Wednesday, May 14th, 2008
10 Best 10 Best Discussion
Discussion —-
A list of plants to add to the Plants to Avoid List:
–Geranium incanum (still picking out seedlings 5 years after I eradicated the plants)
–Centranthus rubra (Jupiter’s beard)
–Oenothera speciosa ‘Rosea’ (also known as O. berlandieri, or Mexican evening primrose). In my next door neighbor’s garden it has completely taken over and is choking other plants. Her garden gets a lot of irrigation. However, in my garden, it is not out of control since I do not water as much.
–Gaura lindheimeri (please see comments under G. incanum, above)
Debra Van Bruggen
A general comment:
I disagree on the 10 best plant list.
–Fremontia- is a knock out and should be added. Garrya elliptica is great too- Deer eat it however. dendromecon is a beauty too.
–Verbena is gopher food here.
Euphorbias do have milky sap that can irritate the skin, but the gophers leave all of them alone. One of mine is very showy.
–Ceanothsis - carmel creeper has lots of dead wood underneath and last at most 10 years.
These are the responses to the comments above:
Geranium incanum — I’ve used geranium incanum before and liked it. I guess someone wants it on the list because it self seeds and can be invasive.
Darcy Horton
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Jupiter’s Beard is an extremely invasive –although beautiful–plant, and has crowded out natives near streams and river beds nationwide…especially in more mild areas…
Ceonothus is a listed fire retardent plant, the ground cover and shrub types…
Teresa Seward
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On the plants to avoid, I think it would be best if there’s a mention as to why that plant should be avoided (invasive, toxic, etc.) I was surprised to see Jupiter’s Beard on the list. Must be invasive.
Sharon Ettinger