Experts: Some Plants Have No Business In Your Garden

Most gardeners don't set out to destroy habitat, they simply want to add a splash of color to their yard or plant a tree for shade.

[dabde47]

Can you help me control invasive bamboo that my neighbor planted about 6 yrs ago. It's been steadily creeping into our yard. My husband cuts it down as soon as we see one or pulls it out. We had bought Triox, which said it would kill off everything for a year. It did not. Round up Bush Control didn't work, regular Round up either. We are at a loss and both my husband and I have bad backs and can't be bending over constantly every time we take the dog out, yet we don't want to spend every penny of our retirement solving a problem that my neighbor created. What can we do? Thank you.

[Lisa]

Good update...
*the ivy as convenient as a ground cover, does become overwhelming...
*the butterfly bush would be hard to give up..not only for its beauty...it attracts hummingbirds and the praying mantis..

[Leah]

Lisa wrote:

Good update...
*the ivy as convenient as a ground cover, does become overwhelming...
*the butterfly bush would be hard to give up..not only for its beauty...it attracts hummingbirds and the praying mantis..

Hey Lisa -- native alternatives to English Ivy for groundcover are wild ginger (Asarum canadense), lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina), foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia), partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) and evergreen wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis or intermedia).

Native plants are major wildlife magnets. If you're looking for a native alternative to butterfly bush, try butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), blazing star (Liatris spicata) or New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

[Leah]

dabde47 wrote:

Can you help me control invasive bamboo that my neighbor planted about 6 yrs ago. It's been steadily creeping into our yard. My husband cuts it down as soon as we see one or pulls it out. We had bought Triox, which said it would kill off everything for a year. It did not. Round up Bush Control didn't work, regular Round up either. We are at a loss and both my husband and I have bad backs and can't be bending over constantly every time we take the dog out, yet we don't want to spend every penny of our retirement solving a problem that my neighbor created. What can we do? Thank you.

The following was posted on the American Bamboo Society's Web site:

Q. My bamboo is growing where I don’t want it. What can I do?

The long answer, with more information, is here, thanks toGeorge Shor, Southern California Chapter.

If bamboo has been planted without root barrier and is now growing where you don’t want it, you have several choices. The choices all start out with digging a trench about 3 feet deep around the area where you want the bamboo to grow. You can then install root barrier, pour concrete at least three inches thick or fill the trench with loose gravel. You can rent trench digging machines at equipment rental stores. Root barrier is available from larger nurseries. It comes in very long rolls, should be at least 0.040 inch thick and about three feet high. Expect it to cost between $1 and $2 per foot. If you choose root barrier or concrete, you should leave an inch or two above ground level to make it easier to find the roots that try to escape over the top of the barrier. If you choose the loose rock fill, you will have to use a sharp spade at the beginning of every growing season to cut down into the trench and sever any new roots that try to cross the trench.

Rhizomes that have already extended outside their area can be dug up. If that isn’t practical, continue to knock over all new shoots you see for the next few seasons, once the rhizomes are severed from the main plant, and the rhizomes will eventually die.

Sometimes a local grower will be interested in digging it up if it is something a little unusual. You may be able to find a local grower by asking a nursery where they get theirs or from the ABS Species Source List, which has a section on bamboo suppliers across the country. He or she can give you more specific information about containing it further.

[NBC10_Leah]

dabde47 wrote:

Can you help me control invasive bamboo that my neighbor planted about 6 yrs ago. It's been steadily creeping into our yard. My husband cuts it down as soon as we see one or pulls it out. We had bought Triox, which said it would kill off everything for a year. It did not. Round up Bush Control didn't work, regular Round up either. We are at a loss and both my husband and I have bad backs and can't be bending over constantly every time we take the dog out, yet we don't want to spend every penny of our retirement solving a problem that my neighbor created. What can we do? Thank you.

This was posted on American Bamboo Society's Web site:(http://www.americanbambo o.org/FAQ.html)

Q. My bamboo is growing where I don’t want it. What can I do?

The long answer, with more information, is here, thanks toGeorge Shor, Southern California Chapter.

If bamboo has been planted without root barrier and is now growing where you don’t want it, you have several choices. The choices all start out with digging a trench about 3 feet deep around the area where you want the bamboo to grow. You can then install root barrier, pour concrete at least three inches thick or fill the trench with loose gravel. You can rent trench digging machines at equipment rental stores. Root barrier is available from larger nurseries. It comes in very long rolls, should be at least 0.040 inch thick and about three feet high. Expect it to cost between $1 and $2 per foot. If you choose root barrier or concrete, you should leave an inch or two above ground level to make it easier to find the roots that try to escape over the top of the barrier. If you choose the loose rock fill, you will have to use a sharp spade at the beginning of every growing season to cut down into the trench and sever any new roots that try to cross the trench.

Rhizomes that have already extended outside their area can be dug up. If that isn’t practical, continue to knock over all new shoots you see for the next few seasons, once the rhizomes are severed from the main plant, and the rhizomes will eventually die.

Sometimes a local grower will be interested in digging it up if it is something a little unusual. You may be able to find a local grower by asking a nursery where they get theirs or from the ABS Species Source List, which has a section on bamboo suppliers across the country. He or she can give you more specific information about containing it further.

[mariar56]

I love these articles. They inform many in a concise way which is so necessary, but with links so you can access more info. Keep up the good work.
One thing I will have to say though is that, 25 years ago, when I first started gardening and knew nothing, much of the stuff I bought was mislabeled. I don't think intentionally, but some of the things I bought as "perennials" were nothing but annoying, invasive weeds!

[PattiAnn Cutter]

Excellent article! VERY informative! Thank you for helping to spread this very important information!

Silver Lake Nature Center will be holding a Native Plant Sale on May 3rd from 10am to 4pm. Come out to learn more about Native Plants and to purchase some for your garden.

Thank you,
PattiAnn Cutter
Silver Lake Nature Center
www.silverlakenaturecenter.org

[PattiAnn Cutter]

Thank you for sharing this very important information! Excellent article! Very well written!

To learn more about Native Plants and/or to purchase some for your garden, come out to Silver Lake Nature Center's Native Plant Sale on May 3rd from 10am to 4pm.

Thanks again,

PattiAnn Cutter
Silver Lake Nature Center
www.silverlakenaturecenter.org

[PattiAnn Cutter]

Sorry! Didn't mean to post twice! Had a technical problem and thought it didn't go through.

[maxie]

Leah wrote:

<quoted text>
The following was posted on the American Bamboo Society's Web site:
Q. My bamboo is growing where I don’t want it. What can I do?
The long answer, with more information, is here, thanks toGeorge Shor, Southern California Chapter.
If bamboo has been planted without root barrier and is now growing where you don’t want it, you have several choices. The choices all start out with digging a trench about 3 feet deep around the area where you want the bamboo to grow. You can then install root barrier, pour concrete at least three inches thick or fill the trench with loose gravel. You can rent trench digging machines at equipment rental stores. Root barrier is available from larger nurseries. It comes in very long rolls, should be at least 0.040 inch thick and about three feet high. Expect it to cost between $1 and $2 per foot. If you choose root barrier or concrete, you should leave an inch or two above ground level to make it easier to find the roots that try to escape over the top of the barrier. If you choose the loose rock fill, you will have to use a sharp spade at the beginning of every growing season to cut down into the trench and sever any new roots that try to cross the trench.
Rhizomes that have already extended outside their area can be dug up. If that isn’t practical, continue to knock over all new shoots you see for the next few seasons, once the rhizomes are severed from the main plant, and the rhizomes will eventually die.
Sometimes a local grower will be interested in digging it up if it is something a little unusual. You may be able to find a local grower by asking a nursery where they get theirs or from the ABS Species Source List, which has a section on bamboo suppliers across the country. He or she can give you more specific information about containing it further.

I have several itea bushes with rhizomes that are coming up everywhere. I do cut them, but they still keep coming. If I spray the small shoots with Roundup, will that affect the ''mother plant''?

[Lisa]

Leah wrote:

<quoted text>
Hey Lisa -- native alternatives to English Ivy for groundcover are wild ginger (Asarum canadense), lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina), foam flower (Tiarella cordifolia), partridgeberry (Mitchella repens), creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) and evergreen wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis or intermedia).
Native plants are major wildlife magnets. If you're looking for a native alternative to butterfly bush, try butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), blazing star (Liatris spicata) or New York ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis)

thanks! will keep those in mind...