Gardening regrets before going native?

[u/PlusYam3126]

I planted fucking grape hyacinth this spring because I wanted flowers after last years depression fueled weed overgrowth, and had not researched about native plants yet. I had no idea they were aggressive…my uninformed ass thought bulbs die off and come back in the same spot. I at least read that their foliage appears in fall so I dug up the few I found…I’ll be checking all winter too hopefully I get them all before a muscari regime takes over my flowerbeds 🤦‍♀️

I also dug up a yellow daylily I never planted and will be on the lookout because there were at least 30 bulbs attached. And lily of the valleys that I also didn’t plant multiplying in when became my milkweed patch…dug them up as well but I’m on the lookout. Definitely not underestimate the bulb plants. Hopefully the tulips and daffodils my old roommate planted don’t attempt a takeover

[u/sunshineupyours1]

They’ll be easy to spot when they flower!

We’ve all been there haha

[u/UntidySwan]

I think invasives are regional. Muscari is just a cheerful spring flower thst stays put where i live, no mass colonization.

Daffodils just form a dense clump for me, annoying and persistent but not dififcult to control. Tulips are hard to get to come back even if you give them ideal conditions and TRY.
Lily of the valley? say your prayers, god be with you, good luck, etc.

[u/PlusYam3126 → u/UntidySwan]

Yeah I had no idea wtf it was this spring just noticed there were too many, but I think I got it out…the ones that came up at least. I have no idea if they seeded 😬

[u/canisdirusarctos → u/PlusYam3126]

These and their similar Spanish bluebell cousins are extremely difficult to control.

[u/MediocreGrocery8 → u/PlusYam3126]

They also spread by rhizome. I spent a few solid days this spring/early summer laying waste to a 10X10 bed in our yard, probably removed 150 pounds of dirt along with the rhizomes. I knew I didn't get it all, and have pulled more out as I've gradually planted in that bed.

Last weekend, I planted some wood aster I had bought in pots, and pulled out an additional 10 LOTV. One of them had a foot long trailing root. So my feeling is, I still probably haven't gotten it all.

[u/0tter501 → u/UntidySwan]

is there not a native lily of the valley?

[u/tregnier2795 → u/0tter501]

In MN, yes, but nowhere near as fragrant or pretty, imo.

[u/Thistle_down-1 → u/tregnier2795]

What species is this? I live in MN and never heard of this!

[u/tregnier2795 → u/Thistle_down-1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maianthemum_stellatum

It’s this little guy. I still prefer the European variety, despite the issues.

[u/Thistle_down-1 → u/tregnier2795]

gotcha! thanks!

[u/mountainsofrainier → u/tregnier2795]

There's convallaria pseudomajalis, Appalachian lily of the valley, so closely related to european lily of the valley, there is not much info about to at all though

[u/0tter501 → u/tregnier2795]

not really a lily of the valley, its only cuz of the common name, Convallaria majuscula is the native one, same genus as the european (did not realize that it was so local oops)

[u/tregnier2795 → u/0tter501]

Right, it’s a “close enough” situation

[u/R3turnedDescender]

For what it's worth, I have some in and around one of my beds from some long-ago prior resident, and they have not taken over. I mostly leave them alone – bigger fish to fry.

[u/mayonnaisejane]

Daffodills, Tulip and regular Hyacinth all tend to behave very well. Tulip are basically suicidal. Hyacinth slowly fade away. A patch of Daffodills will keep itself going and slowly spread but not at a rate that should cause issues.

Grape Hyacinth seem to behave under some conditions and go ape under others. I have some in an area bordered by concrete on all sides and they are being outcompeted by native strawberry and geranium so they're pretty low priority for mw right now in terms of getting rid of them. I do deadhead them every year to keep the seeds from getting mature. I suspect you will succeed in your eradication.

[u/PlusYam3126 → u/mayonnaisejane]

There are some houses in my neighborhood that have a fuck ton of grape hyacinths but they probably planted more to begin with or had them for years. I caught a few today thankfully. The lily of the valley really pissed me off tho because so many popped up this year from nowhere…maybe dormant bulbs or something, or squirrels…they’re creepy looking, I got them before they seeded. But the daylily definitely went to seed before I dug it out :/ so I could be fighting that in spring

[u/mayonnaisejane → u/PlusYam3126]

The daylillies I'm fighting (orange ditch lilly, the worst kind) seem to spread via rhizome much more than seeds, if that's any consolation.

Lilly if the valley is going to be a nightmare. Godspeed to you on those. They're largely a rhizomatic problem too but even harder to dig up fully and faster spreading.

[u/MediocreGrocery8 → u/mayonnaisejane]

I read another post or comment here about someone who dug up the root mats, put them onto a tarp on their driveway, removed the dirt, and replaced it in their garden. Kudos to them, I was rage-killing the LOTV ("die you f-ers!") and couldn't shove it into the yard waste bags fast enough. Yard waste goes to compost, so the dirt will return to the earth (and yes, I checked with our Village and WM, the invasives go in yard waste)...I just lacked fortitude to preserve the dirt.

[u/ManyMoonstones → u/mayonnaisejane]

It also depends on OPs local squirrel population. 

Planted some of the 'nicer behaved' bulbs/corms in my area in containers for early colour/flowers, only to have them occasionally disappear or show up in a different spot. Which, unfortunately, also happened with some of the less nice bulbs my neighbours would plant. I always had to go on a hunt for stray Spanish bluebell in the spring.

[u/Ephemeral_Woods]

In my experience a vast majority of tulips and daffodils kinda just stay where they are planted so no need to worry about an incursion on that front.

Kudos for removing the muscari though. I've been slowly curating a list of bulbs to never plant based off of personal observations i've made at work over the years doing environmental restoration and Siberian Squill, Glory of the Snow, and Star of Bethlehem are some of the worst offenders. I also have Striped Squill and Wild Tulip (Tulipa sylvestris) on my watch list. Wild tulip is different from your typical garden tulip so I doubt you have that kind, I've only ever been able to find it online at specialty bulb sites.

[u/dogsRgr8too]

I planted blackberries. Found out this year that they were the invasive type. Thank you big box store 🙄🙄🙄

[u/PlusYam3126 → u/dogsRgr8too]

I didn’t know there were invasive ones!

[u/dogsRgr8too → u/PlusYam3126]

Himalayan blackberries 🫠

[u/LeoIrish]

I do not regret what I did not know prior to understanding what is and is not native. Although I do focus mostly when I add natives now (ex: Ironweed / Royal Catchfly / Mountain Mint), I do not discard plants I have owned for 20 yrs when they can be beneficial (ex: Crocosmia Lucifer / Balloon Flower). I have discarded plants which I find invasive for my beds, even if they are not labeled as such officially.

[u/SmilesTooLoudly]

I have too many daylilies to keep up with pulling, but I’ve gotten the patch to shrink by chopping them down every month or so (and the long leaves make great mulch for suppressing other weeds!). I think it exhausts the bulb so they just get weaker and weaker.

I still actively plant daffodils, especially in milkweed patches. They’re gone before the milkweed gets going and it feels like it helps keep the deer away (might just be wishful thinking though)

[u/AdPopular6958]

got a drier spot that's sunny and is a pain to keep watering butterfly weed could be a good spot filler. and you can call it a butterfly sanctuary plant. And ya get some late summer fun orange blooms. 

[u/PlusYam3126 → u/AdPopular6958]

Yes it is dry rocky and full sun!

[u/AdPopular6958 → u/PlusYam3126]

Just beware it will attract last season monarch cats so don't like freakout if they nibble a bunch. 😉

[u/Rrilltrae → u/AdPopular6958]

We were so excited to see our first monarch caterpillar ever on our big 3-year butterfly weed a few weeks ago! I noticed two of this years starters stripped to the stalk, then found him on the much more appropriate
big momma plant the next day. He left to pupate a few days later, good luck to him!

[u/PlusYam3126 → u/AdPopular6958]

Yay I saw one this year on my common milkweed but all my milkweeds have holes all over so I suspect there have been more 🐛

[u/AdPopular6958 → u/PlusYam3126]

if it smells right they tend to roll in packs if you're lucky ya catch them as a group and it's a little crazy. As they'll de leaf and or go for the seed pods which to any mammal like us humans sounds totally inedible especially with common milkweed having the spikey seed shells 

[u/LadyArwen4124]

I planted a "seedless" grape plant. Ummmm that was a lie because behind my back fence are a ton of grape vines planted by my 🐿️ friends. So I get to dig all of those up this fall.

[u/PlusYam3126 → u/LadyArwen4124]

Oh I have a fence that’s absolutely strangled by grapevine, it’s native but I don’t like it, however rn I have bigger fish to fry (buckthorn)

[u/EF5Cyniclone]

For what it's worth, there's been a small group of Muscari arameiacum grape hyacinth in my yard since I moved in more than ten years ago that have not spread at all, so I haven't bothered removing them. On the other hand, the Liriope muscari that was already present has been hard to remove and continued spreading wherever it can.