Sue, I wish I had taken a picture while it was climbing and after I had pulled (what I hope to be the entire thing out).soeur has me really worried now after reading up on that wintercreeper. The link was great but how does it appear out of nowhere? The area where it was found used to be a field that was tilled surrounding a telephone pole. When I moved here about 7 years ago I planted it with 3 pryracantha closest to the pole, assorted azaels, crimson barberry, various jap holly etc. It has grown to be rather pretty and hides the pole unless you look up. I can't imagine this thing taking over the entire planting area but now, after reading up on it, I believe it could. Boy, I hope I got it all. I will ask our county forester when he's up my way again to take a look. I will check frequently to make sure it doesn't go wild again. I had so many scratches from the pyracantha, I felt like pulling them up too.

Catrionna, My property is exactly like yours! I feel like I live in AZ, and I don't. All the good soil is under the house! I have quite a large hill that is steep also. Full sun all day on most of it, terrible erosion during bad storms last year. I bought cheap ROCKS. Thank god for rocks and shredded mulch. Not regular mulch, no, shredded mulch. I still need more rocks, but I have to buy a litle at a time, it's too hot right now. Besides the mulch and rocks, I planted various kinds of ornamental grass, daylillies, sedum, ice plant, wintergreen little evergreen bush, (can't remember name now), yucca, (who loves the hill), librobe, ajuga, creeping jenny, and spirea, St. John's wort, vinca vine, (hates the sun, but still alive), and it worked! The erosion finally stopped. If you really don't care about having a garden there, Blue rug junipers are also a good choice, evergreen, but you have to mulch good and remember to water so they don't dry out. I have some of them too. Whatever you do, plant something. GOod Luck to you!

I've got Aegopodium (we call it Bishop's weed) and it's beautiful...if you like the woodland natural look. I grows on runners and does fill in and multiply...I'm zone 5. It all dies back in the winter. Within the last week, mine little plants have poked thru...and I've got 3 x's more than last year. I have them rambling around my iris bed right now, but plan to move them out to plant around trees near the woods. They do very well in the shade or sun. They are much more lush when the soil is moist and the sun isn't directly on them. I'll have them forever now, which is ok with me, because I've got lots of areas to plant. The variegated leaves catch the light just right as the sun goes down. They almost glow in the moonlight....and I'll have them "forever"....so, wintergreen may be a better choice for your area...lol Would anyone like to trade for some "Bishop's Weed"?

You sure are asking some excellant questions! Good for you. There are almost certainly generations of old and dead scale present on the plants. That's what happens with all scale species. But all those little white things are young male nymphs....which means that there's a whole bunch of activity going on, even though the small, dark females are harder to see. And active crawlers all but impossible. I clearly see large populations of females on the leaves as well as piled up along some of those stems. This scale species has two or three generations per year, explaining why they seem to explode so suddenly. The eggs are hidden under the dark exoskeletons of the females until they hatch and emerge as the tiny crawlers. It's that crawler stage where these scale are most vulnerable. They are difficult to see. Trying to wipe the scale from the upper and lower surfaces of the leaves as well as (and more importantly) from all the woody stems would be .......challenging, to say the least. But heavy pruning IS a good option. This species of scale may be heaviest on the stem. Rejuvenation pruning goes very well for these plants. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a commonly used systemic soil drench....imidacloprid is the active ingredient in a variety of commercial products. Call your LOCAL extension office for the best advice regarding the timing of these drenches. Perhaps someone will jump in with information about how well this chemical works on this particular pest. Neem oil is one of the commercial horticultural oils that can be effective. I'd use neem (folliw the directions on the label) until the end of summer followed by occasional winter applications of a plain hort. oil. If your compost pile gets very hot for long enough periods to kill the scale....fine. If not....send any clippings far away. Since you've got the 'fighting spirit ', I'd like to see you try! I'll gladly jump on the band wagon and help. I would just like for you to remain realistic in your expectations. Don't hesitate to email me.