- Author: Jeanne Lawrence, UC Master Gardener of Butte County
Given the right conditions, some seemingly mild-mannered plants can become garden thugs, invading entire yards and even moving on to the rest of the neighborhood. We may all have heard stories about the bamboo or mint that threatened to take over a garden, but there are other potentially nasty plants lurking out there. In the interest of saving others from the anguish of dealing with unexpectedly invasive plants, our local Master Gardeners (MGs) volunteer the following tales of their own (often on-going) battles with particular members of the plant kingdom.
Morning glories have proven to be tenacious fighters in many gardens. In particular, the perennial morning glory (often labeled “Heavenly Blue” or “Blue Dawn Flower”) can cover entire buildings, and grows so fast you'd swear you could see it growing while you watched it. One Chico MG reports that it took years to eradicate it from her yard – vines were still emerging in her shady side yard ten years after she had dug it up from the roots in an attempt to permanently dispose of it. A Durham MG had the same experience.
More than one MG in Chico has engaged in battle with Mexican feather grass Stipa tenuissima (formerly known as Nasella tenuissima). They were attracted to the way its flower stalks “shimmy” so charmingly in the breeze. But that lovely movement with the wind aids the plant's dissemination. One feather grass victim notes that “after a couple of years I noticed small seedlings in many places around my lot. As the plant is drought tolerant, the seedlings did well even if they didn't receive any supplemental irrigation. Where there was supplemental irrigation, they were especially plentiful. After about a year of constantly pulling unwanted seedlings, I finally removed the mother plants. Three years later, I'm still pulling unwanted seedlings.” Another MG notes that “in Chico, it can take over the neighborhood, especially where bare ground is showing.”
Russian Sage has proven to be very invasive in the Chapmantown yard of a Chico MG, who reports that “it sends up shoots the full length of my house.” Trying to keep it contained by cutting it just encourages the plant to send up more shoots.
Shady Chico yards provide the ideal conditions for the spread of a nearly evergreen species of alstroemeria, the Peruvian Lily A. psittacina. Its dark red flowers marked with green and blotched with dark purple appear in early summer and early fall; the two-foot-tall foliage provides useful ground cover during the winter and dies back in mid-summer. But don't be fooled! Over time this alstroemeria will move into every shady area in a yard and even colonize sunnier locations. It travels by tuberous rhizomes which develop in clusters. Because it is impossible to dig up every single tuber in these clusters, the plant is impossible to eradicate. A Chico MG with a very shady yard knows she will be battling this ultra-vigorous plant for the rest of her life.
Up in Paradise, an MG planted one yellow flag iris (pseudacrus) ten years ago in a semi-shady location with spring water available all year. She now has an area eight feet long and four feet wide filled with these plants, which die to the ground in cold weather. “The roots are enormous,” she says, adding that “it would require a back hoe to dig them out.”
The bottom line: Think twice (or three times) before planting these potential garden invaders!
For a list of common invasive plants and some suggested alternatives to them, go to the PlantRight website.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
The language of flowers . . . UC Master Gardeners Janice Encinger and Iris Craig have been doing their research! They prepared this for our Valentine's Day newspaper column in the Napa Valley Register, and here it is again, with pictures.
Valentine's Day will soon be here. What do we give our favorite valentine? In American culture, the gifts of choice are often candy (chocolate preferred), cards and flowers. For flowers, of course, a bouquet of red roses symbolizes love.
Since antiquity, flowers have been part of major life events such as births, graduations, weddings, illnesses and death. Throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East, flowers are used to communicate. The earliest evidence of floral symbolism is in excavated graves near Mt. Carmel in present-day Israel. These fossilized impressions from 12,000 BC show people lying on, and covered with, leaves—possibly healing herbs— and flower petals.
Aztecs carried small floral bouquets to signify high rank. Victorians relied on nosegays, also called tussie-mussies, which were small aromatic bouquets wrapped in a doily, tied with ribbon and worn on the wrist. They served to mask body aromas and unpleasant street smells.
The Aztecs used flowers to represent opposing sides in their ritual flower wars. In ancient Persia, people conveyed feelings of love and antipathy with flowers.
Hanakatoba is the ancient Japanese art of assigning meaning to flowers. Romans linked their gods to plants and flowers. When Apollo pursued Daphne, her father saves her by turning her into a laurel tree. Apollo in his grief declares, “With your leaves, my victors shall wreath their brows.” Daphne is the symbol for immortality, while the laurel symbolizes victory.
In medieval and Renaissance paintings and sculpture, plants tell hidden stories. The flowers in a painting may reveal the sentiments of the artist. A white lily in a painting of the Annunciation represents virginity; the golden anthers (the part of a stamen that contains the pollen) tell of the Virgin Mary's radiant soul.
During the 19th century, the study of botany increased. Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species and Fertilisation of Orchids. The sexual structure and insect pollinators of orchids were his interest.
During the Victorian era, plant explorers gathered specimens from around the world and brought them to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England, for study. The demand for new species sent plant hunters to little-known countries. Improved glasshouses helped protect the new species. The Victorian garden design, an extension of the house, was formal, with separate “rooms” for growing kitchen vegetables, brightly colored bedding plants, fruit trees and hedges. The inclusion of fishponds and tiger lilies reflected the influence of Chinese design on the garden.
In those days, with communication between men and women constrained by cultural mores, flowers were sent to describe one's feelings. Women wore flowers in their hair and around their waist and carried tussie-mussies close to their heart if they loved the sender.
In the early 20th century, several dictionaries were published to explain the meaning of flowers. Some of these works were small enough to fit in the palm of a young lady's hand. Receiving yellow roses, a symbol of friendship, would have been a crushing blow to someone expecting red roses. Every bouquet had its intended message. To the recipient, pansies might indicate that the sender was thinking of her. A bouquet of heliotrope conveyed devotion, whereas deep red roses denoted utmost love.
To create your own tussie-mussie, select flowers that express your sentiments. Remove leaves from stems, except for needed leaves. Keep flowers in water while you work. Place one larger flower in the center for the tussie-mussie “heart.” Add flowers and herbs to send individual messages. Place larger leaves around the outside to form a base.
To add a doily, cut a hole large enough to accommodate the bouquet. Secure stems with floral tape. Carefully place all the stems through the doily. Tie a beautiful ribbon at the base. Make sure to add a card clarifying the meanings.
In his book Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll gives credit to the Tiger-lily in the Garden of Live Flowers.
Alice approaches Tiger-lily and says, “I wish you could talk!”
“We can talk,” said the Tiger-lily, “when there's anybody worth talking to.”
Alice replies, “And can all the flowers talk?”
“As well as you can,” said the Tiger-lily, “and a great deal louder.”
What flowers are in your garden? Do you have rosemary (for remembrance), red tulips (ardent love), violets (modest worth) or orchids (refined beauty)? Next Valentine's Day, think of sending flowers that tell how you feel.
- Author: Betty Victor
Do you remember when you were a child and you had to help in your mother’s garden. I do and it seems she always had a plant that you loved maybe because of the color or shape of the flower and thought when I have “my own place” I will have that plant.
Sad to say I did just that, the plant I choose that my mother had growing in a container. I always wondered why when her others were growing in the soil, but as a child I never asked. But years later I found out why when mine out grew the container I had it in and violets started showing up all over my yard. Maybe the only nice thing I can say about this violet is it blooms late winter, early spring with just the flowers and no leaves when most things are still dormant. After the violet colored flowers fade, the heart-shaped leaves start to appear and stay and multiply and grow larger each day until late fall early winter when they die back, only to return the next winter with many more.
These violet are all over my yard, sun or shade-makes no difference to them they will grow and multiply. You pull them out thinking you have got all parts of the rhizome, only to turn your back and they are back again!
This plant has to be on the most invasive plant list; maybe even in the top group, if not I am going to start a campaign to have it added. Maybe the only way I can get rid of them is to move, but knowing how much of pest they are they probably will find a way to follow me.
- Author: Karen Norton
February is usually a cold wet month, but it has an especially fragrant treat, the violet. In the Sunset Western Garden Book, it is listed under Viola. Viola adunca, the California Sweet Violet or Western Dog Violet is native to coastal bluffs and Sierra foothills in central California, Pacific Northwest east to New England. That said, it is the easiest plant to grow and stands 3-6 inches high, spreading indefinitely by seeds and stolons (creeping horizontal plant stems or runners that takes root at points along its length to form new plants). I can attest to the ease of growing violets, as I took a few from my Mother’s garden and they have moved with me to four homes in Solano County. This darling little February flower has dark green heart shaped leaves with lavender blue with white petal bases and bright orange stamens. If you are extremely patient, you can enjoy their beautiful fragrance by gathering a small bouquet for your house. They bloom with at least a half-day winter sun, and summer shade. They take various soils and can be invasive or affective ground cover in a slightly shaded area of your garden. I actually like a few violets in the lawn. Often they are sold in nurseries as Viola odorata.