Garden (With free questions!)

[Fishfriend1]

Ok, so, my front garden is usually just left to fend for tiself, excepting the minor weeding and whatnot, but we've planted the next set of plants.

In the front we have a lovely row of whashamicalit bulbs, the ones with the tiny pink/purple/white flowers at the top of a central stalk and smell rell good and are all easter-y flowers. They were here before we were. Also got some daffadils, tulips, the like up there, all bulbs.

Behind those is the Catnip and... petunias or something, fall flowers. Behind/next to/on top of them we have a large Salvia (May Night) and a massive Iris Flower(s) that have only bloomed last year so far, which are also next to it. (here's hoping). Next to the Iris we have ivy, maybe a bad idea, but too late now. On the opposite side we have two Carnations.

In the back we have Lylacks and some semi-wild strawberries, along with a "Banna Leaf Tree" from walmart several years ago that just wont die. Took out the stumps today (plural) and they were either as big or considerably bigger then my head (definitly a bad buy). On the far side from that monster tree, we have two Stonecrops.

On the side of the house there we have wild mini-strawberry things and a new Clematis.

And that's the Garden. Here are the questions.

We have been trying to ID the "Banana Leaf Tree" for ever, that one is about 4-5 years old now.

If any of those are invasive (besides the big tree of doom) it would be nice to know.

And, of course, updates and new questions will be made. Thanks for reading this boring chunk of stuff you probably don't care about, give yourself a hand for reaching this part! :y220e:

 

[Piranha86]

Catnip is related to mint and mint is extremely invasive, so you may want to keep your eye on it.

 

[Fishfriend1]

Catnip is related to mint and mint is extremely invasive, so you may want to keep your eye on it.

Really? Coulda fooled me, it's almost completely dead (crushed by the Salvia last summer... fail). Anyway, I'll keep a close eye on it, thanks! Oh, just to give a region for judging the invasivness, I'm in Southeastern PA.

 

[Sigrid]

:uhoh: Fishfriend,
I live not too far from you.
Mint, mint, mint, what a pain in the wrist to keep it under control...it pops up every year in the most unlikely places. I will never plant another mint plant in my garden. The originals were planted in a 18 inch diam. pot in a flowerbed and spread like wild fire.

 

[Fishfriend1]

wow, sounds like you need some Salvia to kill it off, lol. Good luck with the mint, i bet you fertalize. Which I don't, cause it's A)to much work, and B)to expensive. Do use compost every spring though.

 

[platytudes]

I think it's going to be hard to ID your plant without a pic, is a pic not possible to take?

Is it a vine? I'm surprised a tropical plant can survive in your region.

Try to take a pic of a whole leaf (so you can see the leaf margins) and also one that zooms out so you can see the entire plant, it helps to know if the leaves are alternate or opposite, if they are compound, etc. This guide will give you an idea of how to ID using leaves.
http://www.oplin.org/tree/

 

[Fishfriend1]

I think it's going to be hard to ID your plant without a pic, is a pic not possible to take?

Is it a vine? I'm surprised a tropical plant can survive in your region.

Try to take a pic of a whole leaf (so you can see the leaf margins) and also one that zooms out so you can see the entire plant, it helps to know if the leaves are alternate or opposite, if they are compound, etc. This guide will give you an idea of how to ID using leaves.
http://www.oplin.org/tree/

it dies every winter, then comes back from the ground up every summer. Googled it, here's the pic. Apperently I was right when I said "Banana Leaf Tree" was the actual name! I can't believe I got it right. Pics from Google:


The little bugger just won't die. Every time we chop it down it comes back double in numbers. Averages at 7=12ft tall each year (if you count the leaves at their highest) and then dies and we dump the remains on the compost heap (great for compost, BTW). Since I took out the stumps, I'm thinking it's gonna regenerat in a few dozen spots now...

 

[SubRosa]

Basjoo Bamboo.

 

[captmicha]

I concur, Musa basjoo.

Roundup that catnip and ivy. They're both horribly invasive. (Sorry, I can't get the itallics to go off.)

As for the bulbs, are you talking about Globe alliums? Probably not, I don't think they're flowering yet. If you're talking about star of bethlehem, Roundup that as well because it's also very invasive.

 

[platytudes]

Actually, I bet if you posted something on craigslist like "come get these trees for free - you dig" - someone (or plural) would dig them out for you. They are actually desirable to people If you wet the ground and use a sharp shovel it shouldn't be hard to get the pups, they propagate by tubers, I think. The adults will be harder to dig out, but it can be done.

If you just want to get rid of them, try the Roundup for brush, it's more concentrated.