Lovely to look at, had I known how it would take over and severely hard to get rid of...Evening Primrose! I made the mistake of planting it among all my other flowers, it is so invasive! I would yank it out by the roots and never did get rid of it! It even started growing across the sidewalk from where I planted it. If I had known previous to planting it I would of done if differently, like in a area by itself where it could take off in wide open space!

I had an experience like that with a NO-ID snapdragon someone sent me. They warned me that it "spread easily" ... indeed, planting one patch made it spread everywhere in my yard that same year.

I think that what's invasive in one climate can be difficult to grow in another climate.

Perhaps global warming will eliminate all our worst weeds for us ... before bringing in an entirely different bunch of weeds!

I wish I could get it established. I tried a couple of time and no luck so far.

I have the same problem, can't get rid of it! It is pretty though.

I think my worst experience has been with Ruellia (Mexican petunia -- Ruellia brittoniana 'Purple Showers') -- although there is now a sterile variety. It's a beautiful plant and the flowers are lovely; but here in Florida it can be a nightmare as it spreads by seeds and runners. I am still finding the odd one here and there after 12 years ! The UF/IFAS Assessment of the Status of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas finds Mexican-petunia to be invasive in all zones in Florida.; but the big box stores are still selling it. Hey; as long as some people buy them and they make money -- what the heck !

I brought home a Bidens from a plant swap. Sheesh, three years later and I'm still fighting to get rid of them all.
Since learning the hard way, now I am more careful what I introduce in the garden.

My pink EP just takes up space so far. I have healthy-looking plants, but they don't bloom. I think I had a whole two flowers in year two. They must be asking for more sun...

Oh my, I hope they blossom this year!

Morning glories are my big mistake in the garden they take over everything and by august it's just a glob of vines and they produce so many seeds it feels hopeless to get them under control.

On the upside I had a problem area in the front yard where the morning glories made their way and surprisingly they make a great ground cover.

Add feverfew to the list. I like it, but it is incredibly invasive in my garden.

Smiles,
Lyn

Pink Evening Primrose is aggressive in my garden, but I like it anyway. It fills in gaps between other, larger perennials nicely, but I do have to rip out a lot if planting something new. However it did make me pause when it jumped to another bed! I think it was a stray seed, but I'm watchful.

Goose Neck Loosestrife was the major thug for me, still fighting with it, but have most removed.

Bermuda Grass here. H A T E it.

freedombel said:Lovely to look at, had I known how it would take over and severely hard to get rid of...Evening Primrose! I made the mistake of planting it among all my other flowers, it is so invasive! I would yank it out by the roots and never did get rid of it! It even started growing across the sidewalk from where I planted it. If I had known previous to planting it I would of done if differently, like in a area by itself where it could take off in wide open space!

The best thing you can do is to keep pulling it, do let any of it go to seed ever again. I think you will eventually get it controlled.

Frillylily said:

The best thing you can do is to keep pulling it, do let any of it go to seed ever again. I think you will eventually get it controlled.

Well, I do not live there any more, we rent the house out. The last tenant let my young fir tree get strangled with vines and not sure if the Peonies are going to be ok, they are in the same area where I use to tend to getting the vines away. And I don`t think the new tenant is into flowers, and I told him I only expect him to water them and keep the lawn mowed.

I got Mexican Evening Primrose from a friend and although I hated to get rid of it, I had to because it was so invasive. This picture is from 2005 and I haven't seen any growing for several years, so you can eradicate it eventually. Such a shame though. If I had somewhere to let it go wild, I would because I did love it.

The same with morning glories and ajuga. I am still battling morning glory seedlings after 10 years of one planting.


Mexican Evening Primrose

I have mentioned this before on other threads, but I use a product called Preen. Using this product prevents seeds from growing into plants. It has no effect on existing plant and is no help at all with plants that spread by runners, but it stops almost all the weed seeds and stops most of the potentially invasive seeds. There are different types depending on where they are used; some include fertilizer. Between the landscape fabric, the mulch and the Preen my weeding chores are minimal. There are parts of the garden where I am allowing some things to 'grow wild' on purpose and I don't use the Preen in those areas.

http://www.preen.com/products

To save money I stock up at the end of our gardening season when items are marked with clearance prices.

I read that cornmeal is like birth control to weeds and prevents sprouting?, interesting. Anyway back to the Evening Primrose, I did take some from the flower bed of the rented property to my new yard where I have a area it could just go wild if it wanted to and figured it would catch on like wild fire, it never took!, just when I finally had the perfect place for it. So over there I could not get rid of it and here I could not get it started.

You have to be careful when purchasing because it is NOT all organic. Make sure the label says organic if that is what you want.

Linda, I have found Evening Primrose hard to get started before too, which is odd considering how it behaves once it settles. Those little thread like roots don't seem to hold a ball of soil and then resent disturbance. I have resorted to potting up pieces I've dug, then I sat the pots in the shade and kept them moist for a week or two. Those transferred into the garden without issue.

I've stopped using chemicals in the garden, so no Preen here. I also have some self seeding annuals that I want to keep around.

I wish I could have my cake and eat it too, don't we all? I use Preen and occasionally Round-Up on tough weeds, but I do want to have reseeding annuals too, Neal. So then it is a battle of seeds or weeds!?
The bermuda grass here is so invasive and hardy that pulling it out is impossible, it just sprouts up and regrows like wildfire.