I planted Missouri Primrose in a flower bed several years ago. It took over so fast that it took me three years to finally get it all removed.

English Ivy. I didn't actually plant it, I just let a small patch of it spread. This beautiful ivy is one of the most invasive chokers in the world. The root system is strong and stubborn. If I ever use it again, I will prune it back regularly (every week :-)

WISTERIA ! I moved away from Kudzu to do something as silly as plant wisteria. That 15 year old plant sends up shoots everywhere. I cut it down 2 years ago and sprayed it with Roundup and still shoots are coming up around the house. I'll never plant another "vigorous" plant again!

I had this experience with a white loosestrife. I didn't want to get rid of all of it so I dug up what I wanted to keep and put in a 5 gallon bucket. The rest I trashed and gave to people who wanted it. Those roots are going no where. I don't know how it will work later, I might have to empty it out if the roots get to thick in there. Just have to wait and see. But thought it would be worth a try since I like the Plant and flowers.

Ditto the gooseneck loostrife..incurably chlorotic and invasive to boot. May I add Purple Wintercreeper, the midwest's answer to the Pacific Northwest's English Ivy. Absolutely no stopping it once it matures, it's eating my entire back garden. Next time something a bit more tame like Pachysandra or Gallium.

Bishop's weed. Ugh. I actually PAID for that beast.

I saw this wonderful ground cover in my Mother-In-Law's garden. She called it Wandering Jew and told me I would regret taking a seedling. Hey, Unfortunately, she was right...but I'll never admit it to her!

How about things you wish others never planted? I just spent the last hour trying to remove all of the grapevine that has come over to my yard from a neighbour's TWO yards over. It completely choked my huge lilac bush and was growing into an ornamental tree. GRRR. I expect I'll have to go and hack it down back to its source. Horrible thing. :P

Crown Vetch EEEEKKKK! In my perennial bed no less! Well I thought it would go well with the Ranunculus repens! (took two years to get it all out of the bed and the grass!)

It was here when we moved in a couple of years ago...MINT! It is impossible to get rid of it, keeps popping up no matter how much I pull. The roots go to China!

Evening primerose, yarrow (took over my front fed in front of the other part of the duplex, might try the pot method next year...I like the flower heads in late spring), vinca, and english ivy, which are now contained in pots. Those are my nightmares!!! lol...

Laurie...zone5Illinois...:-)

I have this pink evening primrose in a pucky pink --it comes up everywhere so I pulled the 2 main plants and it's still everywhere I hate the plant
Then I have another Evening Primrose that is the total oposite does'nt spread is white and smells awesome --a keeper that one [wedding bells] I believe it's called
But the pink one nasty.............
Janice
Britmum

For me it was yarrow, and to those who cautioned against Missouri primrose -- thank you. I found a volunteer Missouri primrose in the garden a couple months ago and decided it was so lovely I would keep it. Now I think I should yank it out.

FEVERFEW...!!! nuff said

Something some one else planted years ago- trumpet Vine and Mullberry tree. I'll most likeley die before I get these two out of my garden.

Morning glories - the old purple kind - beautiful but impossible to get rid of - just saw a large mass near the alley this afternoon - really pretty this time of year but hey maybe it is a sign they moving on - across the alley. I agree with bishop's weed - previous owners had planted it across the entire front of this house ending with lime green arbor vitae at each end - ick. Resorted to round-up and cut down the arbor vitae. I'm beginning to think Malva Zebrina could be a problem - everywhere and finally in full flower by the composter. My neighbor - the dearest most wonderful person ever, planted a trumpet vine next to an awful on our property line. It hasn't gone crazy yet. Piegirl

My problems are Spiderwort and Yarrow. Spiderwort spreads by root and seed. I dig them up and throw them away. Yarrow has spread into the grass area and no spray seems to effect it.
Another problem is Burning Bush. I get hundreds of them around the plants along the driveway. They have very aggresive root system.
nonthrower

I can't really think of a thing I totally regret...wish I had alot of the items everyone is so upset with...especially the primroses. If I have one item that challenges me...controlling it's growth it would be Moonflowers but I learned to cut the seed pods off green and to pull up all the babies each spring.
I also sold a bunch at flee market for $2 each and made a van payment!!! So I had to forgive it!!

Lambs ear has been a culprit for us. I've tilled it up and dug up it's roots and it's still popping up around the house, completely away from it's original flower bed. The root systems of those plants are phenomenal.

Dame's Rocket
two Russian Olives

In the category of "things someone else planted that I now have to live with".... Rose of Sharon, at least 7 full-grown trees in 3 locations in my yard. Innumerable seedlings, all over my yard and in my flower beds. The seedlings are easy enough to pull out, does anyone have any suggestions for the larger ones? And the full-grown trees (most of them are cut down to nearly-ground-level now)?

My worst nightmare is Eupatorium (Hardy Ageratum).

I didn't plant it, but I have morning glory near my fence. I've been pulling seedlings for nearly two years now. I go away for a week in summer and, somehow, I miss one plant that proceeds to climb the fence and bloom before I can get it yanked. GRRRRR.

Well, I didn't actually *plant* it, but it must have come in by seed. It's called Obedient Plant (Physostesia) but don't believe THAT name. The first year I left it alone (looks OK, blooms pretty pink), then it devasted a 6' round in two separate borders, wiping out everything in its path. AND the roots go to China! I had to dig like a grave digger. UGH!

I, personally, love my Missouri Primrose because it blooms in June when little else is going.

I didn't plant them, the previous owners did. Grape vines. The JBs are all over it, they fall on me when I yank the stuff out of the trees. The vine covered and killed an apple tree. The new neighbor has asked me twice now, "What happened to that grape tree?" LOL

Buttercups..the creeping kind and the self sowing kind. Thought they looked so pretty on lawns in Europe. Got rid of mine but they had crept into my elderly neighbor's lawn. Now they are creeping back into my flower beds.

My very own Karma!

Tansy. Kind of like yarrow, but stinky.

Yarrow was bad, but Tansy was worse.

~Chills

This post was made like a year ago? And it has 27 follow ups and is still near the top????? Well now it has 28...

Today I was at the Morton Arboretum and bought some new books in their new visitor center. It seems like "Weed" books are really getting attention. There were quite a few on the shelves. I got some of them, and finally I know what those various things are that I've seen all over the place. A lot of garden plants are considered weeds to somebody somewhere. I was surprised to see that Butterfly Bush is a weed to New Yorkers, for example.

It has to be Cluster Bell flower. When I first started my gardens a friend gave me a start. What can I say, I was desparate. Hmmm... did I say friend??? Well I guess she did warn me. I have found it impossible to get rid of. It has even spread out into the lawn. When you try to pull it, the roots kinda stretch then snap off. Even digging doesn't get it. It spreads by underground runners and throws it's seeds e v e r y w h e r e!!!

Comfrey - a friend gave it to me years ago to feed my rabbits. I have since moved and brought soil out here, put the soil threw a screen as I took it off the truck -- guess what --- pieces of comfrey growing in my new place. I've seen it lay on top of the ground and freeze all winter. The first warm sun rays of spring and it sprouted. Also, I now read that comfrey is not good for us. Another dreadful plant here on the British Columbia coast is the blackberry. I love the fruit but spent years pruning the neighbours when it spread over the fence and touched my house. When they moved the patch was over 20 feet wide along the line.

I planted Artemisia 'Oriental Limelight' and it is growing like mad. It is so tall. I have heard it spreads and I haven't dug it up yet.

I heard that the missouri primroses spread so I did dig those up and put them in a pot. They are really pretty next to my kitchen window. Always blooming.

I have Spiderwort that I got from a plant swap. Should I dig that up and move it to a pot? It doesn't really bloom, I think it bloomed once. So I may just toss it. I am not sure if I am crazy about it?

Carrie

Someone thought planting creeping charlie in my yard was a good idea...(they should be drawn and quartered)....the plant is a menace, it's everywhere. I yank it and it's still everywhere! I'll probably never get rid of it without a nuke blast!

i've never posted before, but this ANNOYING PLANT post is perrfect. i hate mulberry. someone please RESCUE ME!!! i'm so tired of pulling it out by hand and killing myself, it spreads everywhere and i can't afford decent tools to even kill it off. complete bastards.
i'm now one of those evil people that planted climbing mix, with morning glories no less. but we already had this *thing* climbing all through everyones fence anyway. i don't know what it is but it chokes off other plants, walks across my yard and wraps around my flowers, and tries to eat my tomatoes. someone should pay for this. the morning glories are no match for this.
and i have yarrow in a rock type garden that works quite well, it doesn't escape anywhere.
PLEASE someone tell me lambs ear isn't a nightmare, i love that crap and i was seriously considering it. does it tolerate shade?

Hi - just ripped out TONS of queen ann's lace. Those crazy roots are like a little blanket under the ground. I hate it!

Dying to understand the prim rose thing....

Everything the previous owners of my house ever planted! When I bought my house, I inherited a long neglected garden/yard full of mint, sweet autumn clematis, rose of sharon, morning glory, and this nasty pod-dropping catalpa tree. As a rule, I don't garden with chemicals, but I've been using Roundup for repeated applications to get rid of all that junk.

ha! Fun thread.
I shall echo the sentiments towards Loosestrife. I planted ONE gallon size plant by a couple of catmint(It is pretty) and it is now spreading all over the place. It is time to yank it or control it.

Ribbon grass is another no no, at least in a residential garden. Crazy stuff.

When I bought this house almost 6 years ago, there was a HUGE Creeping Charlie problem. Despite all I have done to contain it, there is STILL a huge CC problem. oh well.

nicoviolet- It's the prolific seeds that cause lamb's ear to spread. There is a variety of lamb's ear 'Helene Von Stein,' that does not bloom. Kind of hard to find, but it's worth it.

I had Lemon Balm planted in a garden with Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' and mint. The first year, the mint was taking over, the second year it was the Rudbeckia (which was fine with me), but now, 6 years later, the whole bed is covered in lemon balm. I will be moving next year, so won't be concerned, but never again will I plant anything in the mint family!

Roberta- great advice on the mint family. A friend gave me a beautiful purple plant , but she did warn me, it reseeds easily. I noticed the square stem, and decided against growing it. Just discovered it in a book- Purilla, a member of the mint family. The book agreed it would reseed everywhere. It sure was beutiful, but better in someone else's yard!

There is one approach for killing unwanted trees like mulberry. I was able to kill the one in our alley by girdling. (I think that is the spelling; as in girdle) If you cut all the way around the trunk with a saw but don't cut it down. You could make sure by cutting around twice and removing an inch or so wide strip of bark.
Interrupting the flow of nutrients through the bark, the tree will die. Wait until completely dead before removing. Any shoots that spring up might be best to spray with brush killer, I think cutting them would just encourage more sprout s, but someone else might know more about that. This works great for most weed trees that have attained some size.

Trumpet vine was the bane of my existence until we moved !
I couldn't take it anymore! Advice on that: don't dig it ! It spreads even more. I sprayed the shoots with brush killer using a course spray to avoid drifting. I gave up eliminating it altogether. It seemed to behave itself if I let the main plant climb up the phone pole. That was a good compromise, as it did cover an eyesore.
lady_nuk

toothache (eyeball) plant ...cannot control it and it draws mosquitos like a magnet!!!!

I despise creeping charlie. It sends me into digging fits of rage...digging up established perennials just to eradicate the area of CC. HOWEVER, you can only get to the CC if you get get past all of the wild strawberries...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! *LOL* When I first moved in 2.5 years ago I saw the little yellow flowers and tiny red berries and said, "awwww, isn't that cute". Ahem....

As for "real" stuff that I planted...
Pink primroses..pretty when they flower but spread like crazy and look like crap most of the time.

Lambs ear is pretty crazy, I have it growing MANY feet from where it started. I didn't plant it but I left it when I moved in and not IT'S moving in! Still, I love the fuzzy leaves.

I have sweet autumn clematis eeeeverywhere. I love my huge "planned" vines of it that I transplanted but WOW, the seedlings are outta control and you can't ever get the whole root.

I, too, have lemon balm, mint and ribbon grass. They get huge and rambling but I haven't had much problem with digging it up where I don't want it. The mint actually makes me laugh because I can't BELIEVE where it'll pop up! hehe

I actually dug up some violets at my MIL's house & brought them home & planted them. HUGE mistake. These things are in my entire backyard now & still spreading. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a chemical to kill them. I send alot of time in the spring digging these weeds up, although I know I will never be free of them unless I move. :(

Morning glories!!!! They're even growing ON TOP OF THE MULCH that I tried to suffocate them with (and it's NOvember!)///also: trumpet vine--after several years of dormancy (it appeared officially dead, and I Prayed over it/begged it to grow)----well it did grow: over the 12 foot fence, up on the neighbor's roof, in their gutters and up their cable wires!!! same for autumn growing clematis!!! gw

I've been reading this thread since it started, and one thing I thought was, "Boy, I'm glad I don't have that creeping charlie - it sounds like a real menace!" Well, recently I was reading an article in the paper about invasive groundcovers, and they described creeping charlie as having fan-shaped, scalloped leaves, runners, and purple flowers. Well, son-of-a b#@%h, that's the stuff that's been creeping into my perennial beds from all sides! I hand pull it, and it was so intertwined in the roots of two three-year-old hollyhocks plants that I eventually ended up yanking them out entirely, too. Be careful when you think to yourself, "There, but for the grace of God, go I," because maybe you DO go there, too.

Thank goodness for this thread, though. Last year, while looking at a reputable native plants seller's website for plants that would do well in my very soggy soil, they suggested obedient plant along with the standard cardinal flower and milkweed. From what I've read here, no thank you! But I'm still a rebel when it comes to trumpet vine and morning glories - I've planted 'em, and I still don't regret it.

There's plenty of stuff that has planted itself and I regret/resent--motherwort, thistle, eupatorium, tansy, mulberry and other weed trees, hesperis, vining nightshade, a prolific tall aster, etc. But of things I've done myself, the sweet autumn clematis I so proudly grew from seed is now seeding everywhere (and still I let it grow until it flowers, hoping it's one of the other clematis I grow), the rudbeckia laciniata is ugly and aggressive, and the plume poppy is a problem because I don't have the heart to irradicate it completely. And there are things I probably grew from a mystery seed mix, like a very big artemesia, that are of questionable appeal.