Get rid of it! Your garden is for you.

I used to agonize over stuff like this; but if you look at nature you'll see that there is very often an over-abundance of seeds and seedlings, crowds of baby plants in many cases. Not all of them make it-nor should they. There isn't enough room. Survival of the fittest. In this case, the plant wasn't fit because it landed in the wrong place-your front yard.

Having said that, Spring is the time for plant sales at local churches,garden clubs, historical societies, libraries, etc. Maybe they would welcome a nice, big, healthy, hypothetical whatchama-call-it.

G.

LOL, i've got this same problem with a bush in my yard too. It's a large, old camellia. I've discovered after living with this thing that, while they are beautiful plants, they are most beautiful in someone else's yard. It's far to big for me to handle, yet for three years now, i've felt guilty about getting rid of it. I think now maybe this spring i'll do what you thought of, dig it up, put on side of street with big old FREE sign on it. :)
sally

I noticed you're in South Texas...It isn't a big giant yucca, is it? The longer I live in Texas, and the more yuccas I see, the more I hate them. I'm the Lone Ranger, though 'cause the rest of Texas loves them.

I say if it's a big fat pointy yucca, go for it! ;-)

DO IT! DO IT! Of course, unless you're planning to plant one them there "cottagey" namby-pamby type gardens, in which case I'd leave it.

Seriously, don't sweat it. If it were a palm, I'd say try and sell it and make a few hundred bucks in the process. Otherwise, go for it and as Boston sang in 1978, Don't Look Back.

spectre

Oh I sweat for years over this question. I had an apple tree, a volunteer that had lousy apples. Only the squirrls likeed them. It made shade, but messy shade. It had water sprouts like crazy. Finally last fall I took it down. With my folding hand saw. (I am a lumberjack, and I'm ok) so now I will sweat for a few more years deciding what to put there. Go for it. Take it out.

If you hate it, why keep it? I've been agonizing over a plant as well, but it does have a few redeeming features. I don't really hate it. But lately every time I look at it I think, "I wish that was a clump of dypsis lutescens palms instead", so I think I'm finally getting out the axe.

Not a yucca...hmm. Perhaps a Century Cactus? Agave americana (sp? to lazy to look up the latin...)

melanie
PS: YANK THE THING.

I took out two old apple trees last summer. The fruit wasn't edible, also covered in watersprouts, and I'm sure it was attracting rodents. Being next to the driveway, we had applesauce there for weeks.
I always feel guilty about taking out a reasonable healthy plant, especially ones as old and venerable as these were, but I'm glad I did it. It cleared the way for a nice shrub border I'll put in this spring.
If it IS a yucca, good luck. Aren't they the ones with the horrendous tap root? Had one in VA that I couldn't kill.
Jo

Hi - thanks for all the input. You've all given me the backbone to do what I've been wanting to do.

Yes, it's a yucca and yes, I think they're yucky. Just so tired of them. Yes, they have taproots from hell, I'm sure I can't salvage it ... and if it dares show its face again, well ....

And no, I don't do mamby-pamby. :-D

Robyn

Robyn:

So you don't to "mamby-pamby"? I knew there was a reason I thought you were really cool.

spectre

Hey Spectre,

You are hard hard hard on the folks with "cottage-y" type gardens. So.... I going to rally to their defense (and mine)and say namby pamby my eye! Them thars fightin' words!

We all know you are a tropicals nut, which I understand perfectly. Gorgeous large leaved structural plants in almost every shape, form, and color. Have you considered how hard cottage style gardeners have to work to get that kind of structure and texture into their gardens? It ain't easy and it takes loads of research, effort and a lot of trial and error. Heck, I'm the first to get rid of something that doesn't work and getting a cottage garden to work - with texture, shape, color and form and not have it look a mess, IS work. Most of us don't throw in plants here and there and let it be - it takes continual effort - like any style garden would. And namby pamby???? Bet you haven't had the gumption to install an old granite gravestone in your front garden that not only gives a sense of surprise but looks great? Now who ya' callin' namby pamby????

Since this is the historical/restoration board of GardenWeb and in keeping with its "purpose and premise", I considered what was original and what would befit the architecture of my 84 year old Colonial Revival bungalow. A tropical garden would look out of place (I really want to say stink) with my Greek temple front and its' 2 styles of pillars, arched portico, pediment,and pergola. Now, my cottage garden only applies to the front of the house which has the strongest colonial influences.

Out back, we are of your persuasion. In separate garden rooms/areas you would drool over the tree ferns, orchids, anthuriums, heleconia, gingers, bananas, plumaria, just to name a few, that we've brought in. Many of these are rare specimens not available on the Mainland, having come straight over from the Islands where we lived for many years. These plants and/or seeds were brought over, though not exactly legal at times (oops - who said that?), because we and friends felt we just had to have some of these plants and couldn't dream of our living without them. Tropicals work because of the simple lines and lack of ornament on that part of the house, and are seen in a completely different context than the front of the house.

Careful where you sling mud, we all have our own mud and are perfectly capable of returning fire ;-).

Barbara

Just a fun fact regarding Yuccas: many are edible if you are so inclined. The Yucca glauca and Y. baccata flowers, fruit, stalk (when young) can be eaten. Yucca gloriosa the roots can be eaten as well. Yucca elata or Soaptree Yucca the pulped roots can be used to make soap.
The young flower stalk is kind of sweet tasting though woody if gotten too late in the season.

(Air crew survival training will introduce you to interesting gastronomic goodies beyond imagination *lol*. I even ate bugs before it was a television series!)

Bold and beautiful, wonderfully fragrant when it blooms, belongs out in the distant desert or southern swamp not in peoples yard. Robyn I inherited a hedge of these critters and there will be no love lost when I dig them up this spring. Forwarned is for armed, these guys are tenacious and can come back to haunt if you don't get all the root.

Barbara:

I missed your post as I was traveling yesterday and was hurriedly catching up on the threads.

Yes, I am hard on cottage gardens for many reasons. I'm relieved to see that you're there is a sane, rational side to your gardening in the backyard. So you're still OK in my book.

I think the primary reason I'm so hard on them is the West Coast iconoclast inside me. In a world where 90% of the garden magazines on the rack have cottage/country gardens on the cover, I had to rebel. I was so disappointed when I went into the Barnes & Noble off the H1 east of Honolulu and instead of books and magazines covering Hawaiian or Tropical flora, they sold the same stuff that you'd see in Grand Forks, North Dakota! What's up with that? In a country (especially the sunbelt and Pacific coast) where many people can do so much more with garden design (Woodland, Japanese, Mediterranean, Xeriscape, Colonial, Desert, Modern, etc.), it galls me that all you see programs, magazines, and books on guess what: the country garden.

I understand matching the architecture to the garden . . . based on your description of the front of your property, I probably wouldn't have gone tropical there either. When we bought our house in San Diego five years ago, we wanted a house style that wouldn't clash with the tropical garden I envisioned.

So, without going into a liturgy, the basis for my passionate hatred of cottage stems from a the little rebel inside of me. I love tropical gardens, but I enjoy other garden types immensely . . . as long as they aren't cottage.

With regards to the mudslinging, bring it on . . . there's a cottage garden down the block I'd love to dump a ton of mud on.

spectre

Spectre,

Well... gee... you're okay too. I feel kind of honored....how does one curtsey in text?

Despite the love for my own rather quirky cottage garden, I have to agree with your lament about cottage gardens being over commercialized with little or no regard to clime, architecture, etc. I'm guessing part of that may be wanting to go back to a simpler time and associating cottage gardens with grandma's garden, or maybe they just photograph well for all the glossy magazines. Who knows? Variety may be 'the spice of life' but the American palate can be awfully bland when it comes to its gardens. I like everything really 'spicy' so I have a small xeriscape/desert garden as well as the tropical and cottage gardens. I would have more if I only had the room - that must be every gardener's lament. I had nothing but tropicals on the Big Island years before I ever even dreamed of my Hollywood garden, so have a great love for and much more experience with tropicals than I do the 'typical' cottage fare.

As far as your disapointment in Honolulu's Barnes and Noble - you are not alone. We had to go to specialty stores that promoted Hawaiiana to get the books on tropicals that we wanted. Did you get the chance to go to the Lyon Arboretum? It's not well known to visitors but if you want to see tropicals in all their natural splendor, that's the place to go. It covers over a hundred acres and is managed by UH Manoa. The variety of plant material and the beauty of this garden would make your hair stand on end. We spent an entire day and it was almost dark by the time we left. They literally had to chase us out. We were tempted to go back for more but had too many prior engagements to indulge the urge. Their bookstore is good despite its small size and has a much better selection on tropicals than B & N. Lyon's is the only botanical garden I've been to where they hand out free mosquito repellant (you'll need it!) and lend umbrellas - it's in a rain forest and absolutely glorious.

Barbara

Hello Barbara:

Anytime I have time on Oahu, I always go to Lyons Arboretum. It's very funny about your anecdote about staying until dark and having to be chased out because that happened to me as well. I love that place and I bought quite a few tomes in their bookstore. First time in my life I saw an Amherstia nobilis (Pride of Burma) in bloom and it was spectacular.

Next time you make it over there, if you're on Kaua'i, check out the two National Tropical Botanical Gardens there, Allerton and Limahuli. Limahuli focuses on Hawai'i's native flora and Allerton is more pan-tropical with many different garden rooms. Limahuli has a hilly glade planted with rare Brighamia nobilis (alula or cabbage on a stick) and it's totally awesome. For you non-tropical forum dwellers, you may have seen alulas on the Discovery Channel or PBS as the plants scientists have to rappel down cliffs to pollinate, because the native bird that did it is extinct. Without human intervention, the plant will go extinct. They also hand out mosquito repellent!

Mahalo,
spectre

This subject is so funny!

I live in South Alabama where Azaleas are everywhere! I hate them for 11 months out of the year and like them for about 1 month when they are in bloom. But, everyone else loves them, including my mother-in-law who lives within walking distance to us.

To make this long story short ~ there were probably 10 azaleas planted in a raised bed at the front of my property. They were ugly ~ almost dead ~ and had stopped blooming. Last year I decided they had to go but knew my mother-in-law would be very upset with me, so I did my best to do it behind her back. Needless to say ~ it didn't work...she noticed right away and insisted on us replanting them in another location...which I did!

I'm waiting on the next "load" of azaleas to try and bloom this year and then THEY ARE OUT OF HERE! Well...to a new location!

Robyn, I can't believe you're afraid that Yucca won't survive transplanting. You're kidding, right?

Yuccas will survive ANYTHING. If you transplant any large, healthy pieces of root you find, you'll have large, healthy yuccas in that spot next year -- maybe not as huge as the original, but they'll quickly get huge in Texas.

But I'm afraid that what you'll find is healthy transplants... as well as healthy, determined Yuccas in the original spot.

The large "taproot" isn't a single root, and they don't usually go straight down. You can expect to dig a hole ten feet across and at least six feet deep in order to remove a Yucca that has blooming stalks.

I'm not kidding -- you may wish to consult a professional about removing this thing. At the very least, rent a backhoe -- trust me, it will prove to be well worth the rental fee!

Love (and best wishes for good luck in your coming endeavor),

Claudia

I live in Austin, Texas and I made the biggest mistake of planting the century plant. It has spread and I can't get rid of it. I tried chopping it and I got a severe allergic skin reaction. How do I poison it without killing my palm trees right next to it? Someone suggested rubbing alcohol so I am trying that. Any suggestions would be so much appreciated. I want these things dead. It is very difficult to root them out so any other suggestions to kill it would be a blessing. I hate them.

acbgallery--I don
t have an answer for you--someone else MAY--but have you tried posting over in "cacti and succulents"? I bet there is someone over there who will know! Also--try calling your county ag agent. They frequently know that sort of thing.

melanie

Robyn, rip it out, even if it takes a backhoe. You'll be instantly happy. If it makes you feel better, call your local garden club, put up a notice in the laundromat, church bulletin: Free to a good home, perfectly healthy yucca. Chances are it'll find a home and if not...oh well.

LOL, I had to post a reply to this even though it's been over two years here. The big old camellia I mentioned in an earlier reply, FINALLY bit the dust this past august :D :D :D YEAHHHHHHHH!!!

wondering how you did with your yucca!!! in the spot the camellia was, now is a battle with a HOLLY:???

go figure!!!

sally

For acbgallery & anyone else who wants to remove a difficult plant (I know it's been over 2 years, but someone brought the thread back to the top & I just now saw it):

Spray it with 10% vinegar (pickling strength, I've found it at HEB Grocery for about $2.89 a gallon) *in the heat of summer*, & when the leaves wilt & you pull them off, pour sugar over the root area.

My neighbor says she got rid of a huge stump by pouring a 10 pound bag of sugar on it!

If the 10% doesn't work, try 20% vinegar (I think the horticultural product is called Burnout), & be sure to wear protective gear such as gloves & safety glasses.

If you have to go as far as the 20%, you might also cover the area with black plastic for a couple of weeks.

Cheap & easy.

Best luck.