Readers Respond: Plants I Regret Planting in My Garden

A few years down the line, you wonder what you were thinking. Lily of the Valley is popping up everywhere, Datura seeded so thickly you need a fork to dig it out and your Obedient Plant is no longer deserving of its name. Some things we only learn with experience.

Today, instead of passing along a plant, pass along your wisdom and tell us what plant or plants you wish you had never planted in your garden. What Not to Grow

Lyre Leaf Salvia

This reseeded like crazy!! I bought one or two and now have it all over the place including my lawn!

—Guest Tchaney

Self-Seeders

I had to think on this one, of the past many years. My decisions are what grow more extensively than I would like. Bachelor Buttons spread and grow everywhere. The same with Hollyhock, the seeds spread and come up every where especially where they are not wanted. Fortunately both are not hard to control. I do love MALVA which is related to Hollyhock but better behaved. As far as grasses go it has to be Bermuda grass.

—paulrph2

Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's Lace...I don't even recall planting the stuff, but if it shows up in your garden, pull it up before it seeds. They're EVERYWHERE. Also, do NOT buy bird seed with Thistle as a component. I have THAT everywhere, too. Also, agree on the recommendation to NOT plant ivy, or lamb's ear. Unbelievably invasive.

—Guest Terry

Lemon Balm

It spreads by underground runners like mint (is in the mint family) but also by seeds that blow across the yard and grow in any bare spot. Hard to keep from flowering as it grows too fast to use it all up in tea.

—Guest Donna

Bamboo

Bamboo, hands down! Don't ever plant this uncontained unless you have a herd of pandas.

—Guest Denise

Not Balmy

I planted lemon balm (a form of mint, I think) and found that it spread profusly by seed. I also have spearmint well contained in a sunken, deep plastic pot. It took 3 years of aggressive pulling to remove all the lemon balm seedlings.

—Guest Tim

Beautiful Fall Color

Staghorn sumac! I now know that a plant that can prosper at the side of the road will run riot over garden plants, and pop up everywhere.

—chunkycrone

Obedient Plant

Pretty white flowers that you can bend about and they stay that way. Hence the name "obedient." But they were not obedient to containment! Very invasive and fast growing, too. Just wanted to take over.

—pixiepink

Virginia Creeper

This lovely vine spread like crazy, and attracted a beetle-like bug that, when in the larvae stage, would fall off the plant as we went through our gate, stinging and leaving painful blisters on the skin. Very difficult to get rid of!

—helpme.rhonda

Cosmos

I planted Cosmos in a shady spot and they did not bloom at all, they just grew up taller and more leggy.

—Guest Marty

Widow's Tears

Widow's Tears: I was so happy the first year I had these. They are drought tolerant and bloom all summer long and stand up to all forms of weather, bugs and diseases. Plus they are very highly invasive, something the nurseries neglect to tell you when selling. I have Widow's Tears in my back yard, hundreds of feet from where they were originally planted, and they choke out everything around them, including my Blueberry bushes. Kill them everywhere you see the, kill them anyway you can. Dig, Round-Up, boiling water, anything it takes. They are even worse than Wisteria, it you can believe that!

—MarilueFunkhouser

Spearmint or Any mMint

I planted spearmint in my herb garden. I didn't contain the roots like I was told. This year I had to pull all of my herbs out re-till the garden. Spearmint was growing everywhere even in the lawn. Hate it!!!

—Guest Joanne

American Cranberry

One person's flower may be another person's weed. The only plants that I have been disappointed with is the American cranberry, only because it didn't thrive. So I replaced them with raspberries. And I also have mint growing which I really like a lot.

—Guest Eloy

Mexican Petunia and Ginger Lilies?

Someone gave me two or three plants and I have been fighting them for the past 10 years...same with the ginger lillies, although I think I finally conquered the latter this year! :)

—Guest brucie

Horseradish

Once I discovered that Horseradish is VERY invasive, it took me about three years and at least 5 sprayings of Round Up to get rid of it. Luckily, I had only planted it in one of my raised veggie boxes!!! Since I still wanted Horseradish, I purchased two VERY LARGE pots and planted my horseradish there. The pots are sitting on top of plywood. I check everyyear to make sure that it is not growing out the bottom!!

—Guest Cindy