Matthew Reed wrote:
"FragileWarrior" wrote in message
...
"Matthew Reed" nospam at zootal dot com nospam wrote in
:

http://zootal.no-ip.info/stuff/2006%...images/DSCF415
1.jpg

That's lovely.

How do they propagate -- seeds? tubers? I'd love some in my wildflower
garden.

How come plants never seem to grow rogue in the gardens of those who would
welcome them?

They propagate like seeds, like a carrot. They are supposed to be
perrenials, but my observations make me think they might be annuals - IE
they bloom the first year when planted from seeds. I'm going to save the
seeds from mine and plant a few next year and see how they do.

From what I can tell, they grow both from seeds and a thick strangling
mat of creeping roots. They spread like wild and you can't kill them
with a stick. I know my battle is futile because a huge batch grows on
the other side of the fence from the batch I'm trying to eliminate. A
few years back, a lady who wanted a wildflower garden there cut, dug,
beat, burned, and poisoned the lot of them. They were sickly for about
a year, then came back stronger than ever. Once mine are gone, IF
EVER, I will have to watch those on the other side of the fence and cut
them the minute they show signs of going to seed, and even then I'm
afraid the roots may creep under the fence the minute I turn my back.

Digging thins them temporarily, but in a year or two they are as thick
as ever. It's bound to be an ongoing battle, but I'd like to give some
other things a chance, being as along that fence is about the ONLY area
of the yard with ANY sun.

A lady from a nursery was over Sunday and said Roundup will harm my
lilac, raspberries, roses, and two other bushes I want but don't know
the names of, so the plants around those will have to be either dug, or
poisoned with EXTREME care. The poison seems to "take" better the more
of the plant foliage is above ground to poison, so I've stopped mowing
them. She also said that pre-emergent in the spring is a good idea, so
I will plan on removing all the other plants that will (be small enough
to remove), poisoning what can be safely done, digging the rest, then
using the pre-emergent in the spring before replacing the other plants.

Cori