Plants that shouldn't be sold or grown.

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Plants that shouldn't be sold or grown.
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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Fri May 13, 05 7:41 pm Post subject: Plants that shouldn't be sold or grown.

Following on from recent post I thought it would be good to write an article making people more aware of what plants have been sold that are real thugs and not only take over the garden but also are a huge threat to our countryside. An obvious example is Japanese knot weed, that can no longer be sold and needs special care to dispose of.

There are however many other plants that cause problems and are still sold so if you have any suggestions of thugs please post details. For example Spanish bluebells, which are legally available but shouldn't be planted.

I'll also look up details of what's being done to try and prevent these plants from being sold, any help and info would be great.

thos

Joined: 08 Mar 2005
Posts: 1139
Location: Jauche, Duchy of Brabant (Bourgogne-ci) and Charolles, Duchy of Burgundy (Bourgogne-ça)

Posted: Fri May 13, 05 7:45 pm Post subject:
My vote goes to the elder. A lovely plant with fantastic flowers, but the devil to dig out when you have too many.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Fri May 13, 05 8:33 pm Post subject:
Russian Vine - I detest that stuff Joanne

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Fri May 13, 05 9:32 pm Post subject:
mint? I bought a gardening book recently, which had a page dedicated what shouldn't be grown as it wasn't native and would spread, and semi-warnings about some some plants - it was an american book though so the plants didn't apply - one of them was yarrow, i recall!

gavin

Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 93
Location: Leeds, W Yorks

Posted: Sun May 15, 05 9:21 am Post subject:
Category C plants??? Russian vine can do a good job of holding a rickety shed together Mint needs tight control - so does horseradish; and the comfreys (not the sterile Bocking 14). Feverfew? All best - Gavin

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Sun May 15, 05 10:53 am Post subject:
Rhododendrons. The species that can spread in our woodlands, bloody awful stuff. Pretty, but destructive. I'd also be careful not to grow plants that look edible but aren't; I took the liberty of uprooting some deadly nightshade from just outside the gates of a local primary school two years ago. Didn't seem the right place for it (and it's common enough locally anyway).

Gervase

Joined: 17 Nov 2004
Posts: 8655

Posted: Mon May 16, 05 8:37 am Post subject:
Mint's OK if you either grow it in a pot or cut the bottom out of an old bucket and put that in the bed and then put the mint in it to stop it spreading. I couldn't be without the stuff! Absoloutely concur on rhododendrons - pointless bloody things anyway/

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon May 16, 05 8:41 am Post subject:
I cycled past a great big hemlock plant by the Cam yesterday. It's right by a pathway, at one of the bridges. Don't really like it there, but I guess it'll do no harm.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Mon May 16, 05 8:42 am Post subject:

gavin wrote:

Feverfew?

That one gets my vote too. I didn't listen to my sister when she told me not to plant it in my garden.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Mon May 16, 05 8:44 am Post subject:

Judith wrote:

That one gets my vote too. I didn't listen to my sister when she told me not to plant it in my garden.

Ahh, yes. We got it in a 'wild flower' seed mix. That and borage made a concerted attempt to take over the garden. It was only stopped by the lemon balm.

Feverfew is a beautiful plant, but such a thug.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon May 16, 05 9:16 am Post subject:

I must have black fingers! My mint is struggling, and hanging on by a leaf or two, my lemon balm died, and although I had feverfew for a year or too, its gone now. I've had borage in the past, but it hasn't self seeded, and my boston ivy apppears to have died as well.

Perhaps I should rent myself out as an organic weedkiller!

I have lots of bindweed turning up in unexpected (and awkward) places though!

nettie

Joined: 02 Dec 2004
Posts: 5888
Location: Suffolk

Posted: Mon May 16, 05 6:10 pm Post subject:
Vinca major. Bloody nuisance.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Thu May 19, 05 8:41 am Post subject:
And then there's the water plants: from Greater Reed Mace to the native Water-Lily, Fairy Fern... there's a long list!

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45665
Location: Essex

Posted: Thu May 19, 05 9:21 am Post subject:
Mochyn, I don't want to pressure you or anything but you'd be the ideal person to do an article on invasive plants that should be avoided.

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Thu May 19, 05 9:26 am Post subject:
I'm going to shut up now. I'll have a think...

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