• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

August 31, 2011 · 3 Comments

When Is It Time to Remove Plant Thugs?

Plants

This past weekend, I dug up some of the plant thugs from my garden. It was an odd group, including cucumber plants, daylilies and giant ragweed. They have little in common except that I was sick of them.  Each plant earned its spot in the compost pile and garbage for different reasons.

young ragweed plant

This is a young ragweed plant. This is the time to get them — do not wait until they are 6 feet tall!

Because it is a weed

The ragweed came out of the meadow behind our house. It is indeed giant ragweed – growing 7 or 8 feet tall and sending pollen all over the place. This is a major plant thug. It took over one corner of the meadow a couple of years ago, and showed signs of moving outward from there. I’m planning to plant some grasses and other forbs in that spot in order to hold off the ragweed next year.

Because it acts like a weed

I planted my cucumbers as seed rather late this year due to the cold spring. Not expecting them to grow that well, I let about six cucumber plants survive. Big mistake! With the rain and heat this summer, the cucumbers went crazy, covering their designated trellis and bed and crawling into beds with green beans, tomatoes, even twining their foliage around raspberry plants. It had to stop. We could not eat all the cucumbers the plants were producing and they were interfering with their plant neighbors. So Sunday I harvested the mature fruit for pickles and then cut the plants at the base. It took a bit of gentle tugging, but I got most of the foliage out of the bed. I still have time to seed spinach or lettuce in that bed, which will make for some tasty fall salads.

yellow stella d oro daylily blooms

Stella, it’s over between us.

Because it was time

Finally, the daylilies. A lot of garden writers and bloggers like to hate on ‘Stella d’Oro’ daylilies because they are ubiquitous, planted in every mall parking lot in the U.S. I’m not among them.  These prolific re-bloomers are the perfect plant for areas you do not want to have to think about much. (And, we’ve all got those spots.)  Stella is not a garden thug in the sense that she spreads. Stellas  have been hanging out on the north side of my house, blooming despite the shade and not asking for anything but an annual hair cut, for 12 years. I have some hostas that need to be moved due to a different project, so out went Stella and in went the hostas.

Fall is a good time for garden rejuvenation, and with these three spots now empty, it almost feels like the spring.

Related posts:

  1. Stella!! That’s my garden blogger’s imitation of Stanley Kowalski. Stella is...
  2. Why Soil Matters to Plant Growth For a visual reminder of why soil matters so much...
  3. Right Plant, Right Place One of the most repeated mantras in gardening is “right...
« The Joy of Good Tools
Sunflower at Sunset »

Comments

  1. Karen says

    September 1, 2011 at 12:13 am

    Ragweed can be such a nuisance, good riddance, and I wish I’d planted cucumbers this year, but I know how they can spread all over. Stella D’oro is dependable as the day is long, though some people hate it, I do like her, too.

  2. commonweeder says

    September 1, 2011 at 9:13 am

    I have a volunteer squash plant a neighbor gave me and it is taking over, but I have to wait it out, because it does have squash ripening. I look forward to September and a clean out, though.

  3. Deborah Lippitt says

    January 5, 2022 at 10:36 am

    Day lilies do have nice blooms.So? Even with a huge yard ..you leave these plants for a few years and you need a backhoe to get them out!!
    I’ve lived 2 places where Day Lilies were well established but I wanted something else there…get the backhoe! I had to get my husband to help get them out. He hates them. (And I am strong)
    The root system forms a HUGE mass. I’m still trying to get all the tubers removed from different areas. You miss 1 small bit and it will start re-establishing.
    Looks like I am one of the detractors!!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

Follow on Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)
  • Garden Ideas from Frank Lloyd Wright
  • How to Winter Sow Wildflowers
  • Growing Lilies in Containers
  • Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways
  • Out-Smarting Japanese Beetles (And Some Good News)
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Mushrooms Growing in Straw Bales
  • Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2022 · captivating theme by Restored 316