 600 bucks to have it removed .5 Brazilian holly. still coming up after 30 years !!6.Loquat sprouts everywhere!!!
And the one I did not plant Wild morning glory. .If I sit down to look at the fish it grabs me by the throat. I'm certain I have enough links to rewire the golden gate bridge. gary

The dreaded Sweet Potato vine indeed! I'm still messing with it up front. Just clear-cut the entire area.

Basket grass (Oplismenus hirtellus). I dug up a friend's entire lawn once and "planted" this beautiful green stuff by my koi pond. It looked GREAT - for about 3 months and then BANG wilted and died off (or so I thought). That was four years ago, I'm still finding it popping up all over the back. At least it comes up easily.

Finally...
All my mango trees - because they're soooo DELICIOUS (joke).

I can add my EX-Sago Palm

Piper arboreum var. giganteum. A royal pain in the a@$!!

katkin,
You should grow jewelweed for the poison ivy. I read it makes a very good treatment.
Jo

A customer brought me "Bleeding Heart" VINE! (NOT the bush I remembered from my Yankee childhood). I planted it and have regretted it ever since. The roots are so deep I'm sure they're anchored on the other side of the earth! I've vowed THIS will be the year of it's demise! cora

soooo...the sweet potato vine equals the sandspurs??? Oh my! There is the garden, see...faces East and gets sun from sunrise til oh...three o'clock, or so.. Never realized that when I dug the garden (it's a good 20 to 30' long x 10' wide...., that the sun would beat on the side of the concrete wall and bounce onto the plants. ...quite the furnace! Anyway..in an effort to 'ease' the heat behind three great rose bushes, I planted the sweet potato vine to act as a buffer.......that part seems to work fine.. but..it does grow like mad......I keep cutting it when it reaches over the roses, but...... it's growing 'stuff' underneath????? soooo.... do I rip it out and let the roses cook? or what would be an alternative? Maybe the roses would make it without a green vine against the house??

Mexican petunias, very invasive next to my stream.
Watercress in the stream, cloggs the flow of it.

Felix

spearmint, the one you find at the grocery stores I planted 5 hair thin sticks and now its all over my roses.

Beth, dig under that sweet potato and you will really find tuber potatoes underneath in HUGE proportions!! I first started pulling and cutting until one day when the soil was wet and I tugged and found these taters attached. Amazing thing!

can u guys eat the taters attached to the ornamental sweet potatoe?

You mean you can grow spearmint?
I've been trying to grow various mints for years, with no success. I don't think they like sand.

Whoever let the Ganges Primrose loose around here ought to be tied to the fence and let it strangle him.

well I grow the one that they sell at winn dixie or publix next to the rosemary and the other herbs by the produce section, its called spearmint, you just stick them in the ground and boom they grow like wild, and now my back neighbor has it invading her backyard.

uh-oh, I can't think of anything that I regret planting...

but then again, I suppose I haven't been at it long enough for the things that I have planted to show me their bad sides. Two solid years on this property, and everything is still well behaved.

I'll respond to this thread in another 5 years ;)

Boston Fern. I didn't plant it; the previous owners did. Danged wirey runners!

I brought home 3 sweet potatoes dug up from another's garden. I read somewhere they were good for the compost pile. Helped it get hot or something. Well they grew and the plants are growing in the compost pile and trying to escape thru the holes in the bin!
PS I am now putting 3 cute pots of asparagus fern in the garbage. They came with other plants in assorted container gardens from the box stores. Could I grow them on the patio or would they still make their escape?

A carrotwood tree. Charlie knocked it down but I'm still pulling up childrenl-grandchildren-greatgrandchildren. You get the idea.

What I find amusing about this thread is that some people's biggest regrets are things I've grown for years and love. I wouldn't be without Margarita sweet potato vine, for one. It runs through my coleus beds and just adds the most wonderful lime green to the mix. And I grow Blackie in hanging baskets, along with the tri-colored ones. And yes, you can eat the potatoes, but I wouldn't call them particularly flavorful, myself. The Margarita ones are almost white and rather bland.

I also grow Ruellia in every bed, but I'm careful to get the Florida Friendly NON-SEEDING, NON-INVASIVE one. They have yet to put out a single plant beyond those I bought and put in the ground myself, and it's been 3 years. So not all ruellia is invasive, and they add a lovely note to my gardens, blooming cheerfully.

My own personal "wish I never planted" monster is artillery fern!! OMG. I hate that stupid little plant. As pretty and cheerful as it looks, it just pops up everywhere, especially between the bricks in Mark's pathway. He purely hates for anything to grow in his bricks. (Won't let me even consider planting thyme or anything, darn it) So I'm pulling that blasted artillery fern all the time. (Can't think what it really is...I know it's not a true fern.)

Cassia invasive? I can't even get my two plants to grow themselves, let alone put out seedlings. They are alive, but languishing. I'd enjoy some seedlings, frankly. (Someday, maybe I'll regret wishing for that, but not yet.)

Corar, bleeding heart vine is a clerodendrum, and if you put it in the right place, it can be gorgeous. I've had them before, and have a small one right now I'm going to put on my fence somewhere. Cleros can be invasive, but not ALL of them are really bad. There are many varieties, and some are fairly easy to control. Then again...one man's poison (invasive) is another man's delight. I have a big, empty yard to fill, and I love plants that make MORE plants. Within reason, of course.

Marcia

Well my garden is only about a year old...but a couple of the very first things I bought are starting to show theor invasive qualities and they are invading my butterfly garden.....cuban buttercup and purple porterwedd.....I see babies popping up everywhere and while I love the plants where I originally placed them I do not want them all over my yard :-)

Asparagus fern, boston ferns also. They just keep creeping along and taking over everything, even as hard as I try to eradicate them.

FlowerLady

My wife loves lantana. Taking advantage of my novice gardener ignorance she had me plant some in a small garden area between the front door and the garage where I had planted bougainvillea, calliandra, and a few other things. Even after two assaults by my hedge clippers it is still, none to slowly, trying to eat the house. I'm considering murder - the lantana, not my wife. :)

Man, I'm so glad I started this thread: I'm learning a lot about what to avoid! If I see something labeled sweet potato or asparagus fern, count on me to run in the opposite direction! I LOVE this "voice of experience" advice you guys are coming up with - what else you got?

Native red sage. I bought two plants at the native plant nursery five years ago.Good for butterflies, so I put one in the front and one in the back. TWO plants! Now I have thousands. They're in the flower beds,the lawn, in my potted plants, popping up in the cracks in my sidewalk.
I bought a lobster claw heliconia at a church sale and put it in the ground (mistake) -- now I have hundreds, spreading on all sides of the bed where it's planted.
Cranberry hibiscus. It keeps coming back and is all around my compost pile.
Mexican petunias growing in the lawn -- along with the red salvia, very colorful.
I planted bleeding hearts against a trellis on either side of the house last year. Am I going to be sorry about that, as well?

Okay...now I'm worried about Ruellia. I just planted a bunch of it that I bought from HD. I didn't know it could be invasive?...

I "accidentally" planted something that seems to be taking over my yard now. I don't really even know what it is called. Baby tears or something? I 'was' a house plant and the pot died. I put it outside to repot and never did. I had "thought" that it would just die. Oh no. It thrived! I didn't mind it so much in my bed as it sorta looks like a ground cover, but it's showing up in wierd corners of my yard! I don't even know how it got there!

Stupid, old, ugly podacarpus in the front of my house planted by other owners. There were two on each side of my house trimmed into giant, round blobs. Absolutely hideous. I yanked out one with a chain and my friend's truck. I still have the other one...but not for long! heh! I'd love to replace with a weeping hibiscus or something else delicate.

Oh- sign me up for the asparagus fern as well. Again - planted by prior owners.

I bought many years ago a house plant: Bolivian Jew (AKA Turtle Vine (Callisia repens)). I did not actually plant this, but it crept through my screen, and into my yard and is now the NEMISIS of my weekends. I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent tediously trying to rid my yard of this horrible vine. I often see it at publix, or other stores, and want to put a note on it to destroy this plant! Obviously, I have some pent up anger issues with this little guy.

I second Mexican Petunia (I must have the invasive Ruellia), dwarf and reg. It's all over the place.

When I just moved, a real estate agent send me a packet of "baby's breath" with her card. I foolishly planted it. There is no corner of my yard that it has not invaded even now two years after I (thought I had) uprooted it all. Never again!

Snake's plants. Mother in law's tongue. Sansavaria, or however it is spelled. The tall leaves make carrot colored roots that spread and spread and spread, and are very hard to dig up and get rid of. Although they are pretty in a bed, they try to grow Out of the bed, and take over the world.

Saintpfl, if you planted Home Depot's Florida Friendly ruellia (the label actually says that), you do not have to worry. It is sterile, so it doesn't seed, and it does not spread all over via runners, either. I've had it 3 years in this house and several in my other house, and never got even ONE extra plant.

Karen, I would not give up planting sweet potato for anything, so don't decide too quickly whether it will work for you or not. Mine will fill out a bed nicely, but it pulls up easily when it goes too far. Yes, there are tubers, but I've never had them take over anything. I think it might depend on where you plant them, and how much room you want to give them. I just yank them up or cut them way back if they get too big. And they die back every winter, too. And they are stunning in baskets, where you CAN control them totally. They don't seed, so a planter is great for them, and they add such a blast of color!

Marcia

There are some things I wish my neighbor never planted! hehe. Let's see...I did the native red salvia and saw where that was going (everywhere) and managed to control it before it got out of hand. Ditto with evening primrose. I had Swedish Ivy that would take over and every so often I'd go in and pull out all that I saw and it would come back shortly. That is what I wanted it to do.
If I had stayed at my last house I might have come to regret the sunshine mimosa...or not.
I like the Sword Fern but I know it is agressive and will try to keep it out of the new yard.
I grew the sweet potato vine for one season and got rid of it (to plant something else in the bed) and never had a problem with it. I guess I didn't grow it long enough for it to make tubers.
I've tried to stay away from really aggressive things but for the most part I've been OK with what I've grown or nipped it in the bud early on.

Elderberry bushes! ONE came with the property, about 18 feet tall. Cut that and all suckers out.. pulled all small descendants... am now fighting a losing battle. Millions of little berries with seeds... long happily spreading roots that pop up constantly. I used to love elderberry jam.

Kalanchoe ( or so I believe it is called), the kind that grows wild on the beaches. It looks beautiful with coral colored flowerbells, but the leaves have tiny new plants on the edges. This plant took over my first yard.

How about Robolini(sp?) Palms. Sure it beautiful and all, but when it comes to trimming it, I get all these festering punctures.

The long sharp needles are definitely a pain, unless you are wealthy and have this work done by someone else.

i know the beach kalanchoe mother of thousands it looks pretty but means what the name says lol i was pulling it uo all over my yard

Tony - The solution to the Robelenii is a pole mounted frond cutter like this:

{{gwi:903169}}

Just hook the cutter onto the petiole as close to the trunk as possible and just yank the cord. You can drop fronds from 8' away.

Ricky,
I use huge leather welding gloves and the same tool as you. How about after they fall and need to be picked up and hauled to the curb? How about while carrying them, dont you get punctures in your hips and arms from the branches sticking out over the top of the can? And then when walking out to the curb (barefooted) to get the empty cans and stepping onto small chunks of these poison tipped organic hypodermic needles that missed the truck?

The answer sounds like 'book' material to me!

I am waiting to hear 'Karen does THAT part'

Man, you guys - that robelenii doohickey better be one drop-dead gorgeous dang palm variety! I'm glad I don't have that one, too much work!

Tony - Having trimmed them for years, I just grab the soft end, bare-handed, and carry them to the curb. If you want a challenge, try trimming Licuala spinosa. I have 3 clusters of them and only trim with leather gloves!

Tony K Orlando..

Why the sago palm? I thought those were very slow growing and a prized plant lol? just curious

We found some elephant ears sprouting up around the house one day, thought they were cute, and planted a few in strategic spots within a corner garden. Within no time they towered over all the other plants and had multiplied. We now have an elephant ear garden....and an elephant ear paver patio beside it!

Ahh Tony...I let Dennis trim my Robellini!

BRILLIANT!!

I have a love/hate relationship with that orange trumpet vine. Not sure of its real name. It sprouts up everywhere and when pulling it up you can find huge underground runners. But the Hummers love it and it makes my dead tree look pretty.

English Ivy it the other never planted wish and I don't like it at all.

Oyster plants. They just keep multiply, multiply and multiply. My husband developed allergic reactions so now I am the only one having to pull them out of the ground. Can't seem to get rid of them. Also Snow bush, very pretty to look at but they are very invasive. Popping out every where.

Roses!! Had I not gotten started and bitten by the rose bug my savings account would be much, much plumper.

Rosarama, I have tried and tried to grow Baby's Breath. It's gorgeous with those evil addictive roses. I've had zip for luck. This photo is obviously not mine but from the rose gallery forum.
http://65.18.154.219/digger.com/gallery/floras/yard061707cz1

Nancy

I have a love-hate relationship with my Macadamia Nut tree. I love the Macadamia nuts on it. The only thing is the darn squirrels eat them before they even ripen. Oh well, I guess I keep it there for the squirrels. I get hundreds of these nuts but none for myself