Subject: Re: Least liked plant

From: [email-masked] (Sara Miller)
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 1995 21:12:56 GMT

/ hpcc01:rec.gardens / [email-masked] (Ruth Evans) /  9:44 pm  Feb  8, 1995 /
This may be a strange topic, but what is your least liked plant?  What

Thanks for the opportunity to get this off my chest:

I HATE PRIVET!!!!

Also to a lessor degree, pyracantha and cotoneaster.  This could be directly
related to my neighbor's yard in which all three grow entirely unchecked, so
not only am I losing my morning sun (he is on the southeast side), but I
am constantly battling (sp?) little privets, pyracantha, and cotoneasters 
all over my yard!  

Hmmm... Come to think of it maybe it's my neighbor's irresponsibility
I hate...

Sara Miller
[email-masked]
Menlo Park
Zone 9

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From: [email-masked] (Jim Huber)
Date: 5 Mar 1995 11:18:16 -0800

I love this topic :-).

Don't you just hate the Oxalis family?  They come both as weeds and as
decorative bulbous plants.  In the case of the weed, pulling them out is
so tricky because you have to get every little piece of the long tap root. 
In the case of the bulbous decorative ones, I never seem to get all the
little tiny bulbs.  Invasive little monsters! 

I have another weed established in my garden which I find almost
impossible to keep ahead of.  I wish I knew it's name.  It's a pretty
little thing actually, with graceful divided fronds emanating from a crown
of shallow easy roots.  It quickly develops pretty little white flowers. 
When the flowers turn to seeds and ripen, beware of pulling this plant up
as the seeds shoot out in every direction at the slightest touch.  The
tiniest little seedling of this weed can develop flowers and seeds and its
really hard to spot and get the last one before it rockets its seeds in every
direction. 

As to ornamentals:

Styrax japonica.  It's really a beautiful small tree, and the ads aren't 
kidding when they say it's a prolific bloomer with dainty nodding 
flowers.  It's gorgeous!  But every one of those little flowers becomes a 
hard nut-like seed.  And I think every one of them sprouts in my garden 
one or two springs later.  I finally had it removed before it set seeds 
last year, but it's back this spring anyway to haunt me with thousands of 
little seedlings.  I planted Acer griseum in its place when I read that 
it is really hard to propagate!

Japanese Anemone.  I should have had a clue that this plant was invasive 
when I ordered a named cultivar from Wayside many years ago, and they 
sent me a piece of root about 2 inches long.  I decided to move this 
plant, and _years_ later I am still trying to grub it out of the old 
spot.  It seems even the tiniest fragment of root left behind will grow 
into a plant...

Jan Mountjoy
San Francisco Bay Area

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From: [email-masked] (Maltman)
Date: 6 Mar 1995 22:28:39 -0500

I think it's interesting how most people's least-liked plant is one that
acts like a weed; i.e. is invasive and hard to get rid of. Being a
beginner, my least-liked plants are those that never materialize, and I've
come to enjoy the local oxalis, etc. that at least fill up the bare spots.
With experience, I suppose I too will come to despise the overbearing
bullies in my beds.

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From: [email-masked] (Jim Huber)
Date: 5 Mar 1995 11:18:16 -0800

I love this topic :-).

As to ornamentals:

Jan Mountjoy
San Francisco Bay Area

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From: [email-masked] (Maltman)
Date: 6 Mar 1995 22:28:39 -0500