Rose of Sharon seedlings- how pernicious are they?

[onlylobster]

Rose of Sharon grows like crazy in my neighborhood. Everybody has it and they are clearly an older non-sterile variety because there are so many seedlings growing up everywhere. I have them in my vegetable beds, in my strawberry patch and even in the beds that have been covered in large river stones. This is my first experience with them but I thought the seedlings would be relatively easy to pull-being that they are so small and young. Pulling up so many was daunting and there were some that I could not pull up because I think the taproot was growing under masonry. I actually used clippers on a few that I could not pull. Will these come back? I clipped them as close to ground level as I could manage but I worry that these are one of those plants that will refuse to die.

I will definitely remove the seed pods after my rose of sharon blooms this year but I'm sure that plenty of my neighbors will not be doing the same so I need any tips others might have about taming this beast of a plant.

[KeyWee]

It IS the nature of the beast. If you want this plant (and many folks do) you will have to deal with the babies. You can remove the spent blooms, as planned, or deal with the aftermath. My R-o-S shrubs are located so that I just take a claw and rake deeply all underneath the plants once the seedlings appear. That seems to take care of it. And I only have to do this because I don't remove the seed heads (I am normally too late, and my shrubs are 10' tall anyway, so no can do).

[GardeningCook]

You're probably going to have to continue clipping the ones you couldn't pull, but eventually the lack of leaf/stem will starve the root permanently. I have to do this frequently with the intrepid, horrible, & highly-invasive "Tree of Heaven" (Ailanthus altissima) that infiltrates everything around here. We just keep cutting them off at ground level, year after year, until eventually they don't/can't come back.

[applestar]

If you can t get them when small, they are easier to pull when they are big enough to get a good grip on them -- wear leather or rubber gloves. They pull up easily after good soaking rain or heavy watering.

I like using them as path mulch and compost ingredient so I do let them grow a bit. Long pruned branches make good one-season lightweight stakes because they are softwood to cut easily and breaks down easily. Just don't use right after cutting because they WILL root.

[rainbowgardener]

They will also spread from the roots. They are invasive, but not unmanageably so. I have one and my neighbor has one, so I do pull a lot of babies, but it never gets out of control.

[onlylobster]

I feel a little better knowing that they can be managed. Knowing that stems can root is good- I'm glad I bagged them instead of throwing them on the compost. I love the suggestion for using vinegar for being cheap and eco-friendly! I'm trying not to use anything that will contribute to run-off issues in our area. I do think these bushes are beautiful I just want other things in my garden too!