This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: [SG] Houtonia removal

Matt,

I've got a relatively slowly expanding patch (it's taken 8 years to do much
expanding) of this that has co-existed well with a small yew hedge,
deciduous azalea, some short, late flowering evergreen azaleas, some
Kalmia, common daylilies, large hostas and hellebores and assorted other
tough things in a rather dry bed bounded by a concrete slab walk foundation
on one side and flagstone walk in sand on another.

IMO, the dryer the spot and the more woody plant root competition, the
better behaved this plant is.  Give it a nice moist soil and watch out.

I would not put it with any plants who are timid or frail.  I wouldn't give
it ideal conditions - it likes moist soil and even grows in water, I hear.
I'd yank out questing bits that move a bit too far out, realizing that you
will never be able to remove it unless you dig the bed deeply and sift the
soil in a fine screen...maybe then.  Under those circs. it's not half bad -
and sometimes quite nice -  except for the scent, which I find pretty
revolting.

I've also had a very small patch of the variegated Bishop's Weed for many
years under some mature hardwood trees.  It has a *lot* of competition in a
dry spot and has never spread at all - moved a bit, but not increased.
Soil there was never dug as there were too many roots; just small holes to
stick the plants in.

So, IMHO, if you want to grow something with a rampant reputation, put it
in an inhospitable spot and make sure it has a lot of root competition from
woody plants and you can get away with it.  But NEVER be kind to these guys
or you will rue the day :-)

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
current article:  Planting Under Trees - Part 11;The  West Border
http://www.suite101.com/frontpage/frontpage.cfm?topicID=222
Gardening Topic Index for Suite101:
http://www.suite101.com/userfiles/79/gardening.html


----------
> From: Matt Trahan <matttrahan@ECSU.CAMPUS.MCI.NET>
> Date: Friday, September 11, 1998 11:33 PM
>
>  I'm considering letting it loose in my garden, IF - it doesn't stramgle
> everything else around it.
>  I know it's a fast spreader, but can it peacefully coexist with other
> plants growing through and around it?
>  Ours only grows to 4-6 inches tall. Is this normal? It hasn't run over
the
> pot rim yet. Will it, given enough time?
>
>  I need to remove the var. bishops weed from some harbour dwarf nandina,
> they are not tall enough to compete with it. Anyone for mixing the var.
> Bishops weed with the houtonia? ;-)
>
>  Now all that's left is removing the small (much smaller than it was)
patch
> of mint on the other side of the garden...
>
> Matt Trahan  <matttrahan@ecsu.campus.mci.net> or <garden@juno.com>
> USDA zone 8, AHS heat zone 7, Sunset zone 31, northeastern N.C.
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index