Re: Invasive whatsis

Sounds like Vinca major 'Variegata'.  Actually, you can whack this
down to the ground periodically and it behaves better; makes a very
nice groundcover if you treat it that way.  If you do that, you'll
find that there are actually plants only every few feet here and
there...all that growth is just stems and runners, which root down
where they touch soil.

This plant does have major visions of world conquest, but isn't
really all that hard to control.  Instead of roundup, what about
setting your mower at about 4" off the ground and just mowing it
down?  It will look fairly awful for about 2 weeks and then it will
look great.  Mowing plants that are going dormant won't hurt them as
much as spraying herbicide on them.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Wild, Wonderful Aroids Part 5 - Pinellia
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635



----------
> From: Melissa Hellen <melissahellen@horizonview.net>
> Well my garden is one round of 'boo-boos' after another. I suppose
I
> shouldn't even garden with my health and my inability to keep up
with
> it all, but I just can't resist trying. Of course what happens
> is,given a little neglect, the strong outlives and outspreads the
weak
> and eventually you have a garden of nothing but bugleweed and
purple
> spiderwort--as I now have. 
> 
> But looking on the light side, this gives you an excuse to NUKE the
> entire thing and start over every few years!
> 
> I've got a mess to clean up in about half my yard this year. I
don't
> know what they call this plant I've got all over, but it's
perennial,
> variegated, grows in opposite pairs of oval 2" leaves on long thin
> stems, swarms up the sides of buildings and up trees, invades like
> your description above (which I'll be stealing for future use as
it's
> way too good to leave alone) and looks so ugly in the winter and
fall
> I have to wonder why anybody around here buys the stuff--yet it
sells
> like nobody's business. Very popular grown in containers as an
annual
> too, potted with a geranium, a ti plant and a bit of asparagus fern
> (and then wisely tossed out when the season's over). Anyhow, it's
> taken over the entire area under my trees, about half the yard.
Next
> week it's getting the Roundup treatment. I only hope the bluebells,
> bleeding heart, dutchman's breeches and daffs planted under it have
> died back to the point they aren't hurt.
> 
> Invasion forces. Aargh!
> 
> Melis
> 
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
> message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index