How to eradicate houttuynia cordata (chameleon plant) What I did when Houttuynia cordata took over my garden beds. I was one of those unsuspecting persons who thought this was a lovely groundcover and brought a couple home. For a couple of years due to my job, I did not have much time as I would have liked to tend my garden. I did not know what this plant was going to do. When it was in bloom, the little white flowers seemed to add a sparkle to my landscaping. And then it happened. The penalty I paid for admiring this plant and letting it spread was that my beds ended up completely smothered and taken over by this plant. In my yard, the chameleon plant behaved like fairy sized kudzu. In July 2019 I began researching online and was thrown into a panic. The prospects did not look good for getting rid of it. I found out this plant is on the list of globally invasive problem plants. I was stressed. I am going to tell you what I did after reading everything I could uncover on the internet about trying to get rid of this plant. I have never knowingly put any chemicals in my yard. I do not like them and I do not want to harm any wildlife or the ecosystem. However, in this instance, seeing how aggressive this plant was and having read that it can even spread under a driveway, I made a personal decision to use Ortho Poison Ivy Spray. It was not a decision made lightly. I did not want this plant taking over anymore of my property, spreading to my neighbors’ yards, or escaping into the wild areas where I live. From July to early September, I carefully applied the spray. The container it comes in has a very narrow stream, so I was able to be careful and not lose any plants I didn’t want to. After this application during the hottest months in Memphis, TN, the offending plant began to look dead. But from my research I knew it is a zombie that would return come Spring. My next step was sheet mulching. My beds needed to be re-done anyway, so in my case, I just dug up plants that I absolutely needed to save and moved them and with a few – like my Baptisia that have long taproots and can’t be transplanted, I worked around. 1. In September my partner and I got a lot of cardboard. My source was behind stores like TJ Maxx. After they unpack clothing etc….they put all of the cardboard behind the retail establishments. The cardboard was clean. I removed any tape. I had purchased a large supply of landscape pins. I used the sheet mulching method. Heavy layer of cardboard, then wet it and had humus and triple milled hardwood mulch delivered and applied on top of the cardboard. The beds stayed like this until March when I began putting in new plants and shrubs. 2. Spring 2020. A silver lining to Covid Times, I worked from home through the Spring. This enabled me (with the help of my partner) to re-do my front garden beds and tend them everyday. After planting all of my new plants and shrubs and mulching with pine straw I checked every morning for any reappearing houttuynia leaves. Whenever one sprouts up, I zap it with poison Ivy spray. Yes, there have been a few that have popped up. I still do not like using poison. I am still getting rid of the plant, but honestly, so far the reemergence has been very easy to handle. Mostly because I have checked it everyday. I know I will have to keep on this, but I feel like I have it under control. I just hope I can continue to be vigilant next Spring when I will be at work. Meanwhile, my new landscaping is settling in. I planted a lot of natives, and my garden is humming with pollinators. Don’t give up.

Haha, I guess I was just being lazy with not writing out the varietal names! For lilies, I have unfortunately steered away from the wonderful orientals like 'Casa Blanca' since they tend to peter out in the local alkaline soil after a couple of seasons. I opted instead for the likes of Lilium regale and many of Judith Freeman's wonderful creations and offerings from The Lily Garden, including 'Silk Road'. In fact, I planted so many that I am having trouble recalling names without consulting my spreadsheet. As for roses, I did indeed plant 'Jude the Obscure'. It is my favorite Austin for fragrance. Others that I planted include 'Madame Plantier' (which produces probably my favorite of all rose fragrances), Rosa x centifolia 'Muscosa', 'Stanwell Perpetual', 'Nastarana', 'Spray Cecile Brunner', 'Marie Pavie' and 'Rose de Rescht'. I am looking forward to seeing how they settle in this year. Hmmm...I don't recall ever seeing mildew on Lonicera periclymenum. My favorite clone is 'Serotina' or 'Serotina Florida', since it has the prettiest blooms and tends to flower the longest. Some clones like 'Graham Thomas' look exciting in catalogues but then look anemic and sickly when you actually see them in person. With a plant like L. periclymenum that is naturally somewhat understated, I think it is best to choose the cultivars with the most "oomph." Ah, mock orange! I love them, but because of space constraints I will have to sacrifice them in my own garden. Instead, I will have to enjoy the perfume from the many wonderful specimens growing in other peoples' gardens throughout the city. Same with lilacs.

i can or could agree with you on some of the list, if you don't take care of your plants, i do have gold flame honeysuckle. i have it on an arch. every fall i clip it back to about 6" or so, and in the spring it comes right back up and just as beautiful as ever!! when we first bought our house, it had over a foot of dead vines under the live ones, i had to cut all that back, it was a real pain in the butt!!! now it looks great though, also on that arch is my orange trumpet vine for the hummers. and that one is very thick!! but it also has to be cut back. if you don't do this it all just dies for the next years growth anyhow. so i don't know why people wouldn't want to cut it back?? and severely!!! and the honeysuckle smells awesome!!! :') ~Medo

here are the top 5 tropical fruit trees i would like to successfully grow and try, not necessarily taste wise as they are so rare i have yet to try them, but would excite me to see all the names are linked to relevant articles Lodoicea maldivica Coco De Mar "Densuke" black Watermelon Levins Black Pomegranate (not sure if the pic is accurate) Musa Kluay Namwah Nuan Jan (they are the white ones) Garcinia mangostana Durio Dulcis