oh thank you for reminding me what this is! i had a few come up last year, not knowing what they were i let them stay way beyond their welcome. gonna go pluck it out ASAP!

Yes, it's Vinca minor (the common Periwinkle), also called Creeping Myrtle. I have two forms: the variegated Vinca minor, 'Ralph Shugert' and the dark green leafed and deep blue flowering Vinca minor,'Bowles'. The variegated Ralph Shugert is very pretty. The leaves have creamy edges with reddish-purple flowers and really lights up dark, shadey areas. It is the kind most often added to flower baskets and window boxes for its trailing habit. The Bowles has larger leaves that are dark green. It clumps more and doesn't run amuk as much as the other varieties and stands up taller than the others too. Its flowers are deep blue or blue-violet. Don't be afraid to cut it back to the ground ocassionally. I give mine a "hair cut" with the weedeater at least twice a year. It comes back bushier and thicker and blooms better. Otherwise it gets too viney and is a tangled mass and then starts dropping its leaves & going bald. Very unsightly. A good haircut and you get many new flowers and handsome plants. I love mine. It is especially nice under conifers and other evergreen trees and trees where grass tends to not grow. It is great on slopes to prevent erosion and where you don't like to mow grass. I planted it all over the steep bank in front of my house outside the fence and down the bank to the road. It has filled in so wonderfully and I no longer have to mow it or weed it. It is very dramatic and elegant. I cut it back once or twice a year and that's it! The original variety was brought to America from Southern Europe by immigrants where it has since become wild. It can be invasive in moist areas. ~ Annie

It could take a year, or more, for the roots on many invasive plant species, such as Bishops Weed to die out. It can take that long even with "weed killers", especially with the plants that will shut off the flow of sap when the plant detects that a poison has been applied. One of the reason most of those "weed killers" do not work as well as the manufacturer attempts to make you believe so you spend money on their product and still have the "weed" problem. Some "weeds" produce lots of seeds as well as grow as biennuals or perennials while others protect the roots, where energy is stored for new growth, until the plant finds the sunlight it needs to photosynthesize the nutrients the plant needs to grow. Eliminating a plants access to light, which the plant needs to grow, is the best way to kill it, as well as the least expensive method.

Got some other responses and I think it's a West Indian Nightshade (Solanum ptycanthum dunal). The description - including size - and pictures match perfectly. Yep, it's considered a noxious weed, but so are some other plants used in wildlife gardening. Reports of toxicity are varied but all seem to agree that a considerable amount of the berries and/or plant itself would have to be consumed to cause serious harm. I don't have to worry about children accidentally eating any of the berries, my yard is fenced and locked, and since the plant doesn't grow very large, I may try starting a few from seed since the mockingbirds appear to love the berries. Everything I plant is for the birds or butterflies; had to get rid of the grape vines since the only things eating the grapes were possums and my dogs. After relocating a litter of 7 "teenage" possums and realizing I would never keep my dogs and the grapes apart (grapes and raisins are very toxic to dogs), I reluctantly had my vines relocated to someone else's yard. Thanks again - if I see any Chinaberrys, now I'll know what they look like! Gretchen