Plants that go wild

The only things I've had real trouble with are ox-eye daisies

I am trying to grow ox-eye daisies in my "wildflower meadow" but not very successfully!

The roots had spread underground under all of the other plants. We were away at the time and by the time we’d got back it had covered everything. You could almost see it growing! I also scattered poppy seeds all over the back garden because they looked lovely in the front garden not realising that they’d grow all over the lawn.

I love all these plants too, Caleo. I'd call them reliable, rather than invasive. The only things I've had real trouble with are ox-eye daisies and arrow bamboo - only good if you have plenty of space. The geraniums and wallflowers reliably self seed and pop up in unexpected places too.

Another dislike is stinking Iris, Iris foetidus. It spreads everywhere. The flowers is insipid but beware the lovely red seeds in the autumn if you don’t want a garden full.

We also have sedge. You cut one set of seed heads off only for another set to appear. It spreads everywhere even in the middle of treasured plants and is incredibly difficult to dig out.

LOL yes, I was talking about passion flower and other such like (clematis montana comes to mind)- if you know it is a rogue- just keep an eye and deal with it as soon as. Easy peasy.

Fleurpepper

MayBee70

Passion flower. Had one in the garden that did nothing for years: assumed it was dead. Then, one summer, it literally took over the garden. Even covered the washing line. Was a nightmare to get rid of. Pity really because the flowers are lovely.

The key is to keep an eye and deal with it, prune,, before it goes berserk. If you see it reaching the washing line, then you know you have to cut it back.

😄 the herbs seed themselves in the cracks between the paving stones round the washing line!
They seem to grow better in the cracks than in a pot.

Casdon

It’s a fine line between a natural looking, uncontrived cottage garden effect and a montbretia and agapanthus filled wilderness though. I don’t know if you imagine that those of us who like to be in control of what is where in our gardens have regimented beds of roses and begonias with bare soil between, but I’d stake anything on that not being the case!

In addition to the care instructions, when you buy plants, they should put a ‘thug warning’ on the label, so you know exactly what you’re getting.

It's hard work maintaining a wild effect garden or having part of the lawn turned into a wild meadow.

I'm keeping the agapanthus in a container just in case

MayBee70

Passion flower. Had one in the garden that did nothing for years: assumed it was dead. Then, one summer, it literally took over the garden. Even covered the washing line. Was a nightmare to get rid of. Pity really because the flowers are lovely.

The key is to keep an eye and deal with it, prune,, before it goes berserk. If you see it reaching the washing line, then you know you have to cut it back.

Good luck with move annodomini- nearer to children?

But that depends very much on your local conditions. Agapanthus is hardly likely to run riot in Scotland or Yorkshire Dales.

It’s a fine line between a natural looking, uncontrived cottage garden effect and a montbretia and agapanthus filled wilderness though. I don’t know if you imagine that those of us who like to be in control of what is where in our gardens have regimented beds of roses and begonias with bare soil between, but I’d stake anything on that not being the case!

In addition to the care instructions, when you buy plants, they should put a ‘thug warning’ on the label, so you know exactly what you’re getting.

Grandma70s

I like it when they spread, filling up the garden for free. The more the better. I don’t really want a contrived, regimented garden.

Hear, hear- bravo

I am in the process of moving to a retirement flat, so won't have this problem in future, but last year, I found purple loosestrife popping up everywhere in the garden. I have seen it, apparently under control in a herbaceous border, but thought it was basically a wild plant.

Contrived = controlled

I like it when they spread, filling up the garden for free. The more the better. I don’t really want a contrived, regimented garden.

Hardy geraniums are a real problem in my garden. We dug a lot up over the years, but back they come where you don’t expect them and even a small clump can more than double in size in the space of a summer. Aquilegia, Limanthes Douglasii, verbena bonariensus and alliums are other garden thugs here.

Ajuga!

Never accept a clump from a kind friend 😄
That's a thug.

Verbena has gone nuts in my garden as well as Alchemilla (lady’s mantle. Both very pretty but…

Can a plant be described as a bully ? That one is

A thug!

Leave it there, Callistemon 😂

I thought it had shrivelled and died in the summer, despite watering, but chopped most of it out and it recovered.
It will be staying where it is unless I can find a wild area to plant it out.

Another one going nuts is the spider plant. I don’t mind the stripy one so much but it tends to throw out a lot of plain green ones and you can’t dig them up easily. They seem to grow on concrete. Also wild iris- very pretty but very hard to remove and it clumps up and pushes all the other plants to one side. Can a plant be described as a bully ? That one is.

Oh dear, I bought a pink one a couple of years ago, it's in a pot on the patio hmm

Leave it there, Callistemon 😂

So many of my garden thugs on these lists. But I can't get alstromeria to survive more than its initial season whatever I do.

Wild strawberries are bent on world domination, too. My sister gave me a few plants 20+ years ago and they are now everywhere. And don't ever plant allium triquetrum. I dig up hundreds of them every year but they still elude me...

I don't mind the spring flowering thugs, they are such a welcome sight and their foliage tends to die back quite early.

I planted feverfew many years ago - never again!
It spreads everywhere.

In fact it's probably still there but that bed was turned into lawn so it gets chopped down before it can spread.

What we call Mile-a- minuet (Russian Vine?), Horse radish roots are very hard to get out once established. We have orange poppies everywhere in the summer. I do try to gather the seed heads but always miss a few. The wild garlic I was given during lock down has spread. I suspect I will have trouble with that in future. It makes a lovely pesto.

I love my Japanese anemones, so lovely in late Summer/early Autumn. They’ve virtually taken over one contained corner but I don’t mind. I’ve even split them to grow elsewhere. One is light and one is dark pink.