Last summer, I picked up a few spurge plants at a garden swap. The gardener told me only that they weren't fussy about light, and grew 2-3' tall. she neglected to mention they get 90 miles wide...

The error was my own, for putting something in the ground that I had not adequately researched. I planted it in early June, and it grew quickly. Rather pretty, with soft, feathery plumes in a dark rich green. By late July, I was getting a bit nervous. The chartreuse "flowers" were pretty, but.... there were so many of them.... when I tried to cut a few fronds for vase fillers, the cut ends bled a nasty, white, milky substance that seemed to kill everything else in the vase. By August, the lower half of the stems were brown and dried, so I decided to chalk it up to experience and shovel prune it. I spent the afternoon digging the original plants and all their dependents.

The next morning when I got up, my face, arms, and neck were covered with a itchy, bubbly rash. My eyes were nearly swollen shut. My nose was dripping, my eyes were watering, and my throat was tight and swollen. It took two days for the symptoms to subside, by which time I realized the sap from the spurge had caused the reaction. I'd paused mid way thru ripping it out to smoke a cigarette and regroup, which got the stuff to my throat. I'd taken out my contacts that night and, altho' I washed my hands, I apparently had washed them carefully enough, and gotten some residue in my eyes. (I threw away the lenses!)

Still, the symptoms subsided, and I considered myself lucky to have gotten rid of the plant. Until this weekend, when I began cleaning up the garden. I'd seen a sprout I thought was spurge 10 days ago, but as I began cleaning up the fallen leaves, I realized it was sprouting everywhere. 5 feet from the original site. In all the adjacent beds. In the lawn. In the cracks in the concrete on the parking strip.

This is war. I spent three hours yesterday in the opening skimish. I dug up a beloved rosebush and put it in temporary holding. I sacrificed everything else in the bed; primroses, leadwort, even some resurrection lilies. The spurge was everywhere. I had to tease strands of spurge out from the roots of the rosebush. 8" down, I was still finding stalks of spurge. Not the roots, but the actual stalks, looking like fat poisonous worms.

I literally sifted through the soil, trying to catch every bit of root, every broken stem. It had crept under the fence and was flourishing under the linoleum I had laid down as a weed barrier. I pulled up the linoleum, dug out the spurge, and then painted the soil with some chemicals designed to kill everything. I pinned black plastic over the bed, knowing that I will have to go thru this process again before I dare plant anything in it.

And this is just the start. I still have to do the adjacent beds. I have no idea how I'm going to get it out of the lawn. Perhaps some weed-n-feed poison. Perhaps simply decapitating it on a regular basis. To be honest, I've been thinking of moving and I thought briefly yesterday of moving -- now -- before the horror of this becomes fully apparent.

Lest you think I am some neatnik, control-freak gardener, I live quite happily with lemon balm, peppemint, and apple mint in my garden -- in the ground. I encourage monarda. I love my rose-of-sharon and it's 8 million annual offspring. But this -- this has got me really nervous.

I hope I will escape with my skin, my respitory system and my love of gardening intact. I hope I will look back on this and laugh. But for now -- it's "once more unto the breach dear, friends, once more; or close the wall up with the vegatative dead!"

KNOW THE ENEMY:

When I have removed my spurge, it stays removed. I wish I could see your picture to know if it's a relative of the one I have. (We're getting the red x on your pic) I have given away a lot of it with the caution to avoid the white sap.

I was going to bring a few to the swap - maybe I shouldn't huh? potted up 10 plugs of blue fescue - now they're covered in snow.

Bakemom..go ahead and bring them to the swap. But, mark them that they ( the sap) can cause a rash to some people. Then people are forewarned and can choose them or not.

(When I bring Monkshood to a swap I always mark that it is poisonous)

..Beverly

I'm pretty sure it's Euphorbia lathyris. Also known as Gopher, caper or myrtle spurge. Here's the best picture I could find.

Now that I think about it, I think I've seen it sold as a way to control moles. (The roots, like everything else about it, are toxic.) How did you guys get rid of it? Just rip it up?

If you like the plant, and it's good for you, then definitely bring it to the swap, Karen. I bring mints, lemon balm, sweet woodruff and rue. I always tape a label on the first three as invasive, and the later as a possible irritant, and I always try to talk to the people who pick them up, to let them know what my experience has been. But once they know.....

Hmmmm. I actually have found a plant I don't like!

Anyone else get a rash from this plant? It really is beautiful in the spring and an interesting border plant for hot dry sun. The only time I have trouble is when I prune a mature plant and don't thoroughly wash my hands. Same with pine trees and other such sap producing plants as well.

But then again, I'm one of those people allergic to everything.

1) Don't plant bulbs in January, and by all means, 2)Get the roses in the ground before they die! ARGGGGGG! LOL
Better days are ahead for sure.
T

I don't get a rash, but it makes my hands itch almost immediately. I use plastic bags to cover my hands when I work with euphorbias. I used surgical gloves once, lol! I didn't get a rash, but I never realized that my skin was getting rubbed raw until after I took the gloves off. Ouch!

My grandmother used to grow a euphorbia that looks just like the one in your second post, Alison. It was petite and had very good manners, but it didn't survive the move to my garden. I tried trading for a euphorbia that looked the same, but sure doesn't act the same! I've been fighting it for two years. I thought I had it all last fall, but this spring it's everywhere. I may resort to roundup for this one.

I don't know what the difference is between our myrtles - except maybe it's personal, Alison. Mine might have been happy to go to the compost bin in the sky.

I could only see the pic. after pasting the link and going directly to it. Hope you don't mind that I put it up for people to copy and paste.

That's one scary story! Thanks for sharing it!

Can you get poison ivy this early in the season? I wonder where it was. If it isn't PI - what else would cause such a reaction?

It's NOT the same one as I have - mine is more like a plant and not ground cover. Is this the same as your Alison?

I found this engraving of it. I never got red "flowers", but it looks pretty similar to what I have. Same feathery, needle-like leaves. Spent some time this weekend raking the bed I cleared it from, bringing up a lot more. The strip of spurge where I sprayed the killz-all is looking healthy, too. God help me!

yes...I get it any season that I am outside digging around. The vines are even tougher to recognize when the leaves have fallen off. In the winter,I usually dont recognize that I have touched PI until I have a nice hand full of vines.

Since I wasn't sure if it was my horrible allergies or something else I didn't take the proper precautions and I have a few stray blisters on my leg clearing up. YUUUCK.

It is the one posted by Alison (poor gal) in the second post. Not only can it be toxic to the skin but if ingested can cause serious vomiting/diarrhea according to what I found yesterday about noxious weeds. We dug/pulled all ours out yesterday! I'd had it for years and it had indeed spread but where I had it the spread wasn't going too far.

But it is also in our country/family cemetery 1/2 mile from here and the county weed lady came and told us about it. After Memorial Day it will be gotten out of there as there already is a plant in the hay field surrounding it. I was getting very tired of pulling little "babies" out of everywhere and was thinking of getting rid of it. And, voila, there was the order!!! We couldn't spray it with anything because it was under a 100+ yr old tree!

It's a popular item for xeriscape gardening. The cemetery where it is gets no other water than what God sends and we're in a severe drought here on the plains of NE Colorado and it's still going strong up there!Do be careful with it and don't "spread" it around.

COgardengal

I have enough health problems; I am so grateful I didn't develop the rashes!Naturally, I didn't have any of my 12 pairs of gloves on either.

Moral of the story, ...hmmmm...dont' put unknown plants in babies reach!

I did, however, pick up something which was labled "sunflower" at the Hilliard swap...bluish green leaves, looks like it may be a euphorbia and it is about three feet high. I asked who brought it and what it was...no one said anything. Now I'm wondering if this is the invaisive thingy....I'll try to take a picture and post it...this one was in a clearish plastic cup. Ring any bells anyone?

I know that what is invaisive in some people's garden isn't in others, depending on the conditions...In fact, people seem to be growing clustered bellflower here (campanula glomerata) at least in my neighborhood without it strangling anything.....whereas in CT, although we had acid, not alkaline clay, I had it throttle rudebekia....that shows you how nutsy it was....

Please guys, I could use a little hand holding here....

MY son is much better now. His cheek is still red, but fading. The raw spots under his lip is all healed and you can't see it anymore. Thanks to God!!

Not to worry, it heals and is fine. It's very ugly and looks worse than it is. I had marks for months last time. I still have the plant and I plan to grab my gloves and a trash bag and remove the babies. Just got to be careful. Can't drink drano either. There you go.