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Garden Perennials that Gently Self Sow

Butterfly weed is a lovely native that will sow itself very gently and weave into the garden.

Some perennials persist in the garden not only as over-wintering plants, but also via self-sown seedlings. With their penchant for popping up spontaneously here and there, they’re a great fit for cottage gardens, wildflower borders, and other informal plantings. Additionally, they obviate the need for deadheading!

Unwelcome Self Sowers

Admittedly, a few perennials can take self-sowing too far. For example, a lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) that is allowed to go to seed will soon produce a population bomb, spawning gazillions of offspring. Although the plants profiled below typically self-sow in moderation, they can be more prolific in favorable situations. Keep an eye out and a hoe at hand just in case!

You’ll also want to discourage self-sowing by named varieties of perennial species whose seedlings are not true to type. Allow your pristine Phlox paniculata ‘David’ to self-sow, and you’ll likely soon have a flock of muddy-purple wild-type offspring. The same goes for many other groups of perennials, including columbines (Aquilegia spp.), and just about anything from the aster/daisy family, though on occasion their offspring can be quite pretty.

Aquilegia hybrids gently self-sow, but their seedlings yield various unexpected surprises.

Finally, avoid heavy applications of mulch in areas where you want to encourage self-sowing. Most perennial seeds will not germinate while are buried under a 3-inch stratum of shredded bark. A much more satisfactory method of controlling weeds is to allow desirable plants to seed themselves densely into any garden gaps and to keep the gaps weeded while the new seedlings develop. A light early-spring scattering of Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost is all the mulch you’ll need in an established, densely populated border.

Welcome Self Sowers

Black cohosh, bugbane (Actaea racemosa)

The white flower spikes and ferny foliage of black cohosh are both attractive.

Native to moist fertile woodlands over much of the eastern U.S. from zones 4-8, this imposing perennial produces moderate numbers of seedlings in similar garden habitats. Mature plants form ferny-leaved, 3-to 4-foot clumps, surmounted in summer by white bottlebrush flower spikes. Several other U.S. native bugbanes are also well worth growing, most notably the relatively compact, bold-leaved, late-summer-blooming Actaea rubifolia.

Blue-star (Amsonia spp.)

The pale flowers of Arkansas blue-star mingle with tall Allium.

Most members of this mostly North American genus will self-sow obligingly (but not invasively) in sunny to lightly shaded garden niches. Almost all amsonias are large, upright, long-lived clump-formers with handsome, lance-shaped, disease-resistant foliage and starry, light blue, late-spring flowers. Arkansas blue-star (Amsonia hubrichtii, Zones 5-9) is especially handsome, thanks to its extremely narrow leaves that lend its 3-foot clumps a hazy, dreamy look. It’s also one of the most reliable self-sowers of the lot.

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Both butterflies and bees are attracted to the bright flowers of butterfly weed.

A durable eastern U.S. native for hot dry sunny niches, butterfly weed summons early-summer pollinators with its brilliant flat-headed clusters of orange to yellow flowers on 2-foot stems. The ensuing seed pods split open to release downy seeds that float away on the summer breeze – and germinate the following spring. Volunteer seedlings can be sparse to abundant, depending on wind patterns and other vagaries. Grow it in zones 3-9.

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spp.)

Fringed bleeding heart is an exceptional native for pollinators.

Fringed bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia, Zones 3-9) would be worth growing for its lacy, finely divided, blue-green foliage alone. For most gardeners (and hummingbirds), though, it’s the flowers (which resemble fanciful pink flasks rather than hearts) that are the primary feature of this lovely eastern U.S. woodlander. Bloom repeats sporadically from spring through fall, spawning the occasional seedling. Hybrids (such as ‘Luxuriant’) between Dicentra eximia and its western U.S. cousin Dicentra formosa (Zones 4-8) are sterile and seedless. At around a foot tall, Dicentra eximia and its hybrids are miniatures compared to the species whose cordate flowers inspired the common name “bleeding heart”. The purple-pink hearts of Dicentra spectabilis (recently re-dubbed Lamprocapnos spectabilis, Zones 3-9) open in mid-spring on arching stems that ascend to 3 feet or more. There’s also a beguiling white-flowered variant. All manifestations of the species self-sow modestly and true to form.

Gas plant (Dictamnus albus)

Gas plant blooms have a sweet citrusy scent.

Slow from seed and in growth, gas plant is one of a multitude of splendid perennials that are rarely offered because they are a poor fit for mass-market plant production. Give it a few years, and it will mature into a 3-foot hummock of lustrous, dark-green foliage decked in late spring with spikes of fragrant, showy purple or white, hummingbird-seducing flowers. One of the best strategies for propagating this long-lived Eurasian native is to wait for volunteer seedlings, which occur sporadically. Gas plant has only one liability as an ornamental: in rare instances, the volatile oils that inspired its name can cause blistering and other symptoms of acute dermatitis. These volatile compounds are also responsible for a time-honored garden ritual. Hold a match near the plant on a calm warm evening and its “gases” will briefly flare into flame. Grow in zones 3-9.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)

Here purple and white coneflower variants mingle in a naturalistic garden.

No need to plant more of this beloved Midwest native: once it’s in your garden, it will almost certainly give you a scattering of volunteers. Expect to see their rose-pink, dark-coned flowers within a year after they germinate. Seedlings of the slew of recently introduced hybrids involving Echinacea purpurea (Zones 4-9) and the yellow-flowered Echinacea paradoxa (Zones 4-9) are a different story. Even if they survive the winter – a dubious proposition in USDA hardiness zones 6 and lower – they’ll produce flowers unlike those of their parent.

Rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium)

The unique foliage and flowers of this prairie native add interest to native gardens. (Image by Kurt Stueber)

You might think that a perennial with yucca-like foliage (and a botanical name to match) would favor arid conditions. In fact, Eryngium yuccifolium (Zones 3-9) often occurs in moist habitats in its native range, which spans much of eastern and central North America. Give it a reasonably fertile, not too dry garden soil, and it will send up 4-foot stalks in midsummer, topped by spheres of silvery flowers. Allow it to seed, and you’ll be rewarded with progeny the following spring.

Bearfoot hellebore (Helleborus foetidus)

The pale chartreuse flowers of bearfoot hellebore bloom in late winter to early spring.

Most hellebores self-sow, given the opportunity. Helleborus foetidus (Zones 5-8) is perhaps the most adaptable and fecund of the lot, prospering and self-propagating in sun and shade. A member of the shrubby side of the tribe, it bears leaves and pale chartreuse flowers on upright stems that can ascend to 18 inches or more. The foliage is pleasantly pungent rather than unpleasantly fetid.

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Cardinal flower spikes have blooms of the purest red imaginable.

The brilliant red spires of cardinal flower (Zones 3-9) are a common midsummer sight in wetland habitats of eastern and central North America. Quite often they’re attended by adoring hummingbirds. Relatively short-lived in the garden, they persist by sowing themselves into moist exposed soil, germinating into evergreen rosettes. Equally wonderful is blue cardinal flower (Lobelia siphilitica, Zones 4-8), another eastern North American native and midsummer hummingbird fave. It succeeds in just about any garden position except deep shade. Its white-flowered form is also compelling.

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Virginia bluebells will make any spring garden look lovely.

Give this eastern U.S. native (Zones 3-9) a good moist soil in partial shade, and it will spread freely both from underground rhizomes and from self-seeding. A member of the borage family, it produces the blue flowers typical of the tribe. The blue-green, tongue-shaped leaves go dormant soon after the flowers fade in late spring.

Celandine poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)

Wooded native gardens are suited to celandine poppies.

An excellent shade-garden companion for Virginia bluebells (as well as trilliums and woodland phlox), this reliably self-sowing eastern U.S. native (Zones 4-9) bears glistening yellow mini-poppies on 18-inch plants clothed in large lobed leaves. Its East-Asian analog Stylophorum lasiocarpum blooms in summer.

Among the numerous other perennials that seed themselves are:

  • Blazing star (Liatris spp.);
  • Patrinia (Patrinia spp.);
  • Beardtongue (Penstemon spp.);
  • Balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus);
  • and Yellow fumitory (Pseudofumaria lutea).

They’re living proof that going to seed is not necessarily a bad thing!

Well-Mannered Groundcovers for Shade

Foamflower is a highly desirable native flowering groundcover for shade.

Back when one-size-fits-all gardening was a thing, ground covers for shade were seemingly as easy as one-two-three: creeping myrtle (Vinca minor), English ivy (Hedera helix), and Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis). That is before they all began invading wildlands. All were neatly arrayed under an equally ubiquitous Norway maple or Bradford pear– both equally invasive and troublesome.

It was bound to happen. Introduce lots of vigorous, spreading plant species, and you increase the likelihood they will become pests themselves by invading local native plant communities. It did not take long for all three non-native, go-to ground covers to be added to the invasive plant lists of many U.S. states, particularly in the American Southeast and Northwest.

Unfortunately, going ubiquitous presented additional problems in the garden. As anyone who has ever tried to maintain the “perfect” lawn and garden can attest, mass plantings are easy pickings for mass invasions of pests and diseases. Japanese spurge loses a lot of its allure when it’s riddled with Volutella blight, as is all too common these days.

Well-Mannered Groundcovers for Shade

Fortunately, excellent (and arguably superior) ground cover alternatives abound, many of them native. Feeding the soil with quality compost, such as Fafard Premium Garden Compost Blend, at planting time will encourage good establishment from the start.

Twilight Aster

Twilight aster blooms for a long period in summer and fall.

Who says ground covers have to hug the ground? Some situations call for something taller. Twilight Aster (Aster x herveyi ‘Twilight’ (aka Eurybia x herveyi)) spreads by rhizomes into large swards of broad-leaved rosettes that give rise in summer to leafy 2-foot-tall stems. Plants are crowned with clusters of pale lavender flowers for many weeks in late summer and fall. An incredibly adaptable thing, ‘Twilight’ can handle situations from dry shade to damp sun. This eastern U.S. native goes dormant in winter.

Sedges

Many native sedges are evergreen and make lush groundcovers for shade.

Botanically speaking, they’re not grasses, but sedges provide much the same look for shade with their clumps of narrow-bladed leaves. Masses of low sedges such as Carex pensylvanica and Carex rosea (both eastern U.S. natives) make excellent low-foot-traffic lawn substitutes. For a bolder look, try a clump of seersucker sedge (Carex plantaginea), whose strappy puckered evergreen leaves contrast effectively with lacier shade subjects such as ferns.

Green-and-Gold

Green-and-gold is semi-evergreen and bears loads of bright golden blooms in spring that attract native bees.

Green-and-gold (Chrysogonum virginianum) is a hardy, attractive woodland native. “Green” references the dense spreading rosettes of fuzzy, crinkled, heart-shaped leaves that hold their color and substance through much of winter. The “gold” is provided by the numerous little yellow “daisies” that spangle the plants in spring and repeat sporadically until fall. Native to woodlands in the Southeast U.S., Chrysogonum virginianum is hardy well north of that, to Zone 5.

Robin’s Plantain

This is one of those rare plants you can plug into the garden just about anywhere – sun or shade.

Often occurring as a rather doughty lawn weed, this plantain (Erigeron pulchellus) is a nearly evergreen eastern U.S. native that occasionally assumes much more pulchritudinous forms. The cultivar ‘Lynnhaven Carpet’, for example, grows into handsome carpets of broad fuzzy gray-green leaves that are decorated in spring with pink daisies on 18-inch stems. It’s one of those rare plants you can plug into the garden just about anywhere – sun or shade. Another delightful selection of robin’s plantain is ‘Meadow Muffin’, with contorted leaves that give its rosettes a bit of a cow-pie look.

Allegheny Spurge

Allegheny spurge has leaves that are elegantly splashed with silver mottling, lending the plant a distinguished look totally lacking in Pachysandra terminalis. (Photo by Zen Sutherland)

Although not a rapid runner like the aforementioned Japanese spurge, our Southeast native Allegheny spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) far outdistances it as a desirable ornamental. The whorled evergreen leaves – arrayed in mounded 6-inch-tall clumps – are elegantly splashed with silver mottling, lending the plant a distinguished look totally lacking in Pachysandra terminalis. Things get even splashier in spring when conical clusters of frilly white flowers push from the ground, along with the fresh-green new leaves, as the previous year’s foliage fades. It’s one of those early-season garden scenes that makes your heart leap up. Allegheny spurge thrives in moist humus-rich soil, so give it a dose of Fafard compost if your soil is overly sandy or heavy.

Ragwort

Golden flowers light up this native naturalizer in late spring.

Golden ragwort (Packera aurea) and its near look-alike roundleaf ragwort (Packera obovata) provide quick cover for more informal garden areas. Low swaths of bright green rounded leaves emerge from their rapidly spreading roots in early spring, followed a few weeks later by heads of small yellow “daisies” on 2-foot stems. Use golden ragwort in moist garden situations, and roundleaf ragwort in moist to dry niches. They’re both native to much of central and eastern North America.

Creeping Phlox

This evergreen woodland creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) from eastern North America will expand into a ground-hugging carpet.

Don’t let its rather dainty appearance deceive you: this evergreen woodland creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) from eastern North America will expand into a ground-hugging carpet of small spoon-shaped leaves. It also provides a spring garden highlight when it opens its clusters of proportionately large round-lobed flowers, poised on 6-inch stems. Blue-, pink-, violet-, and white-flowered selections are available, but probably the best for ground cover is the vigorous cultivar ‘Sherwood Purple’.

Whorled Stonecrop

A native sedum that thrives in shade? Yes!

If you think stonecrops are drought-loving sun plants, you’re probably not acquainted with Sedum ternatum. Hailing from moist partly shaded habitats over much of central and eastern North America, it makes an excellent small-scale ground cover in similar garden conditions, although it also succeeds in sunnier, drier sites. Its dense low hummocks of fleshy ear-shaped leaves are studded with sprays of white flowers in spring. This highly effective shade plant is still rather rare in gardens – perhaps because of its family associations.

Foamflower

Frothy 6-inch spikes of white flowers appear in spring above spreading expanses of handsome maple-shaped basal leaves. These features of foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), combined with a tough constitution, make for one of the best and most popular native ground covers for easter U.S. gardens. Its variety collina is a clumper rather than a runner, so it’s a better choice where a less rambunctious ground covering plant is required.

Barren Strawberry

Semi-evergreen leaves and bright golden spring flowers make this handsome bee plant a real winner in the garden.

Dense swaths of strawberry-like leaves expand steadily and tenaciously to provide attractive semi-evergreen ground cover in most any garden niche, from dry shade to full sun. Saucer-shaped yellow flowers dot the plants in spring, with a few repeat blooms later on. Recently moved to the genus Geum, barren strawberry (Waldsteinia fragarioides aka Geum fragarioides) is one of the best native ground covers for eastern U.S. gardens – under whatever name.

The Patriotic Perennial Garden: Planting in Red, White, and Blue

Native perennials in red, white, and blue!

What could be more American than a planting of native perennials that flowers red-white-and-blue in summer? If you have a sunny to lightly shaded garden spot with reasonably decent soil, you could celebrate next Independence Day with your own floral fireworks, courtesy of the following perennials. All are native to eastern North America, and hardy to USDA Zone 5. If your soil is excessively sandy or heavy, be sure to dig in a couple inches of Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic Compost before installing your patriotic planting.

Red Garden Flowers

Bee balm (Monarda didyma hybrids)

‘Jacob Cline’ monarda has big bright red flowers that hummingbirds cannot resist.

Few plants are more all-American than the species and hybrids in the genus Monarda, which is endemic to the New World. The frilly, fragrant flower heads of these tall, often vigorously spreading perennials expand in late spring and early summer, drawing in whatever hummingbirds are in the vicinity. Powdery mildew can be a problem in humid, droughty weather, so look for varieties that have been selected for mildew resistance. These include cultivars in shades of brilliant red (‘Gardenview Scarlet’, ‘Jacob Cline’), rich purple-red (‘Judith’s Fancy Fuchsia’, ‘Raspberry Wine’), violet-purple (‘Purple Rooster’, ‘On Parade’), lavender-purple (Monarda fistulosaClaire Grace’, ‘Dark Ponticum’), and hot pink (‘Coral Reef’). All of the above are in the 3- to 4-foot-tall range. Several recently introduced, lower-growing bee balms are also available, including purple ‘Grand Marshall’ (2 feet tall) and bright pink ‘Grand Parade’ (15 inches).

Winecups (Callirhoe involucrata)

Winecups thrive in summer heat.

Another purely North American genus, Callirhoe encompasses 9 species of sun-loving perennials and annuals, most blessed with showy burgundy-red flowers that continue through much of summer. The trailing habit of Callirhoe involucrata is typical of most winecups. If you’re looking for a sun- and heat-loving perennial that will cover ground, cascade down walls, or weave through neighboring plants, you can hardly do better. Fringed poppy mallow (Callirhoe digitata) is more upstanding in habit, to 2 feet tall; it’s also well worth growing.

White Garden Flowers

American ipecac (Gillenia stipulata)

Gillenia is an easy perennial that deserves to be in every garden.

A long-lived, 3-foot-tall perennial with lacy leaves, starry early summer flowers, brilliant fall color, and a tough, drought-tolerant constitution, the eastern North American native American ipecac (and its close cousin, Gillenia trifoliata) is one of the best garden perennials, period. It takes a couple years to get going, which makes it a hard sell in an era when many gardeners and nurseries want instant results. But if you get a chance to buy one (or more), grab it. You’ll thank yourself for years to come.

Other White-Flowered Native Perennials

White coneflowers are bright and beautiful!

Quite a few other U.S. native perennials sometimes dress in white, even if it’s not their typical flower color. Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) sometimes goes albino, as in cultivars ‘White Swan’ and the dwarf, 20-inch-tall ‘PowWow White’. Their large-coned, many-rayed blossoms debut in early summer and continue for many weeks. False dragonhead (Physostegia virginiana) is another purple all-summer bloomer that often diverges into white forms. Cultivars such as ‘Alba’ and ‘Summer Snow’ have the same general habit as purple forms, bearing their flower spikes on 3-foot tall, rapidly spreading plants. Less rampant forms include ‘Miss Manners’, a 2-foot-tall clump-former, and the 15-inch ‘Crystal Peak White’. Purple-to-white also happens in the genus Phlox. Most border phlox (Phlox paniculata) come into bloom after the Fourth. Several other species and hybrids, however, start flowering in June and continue through summer. Look for ‘Solar Flare’, ‘Daughter of Pearl’, and ‘Aurora’, all bearing white, pink-eyed flowers on 2- to 3-foot, mildew resistant plants in spring and early summer with repeat flushes until frost.

Blue Garden Flowers

Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)

Bees love these fragrant blue flowers.

If you love masses of lavender-blue flowers and bumblebees, you’ll want to work this eastern North American native into your plantings, patriotic and otherwise. The flowers are carried from late spring through much of summer on airy spikes undergirded by clumps of coarse toothed oval leaves. All parts of this large, 3- to 4-foot tall, short-lived perennial waft a pleasant fragrance. A reliable (and sometimes prolific) self-sower, it comes in several forms, including white-flowered and gold-leaved varieties. Dalliances with other species including the East Asian native Agastache rugosa have led to numerous hybrid selections (e.g., ‘Blue Fortune’), most of which offer a somewhat more compact habit.

Tall larkspur (Delphinium exaltatum)

These larkspurs are more delicate their hybridized European cousins.

Common garden delphiniums are European hybrids of Eurasian species that melt in the heat and humidity of eastern North American summers. Tall larkspur, in contrast, hails from the Southeast United States, so it can take just about anything summer throws at it. Don’t expect flowers the size of those of the prima-donna hybrids. Count instead on spikes of purple-blue blooms that are much daintier and less flop-prone, on 4- to 5-foot stalks. They’re right at home in cottage borders, butterfly borders, and other informal settings. Flowering kicks in around the Fourth, yet another reason to celebrate the holiday.

Surefire Perennials for Shadier Gardens

Bowman’s root is an underused perennial that tolerates both sun and some shade.

Where have all the flowers gone? If your shade garden has you asking this question around late June, you might consider adding a few of the following perennials to your plantings. They’ll answer the “where have they gone” question with an emphatic “They’re still here!”.

Of course, even the most shade-tolerant perennial may languish if conditions are too dark, dry, or lean. You can improve impoverished or overly heavy soil by digging in a couple of inches of Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost before planting your new prizes. In areas with very dense low shade from overhead branches, consider removing a few of the branched culprits.

American Ipecac and Bowman’s Root

Gillenia trifoliata is a much underused native perennial wildflower whose fall color is as spectacular as its blooms.

American ipecac and Bowman’s root (Gillenia stipulata and Gillenia trifoliata), which also goes by the botanical name Porteranthus, is a durable shade- and drought-tolerant eastern U.S. native that starts summer with a flurry of starry white flowers on bushy, feathery-leaved, 3-foot plants. As with many of the best garden perennials, they’re rarely available because of their incompatibility with the mass-market plant production mill that dominates most of American horticulture these days (click on the plant name links for good sources).

Gillenia takes a while to get going, and they look doughty on a garden center display bench. Don’t let this deter you. Once they’re up to size, they’ll anchor your shade border for decades with their ferny presence and delightful June-to-July blooms. They’ll also go out with a fiery salvo each fall when their leaves turn sunset tones of purple, orange, and yellow. Few perennials offer so much beauty for so little effort.

Poke Milkweed

Poke milkweed opens its starburst clusters of down-facing white flowers on 4-foot stems in early summer. (Image by D. cerulea)

Bummed because your garden is too shady for milkweed and its attendant monarch butterflies? Good news: it probably isn’t. You just need to grow the delightful milkweed species that naturally occurs in woodland edge and clearings throughout much of the eastern United States, poke milkweed (Asclepias exaltata). It opens its starburst clusters of down-facing white flowers on 4-foot stems in early summer, making an excellent complement to Gillenia, for one. The common name of this clumping, noninvasive perennial refers to the large elliptical leaves, which bear something of a resemblance to pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). Plants sometimes go dormant in late summer, so don’t be alarmed if it dies back a few weeks after blooming.

Yellow Fumitory

Shade gardens light up with the bright yellow flowers of this fumatory.

We profiled the little charmer, yellow fumitory (Corydalis lutea), in last month’s piece on long-blooming perennials. Whether in sun or shade, it bears repeat flushes of golden-yellow flowers from spring to fall atop handsome 10-inch hummocks of lobed blue-green leaves. Plants multiply reliably via self-sown (or rather ant-sown) seedlings.

Black Cohosh and Appalachian Bugbane

Black cohosh produces white wands of flowers that look very pretty in early summer.

Two big bodacious perennials for partial shade are black cohosh and Appalachian bugbane (Actaea racemosa and A. rubifolia). These two eastern U.S. natives produce imposing bottlebrush spikes of white flowers that entice summer bees and wasps with their pungent (but pleasant) mineral fragrance. The spikes can tower as high as 5 or 6 feet in sites with fertile moist soil (although Appalachian bugbane tends to be somewhat shorter than its compatriot). Robust shrubby clumps of compound foliage provide the foundation for this floral majesty, with Appalachian bugbane making a bolder statement thanks to its large, maple-shaped leaf segments.

August Lily

August lily opens its large fragrant funnel-shaped flowers in midsummer.

Hostas are sometimes referred to as “flowering foliage plants”. This species is one of the main reasons why. As the common name suggests, August lily (Hosta plantaginea) opens its large fragrant funnel-shaped flowers in midsummer, on stout stems that rise above the lush clumps of creased, yellow-green, 10-inch-wide leaves. Hybrids include lilac-flowered ‘Honeybells’, and ‘Royal Standard’, which complements its white flowers with rich green leaves. All forms and hybrids of the species are relatively sun-tolerant.

Turtlehead

The flowers of these eastern North American natives do indeed resemble something you’d find at the north end of a turtle.

Even the most earthbound imagination will readily grasp what the common name is about, for the flowers of these eastern North American natives do indeed resemble something you’d find at the north end of a turtle. All are tall, moisture-craving, shade-tolerant perennials that bloom in summer. Chelone glabra starts things off in July with white “heads” poised at the tips of 3- to 6-foot stems. Two other widely available species – Chelone obliqua and C. lyonii – offer rose-pink flowers a bit later in the season. The compact cultivar Chelone obliqua ‘Tiny Tortuga’ carries its bright pink flowers on slowly spreading, glossy-leaved plants that top out at around 18 inches tall.

Cardinal Flower and Great Blue Lobelia

Lobelia cardinalis thrives with lots of moisture and dappled shade.

If you love hummingbirds, you need some of these eastern North American natives in your garden. Cardinal flower sports brilliant red hummer-magnets in August, just about the time great blue lobelia decks itself with (you guessed it) bright blue blooms. Both stand around 3 feet tall in flower, dying back to evergreen rosettes after blooming.

Native to damp woodland edges and the like in the wild, Lobelia cardinalis thrives with lots of moisture and dappled shade. Lobelia siphilitica is more drought- and sun-tolerant, but also grows happily in part shade. Cardinal flower comes in many forms including some with purple leaves (e.g., ‘New Moon Maroon’) or white or pink flowers. It also has occasional dalliances with great blue lobelia that result in typically purple-flowered hybrids classified as Lobelia x gerardii. These are well worth seeking out, as is another comely blue-flowered eastern North American native, Lobelia spicata.

Yellow Sages

Jupiter’s distaff (Salvia glutinosa) is a European native with yellow flowers that attract bees.

Not all perennial sages are blue-flowered sun-lovers. Several Eurasian salvias have yellow flowers and a preference for shade. Salvia koyamae sends up spikes of pale yellow flowers in late summer, over handsome 18-inch clumps of bold heart-shaped leaves. Also well worth growing is Jupiter’s distaff (Salvia glutinosa), a European native that’s larger than Salvia koyamae in all its parts. A first-rate foliage perennial, it’s particularly effective during its early- to mid-summer blooming season.

Yellow Toad Lily

This toadlilies yellow, maroon-speckled flowers bloom in July and August.

Most toad lilies flower from the end of summer into fall. Not so with the Japanese native, Yellow Toad Lily (Tricyrtis latifolia), whose 2-foot stems are decked with erect branching clusters of yellow, maroon-speckled flowers in July and August.

Grapeleaf Anemone

Silver-pink, saucer-shaped blossoms toss in the August breeze on branching 3- to 4-foot stems.

Like yellow toad lily, Grapeleaf Anemone (Anemone ‘Robustissima’) is an anomalously early-blooming member of a group of perennials (hybrid Japanese anemones) that typically flower in late summer and fall. The silver-pink, saucer-shaped blossoms toss in the August breeze on branching 3- to 4-foot stems. Plants grown from questing underground rhizomes that eventually form large colonies. Exceptionally sun-tolerant compared to most Japanese anemones, it thrives in full sun to half shade.

Garden Perennials That Don’t Stop Blooming

As flowering plants, most perennials are a mixed blessing. To their credit, they produce some of the garden’s signature blooms, on plants that return reliably year after year. What would spring be without primroses and trilliums, or summer without bee-balm and black-eyed Susans, or fall without asters and Japanese anemones?

Seasonality of bloom does have its downside, however. Many perennials are as fleeting as they are beautiful, flowering for a mere 2 or 3 weeks. Many – but not all. Here are some of our favorite perennials that depart from the norm by blooming for 3 months (or more) rather than the typical 3 weeks. Most will.

Nonstop Flowering Perennials

Yellow Fumitory (Corydalis lutea, aka Pseudofumaria lutea)

The bright yellow flowers and delicate blue-green leaves of this fumatory bring season-long color to gardens.

Few shade-loving plants of any type flower as brightly and as tirelessly as this somewhat short-lived perennial from mountains of central Europe. The golden-yellow, sharks-head-shaped flowers occur on mounded, ferny-leaved, foot-tall plants from mid-spring to fall, with barely a pause. Plants often generously self-sow, assisted by ants that distribute the seeds. Not to worry: unwanted seedlings are easily pulled – but you’ll likely want to keep all or most of them. Yellow fumitory is a perfect fit for shady cottage gardens and other semi-informal settings, mixed with celandine poppies (Stylophorum diphyllum), creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera), ferns, hostas, zigzag goldendrod (Solidago flexicaulis), and the like.  USDA hardiness zones: 5 to 8

Kenilworth Ivy (Cymbalaria muralis)

The ever-flowering Kenilworth ivy grows beautifully along rock walls and between paving stones.

Another shade-loving European native, Cymbalaria muralis does indeed resemble a miniature ivy in its lobed near-evergreen leaves and its clambering growth. Its small blue snapdragon-like flowers depart completely from the ivy model, however. The trailing plants grow best in well-drained soil, quickly covering the ground or a wall, and flowering happily from early spring to late summer. Plants can become a nuisance in favorable climates, so use with caution in areas such as the Pacific Northwest. The similar Cymbalaria pallida spreads less vigorously, forming condensed mats spangled with mid-blue flowers (or white, in the case of ‘Albiflora’). Both are hardy from zones 5 to 8.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’

‘Rozanne’ forms attractive mounds and blooms effortlessly through summer.

Few perennials flower as unceasingly as this hybrid geranium. Happy in full sun to light shade, it produces violet-blue saucer-flowers from late spring through summer on lax continually lengthening stems. You can shear plants to a few inches from the ground in midsummer to keep them more compact and to stimulate more prolific late-season bloom. The 2008 winner of the Perennial Plant Association’s Perennial of the Year award, ‘Rozanne’ has become immensely (and ubiquitously) popular throughout its USDA zone 5 to 8 hardiness range. (True Geranium are distinct from florists’ “geraniums”, which actually belong to the genus Pelargonium).

Corsican Violet (Viola corsica)

Corsican violets and delicate year-long bloomers.

Small in stature but unsurpassed in flower power, Corsican violet blooms continuously year-round, pausing only during sub-freezing winter spells. The violet-blue, white-eyed flowers lift their faces to the sun atop low semi-trailing stems that ultimately extend to 5 or 6 inches. Give this delightful little urchin a place in a sunny well-drained garden niche in its Zone 5 to 10 hardiness range and it will give you virtually endless delight. If you leave a few seedheads you’ll also get a few volunteer plants to spread the cheer.

Lavender (Lavandula hybrids)

Some lavender varieties will bloom from June to early October.

While technically a dwarf shrub, lavender functions as a herbaceous perennial in cold-winter areas of the U.S., where it typically flowers from late spring until late summer. Some lavender varieties take it a few weeks further, blooming into early fall. Among the best of these floriferous selections are 2-foot-tall ‘Royal Velvet’ and the 10-inch dwarf ‘Super Blue’. Also well worth seeking out are hardy hybrids between common lavender and Lavandula latifolia (known collectively as lavandin or Lavandula × intermedia). The lavandin cultivar ‘Phenomenal’ earns its name by producing numerous 2-foot lavender-blue spires on hardy silver-leaved plants from June to early October. It shares common lavender’s Zone 5 hardiness, given a sunny well-drained niche.

Dalmatian Toadflax (Linaria dalmatica)

The non-invasive Dalmatian toadflax is drought-tolerant and blooms endlessly.

Don’t be deceived by the superficial resemblance to the weedy Linaria vulgaris, aka butter and eggs. This is a totally different toadflax, forming non-spreading clumps of 30-inch stems furnished with attractive blue-green foliage and topped from early summer to frost with spikes of lemon-yellow snapdragons. A beautiful drought-tolerant thing, it prospers in hot sunny well-drained garden habitats in zones 4 to 9, self-sowing moderately where happy. It can be a bit too happy in parts of the Western U.S., so check your state’s invasive-plant list.

Phlox ‘Solar Flare’

A hybrid between two native phlox species, ‘Solar Flare’ bears pink-eyed flowers in flushes from spring to fall.

A hybrid of the eastern U.S. native Phlox carolina, this disease-resistant cultivar opens its white, pink-eyed flowers in late spring, weeks before those of garden phlox (Phlox paniculata). It follows with repeated flushes throughout summer and into fall, provided it’s regularly deadheaded. Other laudable features include a compact habit (2 feet tall and 1 foot wide) and exceptional disease resistance. It’s a reliable performer in full sun to light shade in zones 4 to 8. Apply an inch of Fafard organic compost in spring and your ‘Solar Flare’ will be especially dazzling.

Daisy Mae Mongolian Daisy (Kalimeris integrifolia ‘Daisy Mae’)

Clouds of little white yellow-eyed daisies adorn the 2-foot, clumping stems of ‘Daisy Mae’ from early summer until frost. Full to part sun and well-drained soil are all it requires. Use it in borders and containers, perhaps in combination with other sun-loving, drought-tolerant perennials such as winecups (Callirhoe involucrata) and balloon flower (Platycodon grandiflorus). Hardy from zones 5 to 9.

Gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri)

The prairie-native, Gaura, blooms nonstop and is a butterfly favorite.

Also known as Gaura lindheimeri, this prairie native keeps on blooming through heat and drought from early July to frost. The butterfly-shaped blooms are arrayed along wiry 3-foot wands that toss in the summer breeze. Typically white-flowered (as in the excellent variety ‘Whirling Butterflies), it also comes in pink forms (including ‘Pink Cloud’ and ‘Siskyou Pink’). Given a porous soil in full sun, it will reliably winter from zones 5 to 9.

Divide and Conquer Your Garden Perennials

Divide and Conquer Your Garden Perennials Featured Image
Dividing perennials allows you to share them with friends or move them to new garden spaces.

In the time of Roman Emperor Julius Caesar, “divide and conquer” was a battlefield technique that defeated the Emperor’s enemies and expanded the Roman Empire.  You can expand your own empire—or at least your supply of ornamental plants—by dividing mature clumps of perennials.  This technique, which does not require much in the way of labor or expertise, will also revitalize established perennials and improve the looks of your garden.

Perennials for Division

Tall phlox
Tall phlox are large, clump-forming perennials that are much easier to divide in the spring.

If your landscape is home to clump-forming or spreading perennials, like hostas (Hosta spp.), tall phlox (Phlox paniculata spp.), daylilies (Hemerocallis spp.), purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), goldenrods (Solidago spp.), or perennial grasses that have been in place for several years, chances are some of them could stand to be divided.  Sometimes the plants cry out for division by producing fewer flowers and appearing a little less vigorous than in prior years.  At other times the opposite may be true—vigorous specimens that have outgrown their original spaces attempt garden domination by muscling aside other plants and creating congestion in formerly harmonious planting arrangements.

Dividing is the best way to deal with both situations and spring is a good time to think about doing so.  Dividing in spring, when the shoots are emerging, is much easier than lifting and dividing large unwieldy specimens later in the season. Clumps of immature plants are also more forgiving and less impacted by transplant shock.

Why Don’t More People Divide Perennials?

This Hosta has been easily divided with a sharp spade and trowel
This Hosta has been easily divided with a sharp spade and trowel. The two healthy divisions are ready for planting.

Fear of killing plants is probably the primary reason, but it is unwarranted.  The vast majority of perennials are amenable to division. A healthy plant, divided with even a modicum of care, will not die. In fact, the successful division of one moderately large clump is more than likely to result in two, three, or even four thriving new plants.

Dividing plants does not require much in the way of special tools: a sharp spade or garden fork, watering can, a garden knife or sharp trowel for smaller plants and a pair of gloves will do the job. To keep things tidy, consider working on a tarp when working with large clumps.

When it comes to division, water is your friend.  If you can time the job so that it takes place a day or two after a rainy day, the ground will be soft and yielding, making it much easier to remove plants.  If you can’t arrange that, water the ground around the plant thoroughly a day before you divide it.

Dividing Perennials in the Spring

Once the ground is soft in spring, use the spade or garden fork to dig down and around the clump until you can lift the root ball out of the surrounding earth. 

Pulling out fleshy roots of day lilies
The fleshy roots of daylilies can be pulled or cut apart.

Some species, like daylilies, can be divided by simply pulling apart the roots with your fingers.  Others, like hostas (Hosta spp.), may require the use of a garden knife, spade, or garden fork.  Depending on the size of the clump, you may be able to separate it into two, three, or even more divisions.  No matter how many new plants you create, make sure that each division has a healthy supply of roots attached. 

Fafard Garden Manure Blend pack

Once you have made the divisions, replant one of them in the old planting hole, improving the soil with a quality natural amendment, like Fafard Garden Manure Blend. Distribute the others to new locations around the garden, making sure that the young plants will enjoy the same light and soil conditions as the parent. Amend the soil as the divisions go in and water them regularly as they establish themselves, especially if the weather is dry.

If your garden is so full that you have to hang out the “no vacancy” sign, donate the divisions to family and friends, or local public gardens.  If you can’t install the divisions right away, or are giving them to others, be sure to keep them cool and moist until they are ready to go into the ground. Planting them up in pots is another options.

Dividing Perennials in Fall

Pink anemones
Many anemones form big clumps over time that should be divided.

While spring is an excellent time to divide many perennials, early fall is also good.  Stress on plants and humans increases as temperatures rise and rain amounts decline.  Spring or fall conditions are more comfortable for the specimens being divided and the individuals doing the dividing.

The common wisdom is that fall-blooming plants, like Japanese anemones (Anemone hupehensis var. japonica), asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), and goldenrods (Solidago spp.), should be divided in spring, and spring-blooming plants, like Siberian iris (Iris sibirica) and moss pink (Phlox subulata), should be divided in fall.  As with many time-honored “rules”, there are exceptions.  I make one for early spring bloomers, like snowdrops, grape hyacinths, and daffodils, dividing them right after they finish flowering, but before the foliage has withered.  Since these plants are ephemeral and disappear for their annual siestas in late spring or early summer, it is a good idea to divide them while you can still see them.

Thrifty gardeners have always divided plants, gradually filling up their gardens with no additional investment, other than a little time and energy.  Distributing divisions around the landscape also creates repetition, one of the key tenets of garden design.

With the renewed emphasis on sustainability, the age-old practice of multiplying by dividing has gained new currency.  It links today’s gardens with the past and the future.

Jurassic Perennials

Jurassic Perennials Featured Image
The large leaves of Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthaceum) add a bold look to a native perennial planting.

Most garden perennials are bit players, chiming in with their month or two of bloom before fading from the scene. That’s why every perennial border can use a few plants that provide spring-to-fall presence. Among the best such plants are the giant-leaved perennials profiled below. Their lush, bold foliage provides ample interest and structure throughout the growing season, while the flowers of other plants flit by.

Large-Leaved Perennials For Shade

Big, Bold Hosta (Hosta spp.)

'Sum and Substance'
‘Sum and Substance’ is a classic large hosta for large shady borders.

Of course! Hostas are shade-garden favorites for several reasons. They’re incredibly tough and adaptable, tolerating drought and other forms of abuse (some will even do well in hot sunny niches). They offer showy and sometimes fragrant flowers (e.g., August lily, Hosta plantaginea) that peak during the summer months. But most of all, they produce broad leaves in a wide variety of colors, shapes, textures, and forms. Behemoths such as ‘Sum and Substance’ and ‘Empress Wu’ mature into 4-foot-tall, 6-foot-broad clumps of huge 2-foot-wide leaves. They’re the sort of thing you can build a whole border around.

Rodgersia (Rodgersia spp.)

Rodgersia aesculifolia in summer
Rodgersia aesculifolia has bold leaves and clusters of star-shaped pink flowers in summer.

Quite a few bold-leaved perennials are native to woodlands, where they use their ample foliage to maximize the capture of sparse sunlight. They’re also often partial to damp soil, to compensate for water lost from their leaves via evaporation. So it is with species of Rodgersia. Emerging late in spring, they unfurl large deeply lobed umbrellas that cover gaps left by flagging early spring perennials. The foliage of some Rodgersia varieties flushes in dramatic shades of burgundy and bronze before fading to green in summer. Flowering occurs in early summer in white or pink sprays reminiscent of their rose-family kin, the astilbes.

Give your rodgersia a moist, fertile, humus-rich soil, and it will wow you with massive clumps of jagged foliage. To get your soil up to snuff, add a generous amount of Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost. Astilboides tabularis – a close relative of Rodgersia – produces equally impressive clumps of rounded leaves, and favors similar conditions.

Umbrella Leaf (Darmera peltata)

Umbrella leaves
Umbrella leaf will add prehistoric looks to any shaded garden.

Also thriving in partial shade and rich moist soil is this Western U.S. native, Darmera peltata, which in favorable sites can grow to 5 feet tall and wide. The 18- to 24-inch-wide leaves arise in late spring on tall stems that attach to the leaf blades at their centers, parasol style. Rounded clusters of pale pink flowers appear on fuzzy stems in early spring, before the leaves break ground. Plants suffer in regions with hot humid summers such as the Southeast United States.

Shredded Umbrella Leaf (Syneilesis aconitifolia)

If you took a Darmera and cut its foliage into lacy segments, you’d have something like shredded umbrella leaf. The 18-inch-wide leaves form shaggy clumps that grow to 2 feet tall and wide. They’re perhaps at their most delightfully shaggy when pushing out of the soil in mid spring.  The fat silver-furred shoots look for all the world like miniature trolls emerging to possess the garden.

Japanese Butterbur (Petasites japonicus and hybrids)

Japanese butterbur
Japanese butterbur spreads, so plan to give it plenty of space.

Warning: this gargantuan perennial will smother everything in its reach under vigorously spreading clumps of 3-foot-wide leaves. It’s thus best placed in solitary confinement, such as in a driveway island bed. Curious, leafy, rounded clusters of shaggy whitish flowers precede the foliage in early spring, giving no hint of the magnitude of what’s to follow.

Golden Groundsel (Ligularia spp.)

Ligularia stenocephala
Ligularia stenocephala has beautiful large leaves and upright clusters of golden flowers.

Got a soggy, semi-shaded area in your garden where a mega-leaved plant would look good? Ligularia would be perfect. Ligularia dentata produces expansive, long-stemmed, kidney-shaped leaves that are typically dark green but sometimes verge on black-maroon (as in the cultivar ‘Britt-Marie Crawford’). Large clusters of yellow daisy-flowers open above the 3-foot-tall, 4-foot-wide foliage clumps in midsummer. Other mesmerizing ligularias include L. stenocephala, with clumps of large arrow-shaped leaves topped by tall spires of yellow flowers in summer; and Ligularia japonica, whose rounded leaves are dissected into numerous narrow segments.

Large-Leaved Perennials For Sun

Chinese rhubarb (Rheum palmatum)

‘Atrosanguineum’ flowers (Image by M. Zell)
‘Atrosanguineum’ features rose-pink flowers and colorful leaves that flush maroon in spring before maturing to the usual rich-green. (Image by M. Zell)

Fertile, moist, cool, humus-rich soil in full sun is ideal habitat for this leviathan – particularly where there’s lots of room for its rambling rhizomes. Lobed in maple fashion, the immense leaves measure as much as 3 feet wide. Equally gigantic are the towering plumy white flower clusters on 6- to 8-foot stems in late spring. Variety ‘Atrosanguineum’ features rose-pink flowers and colorful leaves that flush maroon in spring before maturing to the usual rich-green.

Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthaceum)

The upright, oval- to arrow-shaped, 2-foot long leaves of this massive perennial are a signature element of the American prairie. They also make quite the foliar statement in a sunny border. Yellow daisies on statuesque, 6- to 10-foot stems provide a statement of their own in late summer.

Glade mallow (Napaea dioica)

Glade mallow leaves
The large leaves of glade mallow are palm-shaped and attractive.

The neighbors may wonder whether you’re growing a particularly robust form of Cannabis sativa. They’ll wonder no longer in early summer when clusters of white flowers open on towering 5- to 7-foot stems. The lush clumps of lobed, foot-wide leaves that are the main reason for growing this midwestern native, however – preferably in moist, fertile, humus-rich soil in full to part sun.

Whether you have sun or shade, plant any one of these grandiose perennials as a bold garden statement. Space is required.

10 Worst Garden Weeds and Their Management

Managing the Worst Perennial Garden Weeds Featured Image
Burdock is a very difficult weed that pops up along yard perimeters and in gardens.

What makes a garden weed the worst? Four attributes make weeds very difficult to manage. These are 1) deep perennial roots, 2) re-sprouting roots, 3) lots of fast-to-germinate seeds, and 4) fast robust growth. Then you have the added bonus of weed nasties that are toxic and prickly. These are the weeds that take a productive garden bed and turn it into an impossible mess fast. If you have any of these in your garden, weekly weeding will be a necessity until they’re eradicated.

Noxious garden weeds vary based on where you live nationally, so those covered are ubiquitous across the whole of the US, though some are more regionally problematic.

Field Bindweed

Field Bindweed
Field bindweed is a twining vine that can cover gardens and shrubs in no time.

If you have a field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) infestation, you are in trouble. This fast-growing vine is one of the most aggressive, difficult perennial weeds to remove, and its little white morning-glory-like flowers produce lots of seeds. The main problem is with its white-rooted runners that spread deep and wide, making it very difficult to dig out. Leave just a piece, and it will resprout. These roots then become mixed up with shrub and perennial roots and are hard to reach. Moreover, weed killers won’t touch it. Managing the weed in a three-step process is the only way to get rid of it.

  1. Methodically dig out the white underground runners. Gently loosen the soil around each with a trowel, following them until the growing points are reached and the roots are fully removed. If you keep even a small piece in the ground, it will regrow.
  2. If the runners are intertwined with perennial roots, dig up the perennials, and remove the bindweed roots in full. (Before replanting, amend the soil with Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost for faster re-establishment.)
  3. To keep underground roots from returning in really infested areas, cover the area with mulch cloth and mulch it over. After a season, all parts should be smothered, and you can pull up the mulch cloth and resume gardening as usual.

Burdock

Great burdock flowers
Great burdock flowers look much like thistle blooms.

Burdock (Arctium spp.) is a huge, pesky weed of landscape and garden that has the added annoyance of developing giant burrs that attach to pet fur and are hard to get out. If you let a burdock plant go, it will develop a giant clump of huge leaves supported by a giant taproot that reaches deep into the ground. The flower heads look like little thistles and develop into large barbed burrs. The only way to remove a mature plant is with a long, sharp spade. Be sure to dig the root out in full.

Burdock seed heads on pets
Burdock seed heads are huge burrs that attach to pet fur and are difficult to remove.

Ground Ivy

Ground ivy
Ground ivy is a fast spreader that invades lawns and gardens. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) aggressive member of the mint family is a low grower with creeping stems that form a weedy mat over your garden in no time. It also thrives in lawns, so you will need to rely on a broadleaf herbicide for the lawn if you want to truly get rid of it. (Corn gluten is an organic broadleaf herbicide option.)

Thankfully, this weed is very easy to pull, but it seeds in fast, and if you leave even the tiniest piece in the ground it will root and regrow. The best way to manage it is to remove it from garden beds first thing every spring and then apply a good layer of mulch. If some little pieces try to break through, pull them out quickly.

Canada Thistle

Canada thistle in bloom
Canada thistle in bloom.

Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) is another of the most notoriously difficult garden weeds. The painfully prickly plants produce copious puffy seeds that get caught in the wind and spread everywhere. Once they become established, a single plant will create a dense colony connected by deep, rooting rhizomes that are impossible to dig out entirely. If you leave just one piece, it will form a whole new plant. Plus, it is resistant to herbicides.

Canada thistle in seed
Canada thistle in seed.

To remove Canada thistle, the best method is smothering plants with weed cloth and mulch until they are gone. This one will also creep into the grass, so try to keep lawn specimens under control with broadleaf herbicide. You also don’t want to let this one go to seed anywhere near your yard or garden.

Johnsongrass

Johnsongrass
Johnsongrass is a tall, tough weed grass. (Image by Harry Rose)

The pattern with these perennial weeds is that most have underground stems and roots that spread and resprout if one piece is left in the ground, and they all produce tons of seed that gets quickly spread hither and yon. Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense) does this, too. This tall, tough grass requires a spade to remove, and gardeners must follow the trailing stems to capture all underground parts. The tip of each root is sharp, so beware.

Thankfully, most of its underground runners stay close to the soil surface, so they are easier to remove. You also want to get rid of specimens before they bloom and set seed in summer.

Mugwort

Mugwort
Mugwort was brought to North America as a garden medicinal and has since become a terrible weed.

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) is another massively aggressive spreader. And, sadly, this plant was brought to the states as a medicinal herb and flavorant for ale. It has since spread across the eastern United States and the whole of Canada.

The plant has a strong, resinous smell and spreads by the most aggressive lateral underground runners ever. Like Johnsongrass, these mostly remain near the soil surface, but they are so numerous that one has to dig extensively to remove the whole underground plant. I suggest a sharp spade and trowel and lots of elbow grease. Manage it as you would field bindweed.

Nutsedge

Nutsedge
Nutsedge produces lots of seed and underground tubers. (Image by Jessie Keith)

There isn’t a gardener that has not had the “pleasure” of weeding out nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus). This aggressive sedge establishes itself in the garden via copious seeds and fine, spreading roots that develop small, brown nutlet tubers. Leave just one of these tubers in the ground, and they will sprout into a whole new plant. (One side note is that the nutlets can be harvested and eaten.)

This sedge is not herbicide resistant, but its tubers are resistant. For this reason, dig out the plants rather than just pulling or spraying them. In the process, be sure to get all of the tubers. Then mulch the area over and diligently pull any small sedge sprouts as you see them.

Poison Ivy

Poison ivy
“Leaves of three let it be”…unless poison ivy is growing in your yard or garden.

Safety and knowledge are needed when removing this toxic, much-feared weed. First, it is important to realize that you can get a poison ivy rash from any “dead” portion of the plant, from stem to root, and dry plant pieces will remain toxic for years. This is because its toxic oil (urushiol) is very chemically stable and remains potent for ages. That’s why you need more than a bottle of herbicide to remove it. Careful removal by hand is surprisingly the safest method, but you have to prepare well and do it carefully.

There are several things you will need to remove poison ivy without putting yourself in danger. Body Coverings: long thick pants, a long thick shirt that covers your wrists and body, long rubber gloves, and closed-hole shoes (rubber gardening boots are perfect). Tools: a sharp spade or trowel, pruners or loppers, and hole-free plastic bags large enough to contain all plant parts.

All plant parts must be removed. For smaller plants, fully dig them up and cover them with a plastic bag. Grab them with bag and enclose them without touching them. For large vines, cut the base with pruners or loppers, and remove as much of the upper part of the vine as you can. Do not pull it for fear it may fall on you. Once again, cover and grab the plant pieces with a plastic bag to reduce contact. Then dig out the roots with a spade and bag the pieces, too. T=Secure and trash all of the bags when finished.

Cleaning Up After Poison Ivy

During the removal process, watch everything that may have come in contact with the plant (tools, clothing, gloves, trashcan lid handle, door handles, etc.) You will need to clean everything properly.

Clean up: Toss the gloves and wash all possibly contaminated tools and surfaces with a coarse cloth and soap. Degreasing spray can be very effective. Remove all contaminated clothes and washcloths and wash them in a hot water cycle with the maximum amount of a strong detergent. (If you are really worried, you can prewash them in a bucket of hot water and detergent.) Lastly, wash and shower up completely using strong soap, a textured washcloth, and lots of friction. (Friction and good, strong soap should remove all the oil from your skin. If you are really sensitive, wash twice.) Technu soap is made to remove poison ivy oil and is a good choice. [Read here for further information from the USDA about rash prevention.]

Two more essential poison ivy warnings: Poison ivy will contaminate compost, so never add it to your pile. And, if burned the toxic oils of poison ivy become airborne, causing an extra dangerous rash on the skin and in the lungs.

Mowing and chemical sprays can cut poison ivy back, but they will not remove it, or its dangers. Take the time to carefully remove your plants, and your yard will be poison ivy free in no time.