Hi
For me only the purple has been invasive ,. The dwarf types being less so. The dwarf whites are almost delicate
Supposedly there are some sterile varieties but I find they expand rather than seed . gary

There's a guy down the street from me that has the standard variety. It has escaped his bordered bed (it's one of those rubber borders that goes 4-6 inches into the ground) and is slowly taking over his yard. He mows down the stuff in the lawn but the ones in his shrub border are going nuts.

I call it ground cancer. I had it in my front bed and had to dig the dirt four times to get the roots out so that it wouldn't grow back (it will grow back from the smallest piece of root and spreads underground quickly). It has grown into my lawn and the only way to get rid of it now is to dig up the lawn. Unless the area that it is planted in is confined by cement, I recommend getting rid of it. I don't think it is a butterfly magnet in any case.

Hi Jane: I have the tall purple Mexican petunia sold by Home Depot and advertised as sterile - âÂÂPurple ShowersâÂÂ. I know I've had it quite a few years but can't find the plant tag to determine exactly when (re: file of tags - " did I REALLY buy all these plants?).

Anyway, on the one side of my house where the adjoining neighbor does NOT have Mexican petunia growing, I have found zero self seeded plants. On another side, my neighbor also has a tall purple one. I do find seedlings on this side and attribute them to the neighbor's plant. Even these, however, are not a real problem. I'm in my garden daily so when I see an unwanted one, I pull it (I have âÂÂsandâ for soil so the pulling is easy). I find âÂÂsomeâ but definitely not an invasion

I think Mexican petunia is very attractive in the garden. The foliage is a rich deep green, it's evergreen (for me) and once established is very drought tolerant. It's a pleasing vertical interest and, of course, it adds that desirable blue/purple color to the palate.

I had a difficult area - full of roots from a previous palm. In the spring, I took cuttings from the Mexican petunia (unrooted) and stuck them wherever I could make a hole with a big screwdriver. Babied them with daily water for a week and now have a lovely clump there.

I don't regret growing it at all and have been thinking about adding another clump for contrast in an area that is now heavy in orange and yellow flowering plants.

June

Def. depends on variety - neighbors here also have the original tall variety & it does spread easily. I have tall pink & it is very well-behaved. Dwarf varieties do not seem to self seed.

@ least sprouts are relatively easy to pull...

I planted some ten years ago, decided I didn't want it anymore and removed it....I still find it popping up here and there.

The tall purple variety is the least invasive of the lot, but it's so overused in commercial applications that to put it in a residential landscape is like using Queen Palms and Trinette. The rest of the varieties, in particular the tall pink, are impossible to control and will live forever in your garden. I've been trying rid myself of the tall pink one for over 15 years. It still pops up, even in the shade.

Re invasive plants (not including cherry laurel trees, the bane of my existence) I think "invasives" must be more invasive in well watered, well soiled environments. My bleeding hearts, for instance, only multiply in years with best weather (this spring, suddenly appearing - and blooming at near ground level) but other GWers complain it pops up all over. My large sandy yard is only hand-watered, so it's really zone system capitalizing on shade and proximity to water hose. Where I don't water or improve the soil, the "invasives" don't invade.

Yesterday my mexican petunias looked fine. Today they are drooping. Without water, however, they will survive to look good another day.

Lantana, supposed to be so drought tolerant (native and other) does not live more than a couple of years for me - plant may "tolerate" but look near dead and never bloom again.

This discussion reminded me of a thread from awhile back - 2008! Marcia (aka Ma nature) posted a picture of the invasive and non-invasive plant labels. The thread had lots of useful information. See link below.

EDIT: Link removed because experience indicates that the "non-invasive" is indeed invasive.

Carol in Jacksonville

This post was edited by love_the_yard on Sun, May 25, 14 at 11:24

Thank you for the information. I live in Sarasota and my dirt is sand. Pure beach sand. I made a large bed in front of the house and have been putting wood chips and cardboard to keep the weeds from taking over (talk about invasive). I am trying to attract bees and butterflies and Mexican Petunia was one of the plants on the list which can take drought and full, Florida sun.

I went to a local nursery and they had the tall, purple variety. I asked if it was invasive and the clerk didn't know but thought not as they sell to local homeowners.

I put one in the front bed this morning along with a few other plants. I have so many Monarchs and Swallowtails, I'm hoping to attract them to this bed. So far its working. I put in Milkweed last year which looks terrible, but it is flowering.

I might take a chance on one plant and put the other in the back yard which is very neglected. I only hand water so my plants have to make it with just a minimum.

Jane

I had all three colors of both the tall and the dwarf. The tall ones spread by underground roots that went everywhere and the dwarf self seeded every where too. I know that HD claims their tall one is sterile and that maybe true, but that wasn't how the tall ones spread. I took them all out and it took years to rid my garden and lawn of them. Sad because it is a pretty flower. Now I don't get a frost or freezing tempts very often so maybe that why they grew so well. In a colder zone perhaps they'd stay contained better, you have to decide if you want to chance it.

A good bee-attracting plant for the conditions you listed is Blanketflower. It is a wide plant, mine has a spread of about 4 feet, and the bees just love it. It will self seed, but I don't think the seeds are a nuisance. The reason is the plant quite literally covers the ground like a blanket, so any seeds it drops doesn't get the light needed to germinate. That said, I am planning on transplanting my biggest next winter and turning that bed into an herb bed. At that time I imagine I might be pulling up seedlings. But, again, the bees love it and even a few varieties of butterfly frequently visit it.

Here is a fairly recent pic of my largest Blanketflower:

This post was edited by Leekle2ManE on Sat, May 24, 14 at 7:22

I like Mexican Petunia but it does take over. You just have to yank it out where you don't want it. I've noticed that the Sulphur butterflies like it, also hummingbirds. I've seen large masses of them in planters that were just stunning. I like those blanket flowers, in fact I scattered some seeds in the front part of the property, hope they take off. Most of our property is woodland and wild, it's just the area around the house that I try to tame. I've noticed the blanketflower in the median strips around here, it grows well if they don't mow regularly. We have clay, moist soil so anything that is considered invasive thrives here. Where I live is rural, farm land, woods so nobody knocks at our door to mow the grass or tell us what to do. DH knocks down the heavy brush to make trails through the property about twice a year, the rest of the time is all kinds of wild stuff from woodland ferns to all sorts of wildflowers. We even have a couple of terrestrial orchids that grow here, one that is quite rare.

Here are few other threads about it from 2008. Good stuff from Marcia (Ma nature):

EDIT: UPDATE - Experience below indicates that the "non-invasive" is indeed invasive.

Mexican Petunia - Invasive?

STERILE Mexican Petunia

Carol

This post was edited by love_the_yard on Sun, May 25, 14 at 11:26

I just bought mexican petunias from Home Depot and I am now very afraid. I have a really nice garden and I do not want these to take over. I dont think the area I put them in is going to be very good either. Should I pull it out?

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Video of my Garden

I just bought mexican petunias from Home Depot and I am now very afraid. I have a really nice garden and I do not want these to take over. I dont think the area I put them in is going to be very good either. Should I pull it out?

Here is a link that might be useful: Video of my Garden

This post was edited by KovarGarden on Sat, May 24, 14 at 10:00

Now I'm afraid too. I only planted one in my large front bed but maybe I'll pull it out. I gave the other plant to my neighbor who is also a butterfly nut. I think I'll pull it out tomorrow.

Dam!

Jane

I took them all out and it took years to rid my garden and lawn of them....

I like Mexican Petunia but it does take over....

That's my experience also, the "sterile" plant would compete with Little Shop of Horrors...even with repeated applications of Round Up it is still coming back from underground runners.

I'm also battling another thug, Tatarian Aster. It is beautiful when in bloom and the bees love it but Round Up has had little effect on the underground rhizomes and if I don't get control soon I'll lose the battle :-(

Tom

BTW, the one I STILL have despite trying to get rid of it IS the "Florida Friendly - sterile".... :-(

Tom, thanks for the update! Makes me want to go pull all the links above... why lead a horse to water when the water is non-potable?

Carol

The bit that always gets me about 'sterile' plants is that research on some these tend to say '...unlikely to self-seed. And if it does seed, the young plant will be true" or something like that. I have not read that in regards to Mex Petunia, but I have read it a out other sterile cultivars of invasive plants. When dealing with annuals, odds are sort of in your favor they won't manage to set a fertile seed. But when it comes to perennials, the longer it is in the garden, the higher the chances of getting a 'true' reseed.