With the revival of the loosestrife discussion I'm reminded of this
message of Marge's from a few weeks ago.
Marge, your mention of garlic mustard taking over woods made me stop
and think about experiences and my own observations of this
plant. Most of us have seen situations where purple loosestrife
takes over wetlands. One can almost stand for a while and watch it
happen. On the other hand, have you ever seen actual situations where
garlic mustard -- or ground ivy, for that matter -- has supplanted native
flora? Yeah, I've seen many river and stream banks where all that can
be seen is garlic mustard, but in every one of these situations these were
sites that had already been denuded of native flora by either
human activity or livestock. I've never seen garlic mustard or
ground ivy growing in healthy "wild" woods. Has
anyone? Or are we just blaming the plant because it
grows where we've killed (or collected) everything else? When I think
of all the miles and miles of stream and river banks that I've seen slicked
down by fishermen, canoers and cattle, I'm somewhat relieved that at least
something can grow in these places.
Trillium and Arisaema seedlings come up "volunteer" all over
the place in my shade beds, regardless of the ground ivy. I don't see
why this would be any different in "wild" situations where these
plants encounter each other. On the other hand, where English ivy
pervades seedlings seldom come up; it shades the ground too
thoroughly. Things one learns through observation.
On Thu, 27 Jul 2000 01:27:14 -0400 "Marge Talt"
<mtalt@clark.net> writes:
> Well, Dean, if this doesn't go to
show that one person's weed is
> another person's treasure:-)
"Trim" ain't the term I use nor the
> method, either.
Around here, ground ivy is rampant in wet or dry
> times, in deep
shade or part sun and esp. in decent soil. It has
> carpeted
vast areas of our wild woods, to the detriment of anything
>
interesting that might have wanted to grow there. I class it
right
> up there with garlic mustard in the noxious weed
category. I can
> clear an area in early June and return
to find it covered again in
> late July. "Bounds" is
not a concept my ground ivy understands:-)
>
> Unlike non
mature English Ivy and periwinkle (vinca), it also seeds
> around with
abandon when those cute little blue flowers are
> pollinated - which
they always are....seeds seem to have a good
> afterlife in the soil,
too. But, real persistence in pulling each
> piece when it pokes
its nose out of the soil will, eventually,
> eradicate it.
>
> Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
> mtalt@clark.net
>
Editor: Gardening in Shade
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> ----------
> > From: Dean Sliger
<deanslgr@juno.com>
> > Date: Sunday, July 23, 2000 2:09
PM
> >
> > The best time to trim it back is in late
spring (early June
> here),
> after
> > flowering and
the subsequent flush of growth. After that initial
>
late
> > spring spurt it grows pretty slowly and stays more or less
within
> bounds,
> > especially in dry shade.
> >
> > Ground ivy is certainly no more difficult to control than,
say,
> > periwinkle or English ivy. The roots are shallow and
it pulls up
> easily,
> > unlike ajuga or violets which cling
more tenaciously to the
> ground.
> Then
> >
there's something I once made the mistake of buying, Houttuynia
>
cordata,
> > which is commonly sold as a groundcover to the
unsuspecting
> masses
> > despite that it could give
spearmint lessons on rampant growth.
> >
> > Dean
Sliger
> > Warren, Michigan, USA
> > Zone 6B
> >
> >
>
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