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Rogue plants

Posted on August 3rd, 2007 – 12:07 PM
By Connie Nelson

Once upon on a time, there was a lovely little monarda. It was small and white and dainty. The gardener bought it, took it home and planted it in her garden. And it grew. And grew. And grew.

Its white petals turned a pasty pink. Dainty no more, its flowerheads became a moppy mess. It snarled at passersby. It stole water from nearby bushes. It strangled innocent plants that dared to grow in its path. It even attacked the gardener herself. The lovely little monarda had become a monster! What could the gardener do?

Uh, so far the gardener has done nothing. But one of these days, she’s going to at that monarda monster with a shovel. Divide and conquer is going to be her battle cry.

Anybody want some monarda?

This entry was posted on Friday, August 3rd, 2007 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Flowers + Grasses. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

14 Responses to "Rogue plants"

Robyn Dochterman says:

August 3rd, 2007 at 10:09 pm

I do. I do. I mean, my bees would love some if you have any left!

Emma says:

August 4th, 2007 at 9:42 am

I feel you pain, Connie. I have a Lantana bush that has done the same thing. It was SO pretty in it’s itty bitty pot, now it covers half my patio. I went at it with a chainsaw - Florida Lantana Chainsaw Massacre Part 1 - and within 6 months it was back in full glory. Everytime we go to Lowes now and I see an itty bitty pot, I scream.

I must admit, I DO have quite the butterfly collection, tho!

Good Luck!

Emma

Annie says:

August 5th, 2007 at 11:32 pm

Question? Not related to this particular post, but how would I know when my Spaghetti Squash is ready to be harvested? My squash this year is OUT OF CONTROL, in a good way. Perhaps all this head has allowed them to grow quicker? I planted the seeds after Memorial Day, and I assumed I would not have any ready until September. Is it too soon? I have some that are pale yellow, and some other larger ones that still have faint, green stripes on them. Thoughts? Thanks!

Annie says:

August 5th, 2007 at 11:34 pm

I meant to say, ‘perhaps all of this HEAT”. Ooops.

Connie Nelson says:

August 6th, 2007 at 9:51 am

Emma,
Did you really go at your lantana with a chainsaw? That would have been a sight! Got any pix?

Connie Nelson says:

August 6th, 2007 at 9:53 am

Robyn,
I am going to dig up most of that darn monarda this fall, tho I’ll probably wait until the temps cool off a bit. Do you want some or all of it? I’ve also got some phlox and some black-eyed Susans that could use dividing.

If anyone’s interested, we could have a little plant swap . . .

Connie Nelson says:

August 6th, 2007 at 9:57 am

Annie, I don’t know much about spaghetti squash, but I did a quick search in our library and came up with this:
Harvest spaghetti squash when it changes from creamy white to bright yellow. The delicata types, which have green steaks across a white background, are ready when the white changes to beige and a orange blush appears. Harvest before the first frost. Leave two inches of stem attached and handle carefully. Before storing winter squash whole, cure in a warm well ventilated place for a week or two.

Hope that helps!

Jamie says:

August 6th, 2007 at 11:20 am

I could use some phlox and black eyed susans in my little Minneapolis garden!

I’m not sure I have anything to share at this time, but anyone who wants some lilly of the vally come spring is more then welcome to them.

Connie Nelson says:

August 6th, 2007 at 2:24 pm

Oh, I’d take some lily of the valley. We could dig those bad boys up this fall. Seems like almost nothing can kill ‘em . . .

Connie Nelson says:

August 6th, 2007 at 2:26 pm

In addition to monarda, I’d be willing to share seeds from my angle’s trumpet. If anyone wants to try starting those from seed, let me know and I’d send you some seeds later this fall.

Annie says:

August 6th, 2007 at 8:15 pm

Thanks Connie!

Jamie says:

August 8th, 2007 at 1:24 pm

Thanks Connie, you are welcome to as much of the lilly of the valley as you want - no matter what I do they spread like weeds, expect under my spruce tree where I *want* them to take hold!

Jaime Chismar says:

August 8th, 2007 at 3:22 pm

Sign me up for some Lily of the Valley, too!

Connie, you’re right. We should totally organize a plant swap in the Star Tribune parking lot!

Jamie says:

August 16th, 2007 at 1:16 pm

An organized plant swap sounds perfect to me as well!