Don’t Let Aggressive Bargain Plants Take Over the Garden

So you’ve found a plant that blooms all season, tolerates a wide range of growing conditions and needs little maintenance. Sound too good to be true?  It probably is.

Lots of fast growing easy care plants are overly aggressive.  They crowd out their more timid neighbors and often need concrete barriers or regular weeding to keep them in check. 

Invasive plants go one step further. These plants leave the bounds of our landscape and invade our natural areas.  They crowd out native plants that provide food and shelter for wildlife.  These should be eliminated from gardens in regions where they are a threat.

And beware of bargain backyard plant sales.  These are often filled with aggressive plants that have overrun the seller’s garden.  Ask the seller about the aggressive nature of the plant before purchasing.  Years of weeding is not worth the money saved on bargain plants.

A bit more information: A good example is common yarrow (Achillea millefolium). This perennial flower can be found in both weed and perennial books.  It tolerates hot dry conditions and readily reseeds and spreads. Select less aggressive species and cultivars that do not reseed.

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invasive maintenance yarrow fern-leaf-yarrow

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