Anybody know anything about crown vetch? We bought a whole bunch of crowns 2 years ago and put them out on the 2 banks so the SU wouldn't have so much to weed-eat. Only about 1/4 of them grew, if that. It is growing beautifully along the road banks and ditches and was wondering if I could go dig some out and transplant it on our banks here.

What did grow that we planted finally looks really good this year.

Around here it is invasive and some states it is on the invasive list. I planted some one year and was really sorry the next! It takes it a year or two to get going, but boy did it ever. I had to round up several times to get rid of it. Digging did not work, even a little piece grows back. I understand also that it spreads by seed after little pink flowers.
But maybe in your area it is not like that.

Road crews plant it to keep high banks from eroding.

They did that here too. It is growing along alot of our interstates. They no longer plant it here though after discovering it's invasiveness. It is a beautiful plant.

It was growing on our property when we moved here 25 years ago... we've mostly eliminated it at this point, thankfully.

Anna, it's true that it has been planted for erosion control, but that was another one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" things; it's listed as an invasive in Wisconsin and is classified as "restricted."
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Invasi...

It grows on these runner type thingies that spout out if you break them off and they don't pull out. It runs under the ground and comes up everywhere if I am remembering it right. (been 10 yrs!)

I think it is listed as invasive because of hundreds of tiny seeds after the pink flowers and they wash down ditches ect into waterways and sprout out everywhere. It is the seed I think that is the problem.

I grew some in a pot I dug up and it flourished in full sun with regular watering. It survives snow and frost and heat so pretty much very Hardy once established.

It can get to -30 here in the winter and it doesn't croak. LOL

Isn't it a relative of the Pea?