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Post by whollygoats on Jun 6, 2015 16:54:11 GMT
So...I just spent a couple of hours deadheading, pruning and weeding.
I have a nightshade problem. I adjudge this to be akin to having a morning glory problem. I just took down a nightshade which had reached the top of a camellia bush which touches the rain gutters. Out on the slopes, I found four more starts. In each case, I tracked it to the rootstart and dug up as much of the root as I could find, knowing that I probably had not gotten it all and I will now need to monitor that specific spot for restarts. Woodbine nightshade is a pernicious pest. It seems to adapt its leaf shape to look more like the foliage in its immediate surroundings. If allowed to fruit out, the problem multiplies by scores.
Other ongoing problems I have are: maple volunteers, broadleaf (notably 'dandelions'), wild geraniums, volunteer cinquefoil, volunteer wild ranunculus (buttercups), a persistant meadowrue, the occasional Himalayan blackberry, and, of course, grass.
These are the vegetive intruders, not the vectors like aphids, cutworms, fungal diseases, petrochemical pesticides, deer, or neighborhood cats. (Or, my cat, for that matter. Cleo has already harvested two small songbirds from our neighborhood. I think that qualifies her as a garden villain. I've taken down all the hummingbird feeders, once a focal point of my garden.)
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Post by whollygoats on Jun 6, 2015 17:00:13 GMT
A quick side-note on morning glories.
There are 'bad' morning glories and there are 'good' morning glories. The difference is in the level of invasiveness of the variety. The invasive, nasty, choking morning glory which is the bane of so many gardens is the all white flower. They are usually unwanted volunteers; I cannot imagine why anyone would knowingly plant such things. The commercial seed packet morning glory is a nice irridescent violet or blue striped flowers, which will reseed, but are not invasive.
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Post by Moose on Jun 6, 2015 17:28:16 GMT
I've got a lot of dandelions thoguh the season is nearly over now happily. Lots of dock leaves. Also daisies but actually I think they are quite pretty so I tend to leave them be
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Post by whollygoats on Jun 6, 2015 19:23:48 GMT
I have volunteers which I make a point of leaving: digitalis (foxglove)and various columbine, mostly. I used to get linaria and violas, but not this year.
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Post by Moose on Jun 6, 2015 23:24:51 GMT
Foxgloves are often regarded as a pest here i think - they are jolly poisonous too aren't they?
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Post by Mari on Jun 7, 2015 11:38:56 GMT
Yes, but I saw the flower shop selling them, or so I thought. I was of a mind to go inside and ask what they were thinking. If kids think it's pretty, touch it and then eat something it's on their heads. But then I thought it was probably a different kind of plant. They would be professional enough to know the difference, right?
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Post by whollygoats on Jun 7, 2015 14:28:06 GMT
Yes, it is toxic if you ingest it. Don't eat or inhale any foxglove stuff. I always work in my garden with gloves, thanks to the density of the local cat population. Take care of inhaling pollen and wash after releasing sap on your skin to prevent later ingestion.
Lilies can be toxic, too; particularly to cats.
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Post by Mari on Jun 8, 2015 8:38:18 GMT
I have violets sprouting all over my balcony by the way. In places I definitely did NOT plant them.
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Post by Moose on Jun 11, 2015 19:19:00 GMT
I avoid lilies on general principle cos of the toxicity to felines thing
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Post by juju on Jun 12, 2015 10:27:17 GMT
There's a lot of snowberry in my garden - I've tried to keep on top of it but it keeps appearing. same with Sycamore (maple) as we have a big tree in the field at the bottom. Also crocosmia (montbretia) - it's pretty but has become really invasive.
Dandelions are a problem, and I do get a lot of buttercups and herb robert (which I hate the smell of when I'm pulling it out). The main issue is grass though - the field behind us is grown for haylage so that grass is very strong and fast growing.
I love foxgloves though, and never consider them to be a pest!
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