I am a huge fan of thyme; I must have 20 different kinds around, at least. There are two basic types. Some (e.g. Thymus vulgaris, T. mastichinus, T. capitatus) tend to form discreet little shrubs and don't run around. I get seedlings only rarely from those. Others are rhizomatous, creeping ground covers that will wander far and wide, as far as you let them, even to the point of climbing up shrubs (e.g., T. pseudolanuginosus varieties, T. thracicus, T. serpyllum). I also find seedlings of those from time to time. I also grow lots of kinds of oregano. Greek oregano does seed around and run a bit at the root, but not too badly. O. rotundifolium 'Kent Beauty' expands very slowly and I've never seen a seedling. The rest are somewhere in between these two. The only one I have banished because of over-the-top number of seedings and root-aggressiveness is Hopley's (Origanum laevigatum). The nice thing about oregano is that it is very drought tolerant and happy with whatever incidental water it happens to get and growing it on the dry side keeps it both healthy and less aggressive, I think. This post was edited by catspa on Thu, Jun 12, 14 at 13:01

About 10-12 years ago I, too, thought my suspiciously well-contained patch of peppermint had gone to the big garden in the sky. The next spring I realised he'd actually been busy travelling: under the patio and into the garden proper. We had a freakishly-warm, extended spell of nice weather that year and as a result I found myself mowing the yard in mid-March. As I was mowing around the raised beds I smelled mint, and when I took a better look discovered a brand new patch of it measuring about 6' x 3'. In a panic, I began ripping up the runners and this is how I ascertained the route he'd taken to set up his new digs. I immediately understood that resistance was futile, since there was no way in hell I was gonna be doin' any diggin' under that 12' x 8' concrete patio. From then on I mainly just kept an eagle eye on it and whenever mint would pop up in a path or a bed I'd yank it out. Oh, and the original patch that I thought was dead? Well, it wasn't.

I don't think Conium maculatum is native.Must have made it here as a stowaway. Can't imagine anyone bringing it here intentionally. I've been watching it's rapid spread in my local area the past few years. It even seems to be outpacing the alien, invasive Teasle,Dipsacus . I thought that some years ago the Illinois road commission planned on planting native wildflowers all along our highways. Don't know what happened, but all I see is Teasle and Poison Hemlock. I read that in England they are asking people to pull over, and pull out any Impatiens glandulifera plants they see. That's funny because I wanted to get seeds for that one for a long time. Wasn't too impressed with it's performance once I grew it. My I. glandulifera plant's never got anywhere near the twenty foot tall ones reported causing environmental havok in the U.K. I wouldn't be surprised if this plant is on some noxious weed lists over in the PNW ! All living things decended from the same one celled creature. No matter what species, and no matter what kingdom you are discussing it is still relative, and still on topic, albeit the far outskirts of topic.

I am back & want to thank you Alisa amd Rhizo for responding. Good points. I assumed that the brown marks were rust because I am on a north slope, in damp woods and wetlands and we'd had a wet spring. The year before I had noticed the same Dave on some ofy mint. Those areas only get about 5 to 6 hours of sunlight . I let the garden mint grow in sections of my garden. I use a lot of it. Had it all be pretty and neat, I would have traded bunches of it for credit at a local Southeast Asian market. Thinking that it was mint rust, and our town's burning season having passed, I considered buying one of those propane torches on a wand. Bit the price was prohibitive. So I opted to try a town dump swap shop (free) wallpaper steamer. I hooked the steamer up to a heavy duty extension cord and checked the wattage and amperage. OK. However, I had to go for a good distance. I knew the resistance might make the heavy duty extension cords heat up. It worked for about 50 minutes before melting the little plug on the steamer. Later on in the season, it seemed that the brown marks (?mold, rust?) was gone. But it might have just been due to the weather, OR to the brown dots being from the Four Lined Plant Bug all along. In July I bought a different spearmint plant and kept that in a window box with a new sage plant. I use most of the mint in Thai and Vietnamese cooking (salads, fresh rolls) and other foods such as tabouleh, spanikopita, or mojitos, iced tea, lemonade, pizza. Rhizo, how do I protect against the four lined bug? It looks like a cucumber or bean beetle -- maybe I've seen it. I don't do well in heat and always have back pain, so many days can pass between my trips to the garden. Alisa, I think I may burn that garden section next spring. I haven't any straw, but can use hot coals or fine something similar. I will try to remember to update this thread so that you will know. But, as Rhizo suggested, the brownarks could have been from the four line big. I will look for that insect next year. So, Alisa, cool -- you're in Singapore? Do you have mint rust? For what do you use the mint? BTW, I have some 'crispa' mint right next to the garden/common spearmint and that did not get infected or chomped on. The crisps is growing like crazy, but I am not as fond of the mouth feel (a bit fuzzy), and it seems a bit less aromatic. I believe it's used a lot in Morocco or ?______. In drinks? i have to go find my other comment a d photo about this be ause I asked what it was, only lasted to find out that it is 'crispa'. I took a lot of photos. Another thing - the crisps mint does not seem to get leggy or develop flower and seed heads. It has a soft, somewhat feathery appearance and with various shades of green - almost frosted looking. Very pretty. _________ crispa pretty, isn't it.