I planted chameleon plant and pachysandra at the same time in the same area a couple of years ago. The pachysandra crowded the chameleon plant out and is growing like a monster. There might be one or two sprigs of it left but the pachysandra is the bigger thug in my area. Luckily it is easy to contain in the area that it is in!

I totally agree about the Houttuynia. Evil plant.

Your reply caused quite a chuckle here when I read it. Yup, you're right. This plant is probably EEE-VELL. I'm surprised by Nickvilledukes post that his Houttuynia was overcome by pachysandra. Humm . . . Well, happy gardening.

I didn't know that pachysandra is so invasive that it would overcome the evil houttuynia. What kind of an area are you growing these in?

I could attest to the statement that houttuynia can't stand a chance with pachysandra.
When I dug out 7 full wheelbarrows of H. with soil I had no place to dump them, so straight in a boonies next to the uncontrollable colony of P. it went. It sprouted next spring, but P had a much faster rate of spreading. I never seen H. there ever since, though in its original place it still show its ugly face from time to time. I give it a 'poison handshake' with undiluted Roundup and for the next couple of years could forget about it.

Oh my goodness, I narrowly escaped from this evil thing!

Last summer, I wanted some ground cover for a shady spot. I bought this plant from a local nursery, thinking that it would brighten up the spot. Then I read that it was very invasive somewhere, so I promptly returned it. Now, I am reading this post and I'm like, thank goodness that I decided to return it! Phew!!!

Ego45, glad to know at least one other person has had the same experience with pachysandra overtaking chameleon plant. As of this afternoon I counted maybe three stalks of chameleon plant amongst the stand of pachysandra.

The area is on the north side of the house in zone 7a in North Carolina. That side of the house is in shade during the winter but in full sun during the spring thru fall.

I planted Houttuynia once, and removed it only 2 days later when I read it was invasive. Even though it was only in the ground for those 2 days, I still found sprouts of it for the next 2 years. It has atomic roots.

Try the Poison Ivy/Brush killer....

I thought I got rid of this plant 15 years ago. It took me 2 years to see it wasn't staying in the garden. I put up a good fight for about 5 years and have not seen it in the past 15. Low and behold a few days ago I was looking under a hosta leaf and there was one of those friggin leaves. It's gone now. Even with years past you have to be on the look out for it. I must of left a mm size thread of it and it took this long to grow and taunt me again....watch for them.

You people are soooooo entertaining. I laugh my head off sometimes, but I sure commiserate with the problems you encounter.

Thanks for the helpful information you've posted here. I might be able to plant an azalea next spring in my evil Houttuynia spot, but nothing else. I still invision myself spraying for "it" next year. I suppose if I'm careful with the spray, the azalea will grow alright. What do you think?

And undiluted Roundup? Never thought of that. Wonder if that would put an end to "it" more completely . . .

Would you believe I can't grow pachysandra? The couple of times I tried it, it croaked. Talk about feeling like a failure!

I think I finally won the war with Mr. Houtt. It took many, many years, but I haven't seem any this year or last I think. For the longest time, it kept appearing until I found its hiding place underneath a small azalea. I almost nuked the azalea just to get rid of this pest.

Kevin

Kevn, you think you felt like a failure? I tried to grow houttuynia THREE times and it died all three times, lol! Thank goodness! This was when I first started gardening, before I learned to research things carefully before planting, and before I learned about amending the soil.

I guess I can only thank my lucky stars that it did die - as well as the bishop's weed that died a few times too, lol!

:)
Dee

Dee

You win the prize!

I wonder if this stuff would be a good substitute for grass on a Blvd.? It is pretty and after the 2 year drought we were in, I'm kind of trying to come up with alternatives. Anyone tried this?

K