Morning Glory
Horse Tails
Bind weed
Ivy (Highly invasive, chokes out native flora and fauna)
Broom
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opabinia51
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 4659
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
- Location: Victoria, BC
I dislike all the invasive, spreading weeds (thistles, dandelions, creeping Charlie, pigweed, etc.) when they are in the garden. Out in the wild I wish them all the best.
But to shift the answer to plants that most people love and cultivate that I am not fond of, I will admit that I'm not a big fan of roses. They require such effort, they're difficult to weed because of the thorns, they get scraggly if not pruned all the time, and many of them have flowers that basically rot when they're past their prime and look hideous.
I also can't get on the same page as people who fill garden beds with hostas. I like them just fine in spots of deep shade, a few here and there, but as summer wears on they end up looking scruffy and tired and I can't abide large swathes of them.
But to shift the answer to plants that most people love and cultivate that I am not fond of, I will admit that I'm not a big fan of roses. They require such effort, they're difficult to weed because of the thorns, they get scraggly if not pruned all the time, and many of them have flowers that basically rot when they're past their prime and look hideous.
I also can't get on the same page as people who fill garden beds with hostas. I like them just fine in spots of deep shade, a few here and there, but as summer wears on they end up looking scruffy and tired and I can't abide large swathes of them.
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Garden Spider
- Cool Member
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:07 pm
- Location: Western Washington
We have several native willows: Hooker's Willow (Salix hookeriana) and Scouler's Willow (S. scouleriana) are probably the most common. We also have some shrubby willows S. exigua and S. fluviatilis, and some ground-cover type shrublets, S. arctica, S. nivalis, and S. cascadensis. The Buddleias (I believe) seed more prolifically and grow faster than the willows.Jess wrote:It does keep its berries well into winter and that is when the birds go for it especially pheasants. It is one of those plants that just suddenly seemed to be everywhere. It is not particularly showy but it is cheap, being easy to propogate from because of its suckering habit. Now every garden seems to have one, or more! It is turning up more and more in the hedgerows here and as usual little is done about it.
Buddleia davidii is on DEFRAS (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) invasive list at last. Took them long enough. It will grow in between paving cracks if given the chance. I do have one.but I deadhead it religiously so it cannot seed. It is a beautiful white form, not that that makes it any better, I know.
It is hard to believe it can out compete willows. Some of those are complete thugs. Which are your native willows? Which butterflies (caterpillars) use it as a food plant?
Just so you know I spent 3 hours pulling Aegopodium podagraria today. It was introduced as a food plant by the Romans apparently. The ground was just perfect. It rained all day yesterday and the sun came out today so warm and moist. Got a few roots several feet long. Very satisfying.
A few of the more common butterflies that use willows are Lorquin's Admiral, Mourning Cloak, and the Western Tiger Swallowtail. I'd love to attract these to my garden.
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NewjerseyTea
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:14 am
- Location: Piedmont Area, Northern NJ
NJ Tea,NewjerseyTea wrote:James, most asters are wonderful plants in NJ and many are native. What kind did you purchase?
I don't want to answer for Jess but it might have something to do with the fact Jess is in England I believe.
Thanks for your response! I bought honeysong purple stokes aster...Stokesia Laevis. I think my nursery is generally very responsible when it comes to the plants they sell, so maybe you are right that these will be a good fit around here. They look beautiful and I hope they can stick! I will be interested to hear your thoughts on them. Thanks!
James
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MaineDesigner
- Green Thumb
- Posts: 439
- Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:17 am
- Location: Midcoast Maine, Zone 5b
Jess inquired why I dislike some of the plants I refuse to use. I've been meaning to reply earlier but work demands and a crashed computer delayed my response.
I look at all plants through a highly subject cost:benefit lens. I'm considering the foliage and general architecture of the plant, maintenance demands and insect and disease issues, potential longevity, fragrance, ruggedness, bird or pollinating insect virtues, etc. There is no formal grading system, just my gut response having worked with them in many gardens.
Monarda cultivars just don't make the cut. Between aggressive rhizomes, powdery mildew (not mention rust and leaf spot), and not particularly interesting foliage even when healthy there just aren't enough positives to justify planting it.
Centauera montana is another plant with aggressive rhizomes and tendency to seed heavily if not deadheaded, floppy foliage, and a liking for frequent division add up to making it not worth its keep.
Tradescantias are another plant with floppy, undistinguished foliage. They are time consuming to deadhead properly, short lived, prone to spread, and don't come true should they self seed - why bother
Macleaya cordata has far more architectural/foliage merit than the three plants above BUT it is even more thuggish in its behavior and tends to dye the gardener or his/her clothing in the process of battling it. This almost skates by but not quite.
Rudbeckias are a mixed bag. 'Goldstrum' is dead easy but way over used. The rather hard yellow can be a challenge. Oddly, I rarely see major slug issues with it and Maine has tons of slugs albeit just little guys relative to the Pacific Northwest. Rudbeckia lacinata is a big thug. R. maxima and occasionally R. nitida I do use.
Add Physostegia virginiana, except perhaps for 'Miss Manners' (the jury is still out), and most Lysmachias to my "why bother" list.
Although there are bunch of worthless cultivars there are some really nice Asters. I'm quite fond of the better Aster latiflorus, and Aster oblongifolius cultivars and, with reservations, I like some selections among the Dumosus group, Aster sedifolius, Aster cordifolius, Aster ericoides and Aster laevis. Most A. novae-angliae and A. novi-belgii and cultivars fail my cost:benefit test.
Anemone x hybrida would be a good example of a PIA plant whose virtues out weigh the considerable demands. I am always on the look out for places with physical barrier where I can use it without having to wrestle with it every other year.
I look at all plants through a highly subject cost:benefit lens. I'm considering the foliage and general architecture of the plant, maintenance demands and insect and disease issues, potential longevity, fragrance, ruggedness, bird or pollinating insect virtues, etc. There is no formal grading system, just my gut response having worked with them in many gardens.
Monarda cultivars just don't make the cut. Between aggressive rhizomes, powdery mildew (not mention rust and leaf spot), and not particularly interesting foliage even when healthy there just aren't enough positives to justify planting it.
Centauera montana is another plant with aggressive rhizomes and tendency to seed heavily if not deadheaded, floppy foliage, and a liking for frequent division add up to making it not worth its keep.
Tradescantias are another plant with floppy, undistinguished foliage. They are time consuming to deadhead properly, short lived, prone to spread, and don't come true should they self seed - why bother
Macleaya cordata has far more architectural/foliage merit than the three plants above BUT it is even more thuggish in its behavior and tends to dye the gardener or his/her clothing in the process of battling it. This almost skates by but not quite.
Rudbeckias are a mixed bag. 'Goldstrum' is dead easy but way over used. The rather hard yellow can be a challenge. Oddly, I rarely see major slug issues with it and Maine has tons of slugs albeit just little guys relative to the Pacific Northwest. Rudbeckia lacinata is a big thug. R. maxima and occasionally R. nitida I do use.
Add Physostegia virginiana, except perhaps for 'Miss Manners' (the jury is still out), and most Lysmachias to my "why bother" list.
Although there are bunch of worthless cultivars there are some really nice Asters. I'm quite fond of the better Aster latiflorus, and Aster oblongifolius cultivars and, with reservations, I like some selections among the Dumosus group, Aster sedifolius, Aster cordifolius, Aster ericoides and Aster laevis. Most A. novae-angliae and A. novi-belgii and cultivars fail my cost:benefit test.
Anemone x hybrida would be a good example of a PIA plant whose virtues out weigh the considerable demands. I am always on the look out for places with physical barrier where I can use it without having to wrestle with it every other year.
Last edited by MaineDesigner on Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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cheshirekat
- Senior Member
- Posts: 264
- Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 11:13 pm
- Location: Denver, CO (zone 5)
I don't like weeds. They nearly make me insane. They sneak into my strawberries. They fill up my flower beds so I can't tell which are the seeds I just planted. They grow tall in the backyard and the dogs don't want to wade through them, so they poop on the sidewalk. I wish I had the energy to pull them all up each and every day.
I don't like Ivy. IT gives me the creeps when I see them growing up the sides of houses. Spiders like Ivy.
I don't like Iris. When we first bought this house, there was Iris growing on the south side. I didn't like the smell of them and wanted an herb garden on the south side. I pulled the Iris. It grew back. I pulled more. It grew back again. I dug them up. They grew back. The hubby rototilled four times and they still grew back. I gave up. Since then, I have never liked Iris. We have let that side be taken over by nature. Volunteer trees of some kind filled in, grew thick and finally choked out the Iris. The birds hang out there a lot. They are glad I didn't win the battle with the Iris.
I don't like Ivy. IT gives me the creeps when I see them growing up the sides of houses. Spiders like Ivy.
I don't like Iris. When we first bought this house, there was Iris growing on the south side. I didn't like the smell of them and wanted an herb garden on the south side. I pulled the Iris. It grew back. I pulled more. It grew back again. I dug them up. They grew back. The hubby rototilled four times and they still grew back. I gave up. Since then, I have never liked Iris. We have let that side be taken over by nature. Volunteer trees of some kind filled in, grew thick and finally choked out the Iris. The birds hang out there a lot. They are glad I didn't win the battle with the Iris.
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NewjerseyTea
- Senior Member
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:14 am
- Location: Piedmont Area, Northern NJ
James, the Stokes aster (Stokesia laevis) is a nice front of the border plant. I use it with Coreopsis moonbeam in the front street bed. Deadhead, divide clumps after a few years if they seem too need it, mulch in the winter in NJ since they are a southeastern coastal native, and provide a soil more on the acid side.
Looking at MaineDesigners list of plants disliked and why is very interesting. We all have a criteria of what makes the cut in our gardens and I realized for me not only does it have to perform well and fit into a 4 season design with something blooming late winter to late fall it has to give back to the ecosystem and be a provider of food or shelter for some creature, preferably many. So the New England and New York asters are on the top of my list as good guys tucked in among the native grasses because they attract and support so many insects and butterflies late in the season. Since they are native they are important to my local area. The other plant that is really alive with buzzing as soon as it blooms (now) is New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) and worth it's weight in gold in my garden.
Looking at MaineDesigners list of plants disliked and why is very interesting. We all have a criteria of what makes the cut in our gardens and I realized for me not only does it have to perform well and fit into a 4 season design with something blooming late winter to late fall it has to give back to the ecosystem and be a provider of food or shelter for some creature, preferably many. So the New England and New York asters are on the top of my list as good guys tucked in among the native grasses because they attract and support so many insects and butterflies late in the season. Since they are native they are important to my local area. The other plant that is really alive with buzzing as soon as it blooms (now) is New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) and worth it's weight in gold in my garden.
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NewjerseyTea
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:14 am
- Location: Piedmont Area, Northern NJ
You're welcome James. The 2 New Jersey Teas I have took 3 years to establish well so don't be impatient. The first year they died back to the ground and I thought I lost them but they bounced back.
Sorry for highjacking the thread guys. Back to topic, I'm still trying to eliminate Shasta daisies and the small asiatic dayflower.
Sorry for highjacking the thread guys. Back to topic, I'm still trying to eliminate Shasta daisies and the small asiatic dayflower.
I eliminate Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy) and Leucanthemum vulgare (Ox-Eye Daisy). Shasta daisies are native to Spain and Portugal. Ox-Eye daisies are native to most of Europe. Both are North American non-natives that have naturalized on this continent-
https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LEVU
If you scroll down you will see the map of North America which indicates documented occurrences of the ox-eye daisies.
Basics on their invasiveness here-
https://www.homerswcd.org/invedu/leucanthemum.htm
Unfortunately, they've been around so long many gardeners assume they're a native wildflower and they're frequently sold as "wildflowers" so that adds to the confusion.
Neat ideas on how to dispose of the seeds of some noxious weeds and invasive species-
https://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25761
Me, I eliminate them before they go to seed on my property and simply bag the plants and toss them out with the regular garbage.
https://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LEVU
If you scroll down you will see the map of North America which indicates documented occurrences of the ox-eye daisies.
Basics on their invasiveness here-
https://www.homerswcd.org/invedu/leucanthemum.htm
Unfortunately, they've been around so long many gardeners assume they're a native wildflower and they're frequently sold as "wildflowers" so that adds to the confusion.
Neat ideas on how to dispose of the seeds of some noxious weeds and invasive species-
https://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/showthread.php?t=25761
Me, I eliminate them before they go to seed on my property and simply bag the plants and toss them out with the regular garbage.
Oh, very good point. I'd always been told to never compost weeds or invasive species but never really thought about it! You're 100% correct. They're not allelopathic and I'm getting them long before they set seed so I should have been composting them all along! My composter will be very happy! My new raised vegetable beds will be even happier!
Oops not been keeping up with this thread...sorry.James282 wrote:I just bought a few aster plants and have now read that Jess would "never have them in her garden!" I was just wondering what the main problems are with them. They seem to be so pretty and I hope that they can have a place on my property somewhere!
The area I live in is fairly hot and humid. Asters in hot humid weather are always covered in mildew. Their roots spread like spaghetti and unless dug up and split every couple of years the middle dies off and the edges fall over...the taller varieties fall over whatever state they are in!
Once in an area they are very difficult to get rid of. Getting every piece of root out is so hard and invariably they sprout in that area again.
All of that is a generalisation. There are many different forms of aster, some tall, some short, some very airy but your average clump in England is the tall, purple, straggly, mildew infested, overgrown Aster novi-belgii.
I am sure whatever you grow will be beautiful!
EDIT...aha! Just noticed that you mentioned Stokes aster, Stokesia laevis. Could this be where the difference in opinion comes from? Stokesia are beautiful plants. Not known as asters here and rarely seen either. I would have no problem planting those in my garden!
Maine. Thanks for replying. It seems we agree on some things but not others. I wonder if that might be because of the different climates and possibly planting styles. Monarda is sought after here as a nectar plant for bees. The mildew covered by planting in front so only the flowers are really visible. I have not heard or seen evidence of it becoming invasive here. I have Cambridge Scarlet growing in a border and it has stayed relatively well behaved in the same area for may years. Macleaya is used in most of the long borders of the stately gardens in England and has an RHS award of garden merit! I do agree it is a bit of a beast in the wrong place but worth planting if space and restriction is possible. Here it tends to be planted with perennials of equal vigour, Acanthus etc. I did not know it stained, must take more notice next time I come in to contact with it.
Now Anemones...I have to agree with you completely on those. PIA= plant it anyway?
Always beautiful, welcome colour late in the season, vigorous but worth digging out and spreading around. Just something about anemones isn't there. I don't know anyone who doesn't like them.
Now Anemones...I have to agree with you completely on those. PIA= plant it anyway?
Always beautiful, welcome colour late in the season, vigorous but worth digging out and spreading around. Just something about anemones isn't there. I don't know anyone who doesn't like them.
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NewjerseyTea
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:14 am
- Location: Piedmont Area, Northern NJ
James, To let you know how aggressive shasta daisies are in NJ, after I carefully removed all traces for a few years I thought I had won the battle only to have a long line of them appear in a area where the asphalt meets the concrete. They started growing in a couple of inches of soil that washed along the raised concrete and happily rooted in the asphalt. In my garden I replaced them with Penstemon digitalis (cultivar Husker Red) that blooms about the same time.
Jess, Those same asters you have trouble with in England are the stars of my autumn garden. I have billows of purple absolutely covered with benifical insects and butterflies.I counted 20 skippers on one plant last fall. I grow the big species asters (New England and New York ) in my hot humid garden with a few tricks. I place them among tall native grasses (switch, little blue stem, and indian grass) and other native plants like penstemon and black eyed susans so they are supported and the lower leaves aren't seen. I cut them back by half once or twice before July 15th.
My monarda does mildew but is pretty and it has no chance to spread since the garden is so packed it can't escape from it's spot.
Jess, Those same asters you have trouble with in England are the stars of my autumn garden. I have billows of purple absolutely covered with benifical insects and butterflies.I counted 20 skippers on one plant last fall. I grow the big species asters (New England and New York ) in my hot humid garden with a few tricks. I place them among tall native grasses (switch, little blue stem, and indian grass) and other native plants like penstemon and black eyed susans so they are supported and the lower leaves aren't seen. I cut them back by half once or twice before July 15th.
My monarda does mildew but is pretty and it has no chance to spread since the garden is so packed it can't escape from it's spot.
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cheshirekat
- Senior Member
- Posts: 264
- Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 11:13 pm
- Location: Denver, CO (zone 5)
I have some New England Aster seeds I got in a trade during winter. I haven't planted the seeds yet because I'm still waiting for other seeds to show up. I was diligently pulling weeds up until a couple weeks ago because some of the flower seeds I expected weren't showing up - I think I pulled them. I planted more seeds so now I'm itching to pull weeds that are starting to get out of control but want to make sure I'm not accidently pulling up plants I want.
I planted a lot of echinacea and blackeyed susans in and around other plants with the hope my flower spots would get thick enough to keep the weeds out better. It's not working as I hoped. In another spot, the poppy seeds I sowed are growing faster than the weeds so I'll be able to weed that spot without fear. It's too bad seedlings can't be bright pink when they emerge so I can differentiate them from the weeds.
I planted a lot of echinacea and blackeyed susans in and around other plants with the hope my flower spots would get thick enough to keep the weeds out better. It's not working as I hoped. In another spot, the poppy seeds I sowed are growing faster than the weeds so I'll be able to weed that spot without fear. It's too bad seedlings can't be bright pink when they emerge so I can differentiate them from the weeds.
I have to admit that sounds really pretty. Perhaps I could start a new gardening trend in UK. Would still mean that I would have to dig out the roots and split them though so maybe not.NewjerseyTea wrote: Jess, I place them among tall native grasses (switch, little blue stem, and indian grass) and other native plants like penstemon and black eyed susans so they are supported and the lower leaves aren't seen. I cut them back by half once or twice before July 15th.
That would just make life too easy but maybe with all the genetic engineering going on with plants it could happen!-
cheshirekat
- Senior Member
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- Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 11:13 pm
- Location: Denver, CO (zone 5)
lorax, you are not alone. I never put weeds in my compost. When I found out that some weeds seeds, roots, etc., can be dormant for 50 years until conditions are just right for them to grow again, I decided I could never add weeds to my compost. Compost should get hot enough to kill off a lot of nasties but I can't take that chance. Just like you shouldn't put diseased stuff in the compost because bacteria and virus can survive inhospitable conditions.
Hey cheshirecat, I'm wrong. applestar is right. Most of the plants I'm pulling haven't even bloomed. We're talking nothing but herbaceous plant foliage. And, if it had bloomed... she's right, I could have been deadheading the plants and I should have been feeding the composter everything but the seedheads.
I don't know if you knew this but, there are documented cases of lotus seed that have germinated that were hundreds of years old. Pretty wild how long some seed can remain viable.
I don't know if you knew this but, there are documented cases of lotus seed that have germinated that were hundreds of years old. Pretty wild how long some seed can remain viable.
I am surrounded by Fish and Game, as well as Tribal, land that is infested with the stuff.-
queerbychoice
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 2:22 am
- Location: Marysville, CA, USA
My biggest problem has been with foxtails - especially because my fiancee, whose yard I'm doing my gardening in, has dogs. If the foxtails go to seed, they could get stuck in the dogs' skin and seriously harm them. And if I completely eradicate the foxtails from the yard, the yard immediately gets reseeded with foxtails the next time we take the dogs anywhere, because inevitably the dogs bring foxtails back home with them.
More broadly speaking, my biggest problem has been with grasses in general. I'm trying to plant native wildflowers in an area that used to be a lawn. The lawn keeps wanting to come back again and overrun the flowers.
More broadly speaking, my biggest problem has been with grasses in general. I'm trying to plant native wildflowers in an area that used to be a lawn. The lawn keeps wanting to come back again and overrun the flowers.
Pig weed (AHHHH), morning glories, Zebra Grass (aka Johnson grass on steroids), KUDZU!
For those of you fortunate enough to be free of the menace of Kudzu, it was brought to the US as a forage crop. It grows a foot a day. It has been said (Lewis Grizzard) that a cow wont eat kudzu, but kudzu will flat eat a cow!.
For those of you fortunate enough to be free of the menace of Kudzu, it was brought to the US as a forage crop. It grows a foot a day. It has been said (Lewis Grizzard) that a cow wont eat kudzu, but kudzu will flat eat a cow!.
[img]https://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/grammycherlynn/09-22-07006.jpg[/img]
About 3 years ago I planted Sunflower seeds. Being a novice gardener, I had no idea that I had planted Jerusalem Artichokes!
I have developed a "Love/Hate" relationship with this thriving "sunflower". Even a small part of the tuber will grow into a plant. I have decided to just live with them where they serve the purpose of providing privacy in our yard, but I continue to pull them from areas they have become invasive...as in the photo above! They are pretty, though, but only for a couple of weeks!
I have yet to try the edible roots...Any good recipes out there?!?!
About 3 years ago I planted Sunflower seeds. Being a novice gardener, I had no idea that I had planted Jerusalem Artichokes!
I have developed a "Love/Hate" relationship with this thriving "sunflower". Even a small part of the tuber will grow into a plant. I have decided to just live with them where they serve the purpose of providing privacy in our yard, but I continue to pull them from areas they have become invasive...as in the photo above! They are pretty, though, but only for a couple of weeks!I have yet to try the edible roots...Any good recipes out there?!?!
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wingdesigner
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2036
- Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 4:58 pm
- Location: Michigan--LP(troll)
Love to hate, almost anything that begins with the letter "L". Lamium, Lamiastrum (SP?), loostrife, lysmichia; then there's poison ivy/oak/sumac; nightshade; morning glories and bishop's weed (sooo sorry I ever started those!); goldenrod or ragweed--I can't tell the difference, but it spreads by runner; mints, common garlic (another "sorry I ever started that"); rose of sharon; the gazillion elm/maple seedlings every year; black raspberries.
Some I've welcomed: red-leaved crabapple; juniper w/blue berries; cedar trees; and even though I don't care for roses--I admire the volunteer climber that has sprouted up and grown in partial shade!
Some I've welcomed: red-leaved crabapple; juniper w/blue berries; cedar trees; and even though I don't care for roses--I admire the volunteer climber that has sprouted up and grown in partial shade!
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
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- Location: TN/GA 7b
Hi - I'm new to this forum and still browsing through all the wonderful stuff here. Found this really old thread untouched for a yr and thought I'd add my 2 cents, because I thought it was really interesting what was and wasn't listed. I agree with a lot. Honeysuckle in bush and vine form is one of our worst plagues in my area. I never knew vinca/periwinkle was called flower of death, but it is appropriate; I've seen it kill a whole woods. English ivy is also easy to hate, but I can't believe no one mentioned poison ivy. It may not be quite as ready to take over a forest, but every year I suffer through one or two cases of painful itching misery.... Then there's bindweed (a form of morning glory, but bindweed is a good name, it binds up all the plants around it) and garlic mustard...
But someone listed monarda, ajuga, tradescantia (spiderwort) and rudbeckia, which are all plants I love, most native (except I think for the ajuga). No accounting for taste!
But someone listed monarda, ajuga, tradescantia (spiderwort) and rudbeckia, which are all plants I love, most native (except I think for the ajuga). No accounting for taste!
To add to my earlier post of last year:
Bermuda grass
Kudzu (from when I lived in the South)--I lived in one house in Atlanta where the kudzu grew FROM a sunlit location TO a dark location under the front porch. It just didn't care whether there was sunlight or not; the area under the front porch was clearly Territory Yet To Be Conquered. Scary stuff.
Note to earlier poster: The story I was told was that kudzu was brought to the States as an erosion-control plant. I'm not even sure whether cows or other livestock *will* eat kudzu--but they'd sure better not stand still while that stuff is around!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Bermuda grass
Kudzu (from when I lived in the South)--I lived in one house in Atlanta where the kudzu grew FROM a sunlit location TO a dark location under the front porch. It just didn't care whether there was sunlight or not; the area under the front porch was clearly Territory Yet To Be Conquered. Scary stuff.
Note to earlier poster: The story I was told was that kudzu was brought to the States as an erosion-control plant. I'm not even sure whether cows or other livestock *will* eat kudzu--but they'd sure better not stand still while that stuff is around!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
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applestar
- Mod
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
About Kudzu -- Kudzu is a very EXPENSIVE starch highly regarded in macrobiotic diet, that is used like tapioca starch. My favorite way to eat it is as a tapioca pudding-like desert, although you can use it in any recipe that calls for starch.
I was reminded of a quaint book I have... It's a Japanese "healthy/natural living" book of traditional Japanese hand-crafted foods. According to the descriptions given by a famous premium artisanal processor, the kudzu roots are harvested between December and April when the starch content is highest (even then, only about 10%), The roots are pulverized with water from artesian wells, then filtered to remove all fiberous material. After 7 or 8 changes of water over the course of 2 weeks (usually in -5~-10ºC weather -- kudzu ferments easily an cannot be processed in the warmer weather) the starch water is filtered again, and the starch is allowed to subside (there's a word for this process that escapes me) for 3~4 days. The starch is then dried naturally without using any heat (which degrades the quality of the starch) for 50~60 days. "Genuine kudzu starch takes all winter to process."
I was reminded of a quaint book I have... It's a Japanese "healthy/natural living" book of traditional Japanese hand-crafted foods. According to the descriptions given by a famous premium artisanal processor, the kudzu roots are harvested between December and April when the starch content is highest (even then, only about 10%), The roots are pulverized with water from artesian wells, then filtered to remove all fiberous material. After 7 or 8 changes of water over the course of 2 weeks (usually in -5~-10ºC weather -- kudzu ferments easily an cannot be processed in the warmer weather) the starch water is filtered again, and the starch is allowed to subside (there's a word for this process that escapes me) for 3~4 days. The starch is then dried naturally without using any heat (which degrades the quality of the starch) for 50~60 days. "Genuine kudzu starch takes all winter to process."
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moosetracker
- Full Member
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 9:22 am
- Location: southern New Hampshire
mugwort or wild chrysanthemum I planted Mums one year, the next year this grew and I stupidly thought I was getting mums. When it didn't flower in the fall, I was disappointed. By the next year it was all over the garden and I have been fighting to get rid of it ever since. they have runners all over the place so even if I get what I can see, they will be back anyway.