13 plants to avoid or plant with caution


you may want to be cautious about in- troducing to your garden. They may be beautiful. They may have desirable herbal properties. They may even grow in the shade. They may also be highly invasive. The word “groundcover” is often a


N


clue. If a plant makes a good ground- cover, then it probably travels by run- ners either above or below ground. This allows it to quickly populate an area, which also makes the plant hard to control, especially if the runners (or stoloniferous roots) are underground. Some of these roots will go very deep in search of water and nutrients and will continue to live and reproduce when cut off from the mother plant. In fact, this stimulates even more aggres- sive growth. Other invasives may be prolific or explosive seed producers, casting their offspring in ever widening circles, in- cluding your lawn. Now, there are times when you may


want or need a plant that will do all these things to grow in a difficult area or to fill a large space. The problem is keeping them confined to their job. The aggressive shade lover, just like any other plant, will gradually move toward the sunnier area, including your lawn or another bed where you are high- lighting your prize lilies.


Bishop’s goutweed is beautiful but willful.


ew gardeners beware! There are many plants on the shelves at your local garden centre that


For seed producers, you need to be


diligent about deadheading – stop- ping seed production in its tracks. You may find that simple deadheading only encourages more blooms and hence, more deadheading. The solution is to enjoy a flush or two of blooms, then cut the plant right back. For stoloniferous roots, dig them


back early in spring when the soil is still friable and the roots are easily pulled out in their entirety. As well, because plant starches are in low reserve in the spring, pulling leaves off emerging plants can be an effective deterrent by starving the plant. Invasive plants can be sneaky, too.


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Many of them are slow to establish, lulling you into a false sense of security and even enlisting your aid in helping them spread. But after a year or maybe two or three, watch out. They suddenly take off and you discover the monster you thought had been tamed. Chinese lantern (Physallis alkeken-


gi.) Who hasn’t seen and admired the papery orange seed heads of these un- usual plants. They grow well in sun or part shade and have underground roots that will take over quickly. They make wonderful Halloween decorations. Grow them in a large pot if you can’t live without them. Bishop’s goutweed (Aegopodium


podagraria). This member of the carrot family has lovely umbrella like flowers


Above: Chinese lantern is not as innocent as it looks. Below: Lamium galeobdolon has yellow flowers.


Watch The Manitoba Gardener on Shaw TV Channel 9


Summer 2012 • 15


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