Identification - invasive plant in flower bed, lawn

[FoxCMK]

Hello, everyone. I came across this site in my thus-far fruitless attempt to identify the strange plant consuming much of my home flower bed and now spreading to various spots in the yard. I used the site at [url]https://weedid.aces.uiuc.edu/[/url] without resolution (though I sure learned a lot!) and am contemplating checking with Dr. Dendro.

I have no access to photos right now, as I'm at work, but upon returning home I should be able to snap a few with my phone and upload them here. Until then I can provide a description.

I suppose the best way to describe it would be to say that it's a bunch of individual stems sprouting from the ground, long (about thigh-height) thin (1/2 inch diameter or so at the base) and hard, like bark, but not so hard that they can't be chopped with standard, cheapo shears. The leaves are arranged sprouting from this stem, similar to a fern but with a more broad and shorter leaf. The colors I can remember are green and a reddish tint. The juveniles have started to spread along my backyard - it's easy enough to whack 'em down with the mower, but their prolificness worries me - plus there are a bunch of more mature examples in the flower bed. In the fall these leaves wilt and fall away, leaving these alien-looking stems spiking out of the earth like a porcupine. Their roots are VERY firm.

Any ideas what I'm dealing with here? Since it's so leafy I'd assumed it was a shrub but obviously I could be wrong.

[Kisal]

I haven't a clue. I'll have to wait for your pictures. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]

[applestar]

Does your "weed" have fragrant foliage? Two plants that I can think of off hand with similar growth habit to what you described are Comptona peregrina (Sweet fern) and Tansy. Both have distinctive fragrances. Tansy will have yellow button-like flowers grouped together on terminal apex of the plant in late summer~fall. Tansy is also susceptible to powdery mildew and affected foliage yellows from ground up.

[FoxCMK]

The leaves aren't nearly long enough for me to think it's actually a fern, to be honest. I believe the longest leaves, towards the base of the stem, are about 1.5-2.5 inches in length. The leaves aren't compound.

The plant hasn't flowered at all just yet, so unfortunately I don't have any flower description to provide.

I looked at photos of both the plants you cited and they aren't similar.

Half an hour left before I head home.

[FoxCMK]

Well... Looks to me like this isn't a shrub at all. I did manage to find some flowering stalks, and it's really developing bark. I believe I have a Crape Myrtle infestation.

[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmkennedy/3762358887/[/url]
[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmkennedy/3763159288/[/url]
[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmkennedy/3763161906/[/url]
[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmkennedy/3762365055/[/url]
[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmkennedy/3762368763/[/url]
[url]https://www.flickr.com/photos/cmkennedy/3762365999/[/url]

Number 4 is an example of one of the teeny ones growing in my backyard. The rest were taken in the flowerbed.

[Kisal]

I was going to suggest that! I just bought one yesterday ... first one I've ever owned. I was just about to run out and look at it, to compare with the pictures you posted, when I saw that you came up with the same idea.

[FoxCMK]

Is it common for Crape Myrtle to spread like this? It's infested my entire flowerbed and the little ones are dotting an area in my backyard about 6 square feet.

[rainbowgardener]

I've never seen it spread like that. My next door neighbor has a crepe myrtle tree on the border between her yard and mine and it has nicely stayed put for years.

[applestar]

There must be a parent tree nearby that drops fruits. Maybe some cultivers are sterile?

[FoxCMK]

There's a tree on the property line between mine and my neighbors' house, but it's all the way on the other side of the property.

Here's a somewhat related question: So thanks to the Crape Myrtles and the previous homeowners' reluctance to do anything in the flowerbed, I'm thinking the whole thing needs to be wiped clean and started from scratch. I know asking this question on a board like this might be blasphemous, but how much would it cost to get some manual labor in here to wipe everything out and start from a clean slate? I'd estimate it at around 130 sq ft.

This may be way too generalized a question, so I'm prepared to supply some additional info if it'd help.

[applestar]

Probably best to start a new thread in the Landscaping Forum.

[FoxCMK]

Indeed, thanks.

It's just so strange how this Crape Myrtle seems to have sprung from nowhere. If I had to guess, the closest tree (the aforementioned) is more than 60 feet away with a house in between.

Ah, the miracle of nature!

[applestar]

Three ways I can think of that this can happen --
(1) There's a slope and you get a flooding rain at some point between the fruit drop and seed sprout so that all the seeds are washed to the other side of the garden
(2) Even though crape myrtle fruits are not supposed to be attractive to wildlife, some animal eats them -- maybe squirrels or chipmunks -- and in fact, hoards/bury them in your garden (maybe ground is more conducive to digging on that side)
(3) This time some birds eat them -- and there is a likely perch on the other side of the garden where the birds congregate and have bathroom breaks.