• Gaiety Hollow: Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver

Lord & Schryver Conservancy blog

~ A personal look at the ideas, inspiration, and hard work that go into the Lord & Schryver gardens.

Lord & Schryver Conservancy blog

Tag Archives: noxious weeds

Hated weeds, take 3

27 Monday Nov 2017

Posted by Lord & Schryver Curator/Garden Manager in Gaiety Hollow, Garden, gardening, weeds

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Aegopodium, gardening, invasive, November, noxious weeds, Volunteering, weeds

Last week, I asked What might be called “the scourge of Gaiety Hollow”? It was less than 12 hours before someone guessed correctly:

Aegopodium podagraria

Hiding in Geranium
Hiding in Geranium
Aegopodium leaves
Aegopodium leaves

Also known as ground elder, bishop’s weed, gout weed, snow-on-the-mountain, English masterwort, and many indecent names that a gardener calls it in a fit of fury.

There are two varieties of Aegopodium. One has green leaves; the other has variegated white/green leaves. In my experience, they are equally aggressive. They both bloom in the summer a rather unremarkable umbel-shaped flower similar to Queen Anne’s lace. This late in the season, Aegopodium is still lush and green.

20171114_105527_copy

Covering the base of a Hydrangea

Portland includes it on its Nuisance Plant List. Although it is considered less aggressive than many other plants in native ecosystems, it is extremely aggressive in a garden setting and (almost) impossible to get rid of. Volunteers have spent countless hours pulling it out of the plant beds at Gaiety Hollow and yet it keeps coming back. Its roots are well entwined with the boxwood hedges making complete eradication unlikely, but we can at very least keep it from getting out of control again.

20171114_143744

Mother plant on the left. A new plant growing from the rhizomes to the right.

If you have Aegopodium in you garden, I would advise you to remove it as quickly as possible. Most likely you will not get all of it out. A fragment of its white rhizomes left underground will regrow. Even if you think that you like it, begin removing it now to keep it under control.

Like the other weeds I have mentioned, digging seems the best way to go in a garden setting. I dig with a shovel or trowel and follow the roots through the garden bed, gently pulling the plants and roots as I go. I try not to break the plants and feel very satisfied if I can pull up roots more than a foot long at a time. If it is growing into the roots of a perennial, I face the choice of bare-rooting the perennial or pitching it altogether.

20171114_144249

Another example of how the plant spreads by underground “runners” (rhizomes)

However, if you have a large patch of Aegopodium with no other desirable broadleaf plants mixed in, applications of an herbicide might take down the population. Always read the label on herbicides to make sure that you are applying the right product, at the right amount, in the most opportune conditions.

20171117_101617_copy

Aegopodium in Dahlias

Can you see the white Aegopodium root extending to the left? It is growing straight through this clump of Dahlia tubers. I planted the Dahlia earlier this year as a single tuber, so the Aegopodium has grown over 2 feet in one season. I will have to divide this group of tubers to remove the Aegopodium. I don’t want to risk accidentally re-planting the Aegopodium come spring. Constant vigilance is key! Again, a fragment of root left alive will regrow and quickly begin taking over.

I have many other hated weeds, but these are our biggest challenges at both Gaiety Hollow and the historic gardens at Deepwood. What is your least favorite weed?

We are very grateful for the many hours of labor our dedicated volunteers have put into removing these weeds. The gardens would be a jungle without their help. 

 

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Hated weeds, take 2

21 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by Lord & Schryver Curator/Garden Manager in Deepwood, Gaiety Hollow, gardening, Uncategorized, weeds

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Campanula, gardening, November, noxious weeds, Oregon, weeds

Last week, I left you all with a cliff-hanger. What is this weed that I loath?

Campanula rapunculoides

Campanula rapunculoides

This is Campanula rapunculoides aka creeping bellflower or rampion bellflower. It is native to Europe and Eurasia and was brought here as an ornamental garden plant. However, it quickly takes over a garden and makes it look messy and weedy. Over time, it will choke out favorite plants.

20171120_154523

Flowers

Like the Arum that I wrote about last week, C. rapunculoides has underground root structures that make it difficult to eradicate. Pulling the leaves will not remove the roots. A few surface roots will come up but, little do you know, 6 inches to a foot below the surface lurk large, fleshy, white tuber-like roots that hold energy to regenerate the plant.

campanula rapunculoides roots

Roots with top growth and leaves

To get rid of the plant, you must remove all of the underground root structures. C. rapunculoides is resistant to some herbicides. Other herbicides must be applied more than once to fully kill the plants. In a garden setting, where C. rapunculoides likes to grow inside your perennial, it can be very difficult to apply an herbicide effectively.

Growing in a peony
Growing in a peony
Emerging flower stalk
Emerging flower stalk
Growing with Veronica
Growing with Veronica

Digging it out seems to be the only way to remove it in a garden. I have resorted to digging up perennials–like the peony in the photo above–and sorting out the roots before replanting. Undoubtedly, I have missed a few roots and constant vigilance is demanded to prevent it from taking over again.

C. rapunculoides

Hiding in the Phlox at Deepwood

When it is impossible to dig out the roots, like when it is growing in a boxwood hedge, the top growth can be pulled or an herbicide dabbed on. If the leaves and stems are removed as soon as they appear, eventually the roots will be depleted of energy and die. Always read the label of herbicides and do some basic research before applying to make sure that C. rapunculoides is susceptible and that conditions are favorable for the most impact. Remove all flowers before they spread their thousands of seeds to the wind.

20171120_154544

Growing in a calla lily

I want to stress that this plant is not classified as invasive in Oregon. However, it is an nuisance in the garden and one of the plants I am working hardest to eradicate. It is listed as invasive in other states.

I also want to point out that not all Campanula are evil. Lord & Schryver loved their Campanula medium, Canterbury bells, and so do I. They are lovely annual or biennial plants that die after flowering. They have no fleshy underground roots or runners to carry them to other places in your garden. There are many other Campanula species and cultivars sold in the nursery trade. Below are three different kinds of Campanula we grow at Gaiety Hollow and Deepwood.

Campanula medium aka Canterbury bells
Campanula medium aka Canterbury bells
Gaiety Hollow and Campanula persicifolia
Gaiety Hollow and Campanula persicifolia
C. glomerata at Deepwood
C. glomerata at Deepwood

 

Next week, we’ll cover one more weed. It  might be called “the scourge of Gaiety Hollow.” Can you guess what it is?

 

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