Violets. I love them, but they do want to grow everywhere.

star of bethlehem--inherited it when we moved in and it is trying desperatley to take over my yard!

eragrostis - love grass. It seeds everywhere, even in the driveway gravel, in grit, in soil, in air! I can't believe that a plant expert/garden designer sold me an entire flat of "this beautiful grass" several years ago. We still have more to pull.

In fact, everything in my garden that has turned out to be invasive came from hired landscape and/or garden designers. That's what happened when I was too busy to pay attention (we were building the house and I was too exhausted to deal with "round one" of our yard/garden myself).

Cameron

Clover, which I let grow for the bees. Oxalis which I tolerate because eradicating it would take buckets of roundup. Violets because, well...if you have violets, your know. Wild strawberries because the birds love them, and then spread them. Privet because it was here when I bought the house and it's the state's most invasive plant ever. English ivy was here when I bought the house. And honeysuckle, because I love the smell.

I would mention the smilax vine that pops up everywhere I put a shovel down, but I don't have any alcohol in the house and I'd need to drown my sorrows.

Oh, oak seedlings. And maples. And the neighbor's overly ambitious mimosa tree. And tree of heaven, the tree from hell. And wild grape vines, for the birds to have some cover from the owls. And...I think I'll stop now.

Yeah, that just about covers it. Plus....oh, oh, I know, virginia creeper because it most certainly does not.

Violets and wild strawberries are the bane of my existence and just when I think I have them under control, they're BA-A-A-CK!

And my obedient plant is NOT. I may have to get ugly.

And don't let ANYBODY sell you or give you artemesia vulgaris 'Oriental Limelight' (mugwort) because it is.

And while I'm at it, my achillea is severely flopping and I am not happy. I can usually figure out how to support anything but it is stumping me. The foliage is too short and lacy and the stems and flowers are too tall. Anybody?

My Coreopsis gets terrible mildew, but I haven't removed it because it blooms so nicely.

A huge live oak that I love except for its uncountable seedlings that sprout everywhere, thanks to the squirrels.

Anyone wants salvia black and blue? I love this plant. I do. However, it multiplies and spreads like there is no tomorrow, and takes over entire beds if I let it. They look like armies of well trained soldiers that have "do or die" attitude.

Trumpet vine - my husband wanted one for Father's Day one year so I planted it, and spent the next five years battling it's shallow, "sprouting" root system. Sometimes, I let them go so long they became vines literally covering the patio. What a mess!

ALso, silver maple trees - my MIL planted them on the property when she lived there, and they also had shallow roots with millions of up-shoots everywhere. I spent 17 years trying to keep them clipped back, but it was overwhelming. We've moved now, thank God. Looks like the most invasive thing here so far is the catalpa tree - there's one big one, several small ones, and a few "new ones" that I'm trying to dig up. It can't be as bad as those @#$ silver maples! LOL

Tree of Heaven....that brings back memories! On the other farm, we had this stinking (I mean that literally) tree in the front yard..........smelled like poison. I asked everyone in the area what it was....no one knew.

After much research I discovered its name. Why on earth it is called that is a mystery to me. Hated it.

No. 1 would have to be violets. I love the blooms in early spring but you can't contain them anywhere. I may start resorting to Gly-4.

Bermuda grass (need I say more)

Virginia Creeper - I don't think you can kill it.

Lemon Balm - If you want to cover something this is your plant.

Silver Maple and Siberian Elm - If you have them, you know what I mean.

Poke - love them as greens but do not want 10,000 plants in the yard. Thanks you very much dear birds!

Almost forgot the goldenrod. I just dug up two foot long live roots in a spot where I thought (thought being the operative word here) I had eradicated. I will be waiting for it to rear its ugly head and the sprayer is ready.

Trumpet vine--I've pulled, dug, sprayed, and covered with 3 feet of soil...and still it returns. I hate that stuff and it's such a difficult plant to pull by hand. :(

Vinca vine--it won't fill in the area where I wanted it, but instead jumps over about six feet and goes to town.

Evening primrose is questionable at this point--it's trying to take over a bed, but it's easy to pull.

Wallflower--it's competing with the evening primrose for the same bed, but it, too, is easy to pull.

But I hate, hate, hate that trumpet vine!

--Sharon

gldno1--you can eat poke? I didn't know! At least it has some redeeming quality. But I love the wild violets that grow in my lawn. They never invade the flower beds, thankfully.

janetgia--I also loathe trumpet vine. I didn't even think to mention trumpet vine because I think of it as a weed rather than an ornamental. At the moment I'm battling one that is entrenched in some large variegated maiden(?) grass.

token--Wild honeysuckle is rampant in my garden. It strangles shrubs and grows all over my neighbor's chain link fence. While I love it's smell, I can't let it go for months to wait for it to flower, or it takes over.

Sometimes I feel like I'm at war w/these invaders. I look out at my yard and picture a battlefield. My gardening hat is a military helmet, and my weeding tools are weapons. Hoo-rah!

I have LOTS of spreaders which on the whole I let do their own thing pulling only a few. The one thing I have in my garden I HATE, it's everywhere, Geranium robertianum (Herb Robert) it's a losing battle trying to get rid of this weed and to think at one time I used to think it was such a pretty little plant.

Annette

Valerian is everywhere, but I move a lot of it to 'clumps.' I do like it, but it is WAY badly behaved. Another area just converted to lawn will just get mowed.

Invasive plants:

creeping jenny
sweetwoodruff
anemone
mint
artemisia silver king and queen
bamboo
obedient plant

Vinca, Virginia creeper, English ivy, (dis)obedient plant, shasta daisies, orange daylilies, mint, and blue mist flower. My only consolation is that most of these thugs are competing with each other, Mwahahahahaha!!! Cheryl

A visitor asked me about the 'ground cover' around some trees in my garden the other day.

Ground cover? Oh, you mean the Confederate jasmine, Virginia creeper, wild muscadine, smilax, liriope and other thugs crawling along the ground, whacked back and edged by the mower? Sometimes when I walk past, something rustles under there. I hope for a lizard, but it could be worse.

I never leave the house without a weapon: loppers, long handled grass shears, hand pruners, a hoe or shovel; maybe a whole little wagon full.

Nell

Star of Bethlehem has taken over the world and just keeps on spreading. In my back yard I have a chain link fence that separates my prperty from a small creek. Trying to grow into my yard is Oriental Bittersweet and Japanese Honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, wild grape and Bulls Briar not to mention the poison ivy. I am always fighting a losing battle back there.

Joann

Ok, I don't think I have seen anyone mention blackberries. Maybe because no sane person would ever plant the SOB in their yard. It is all over this state like some alien invasion. It swamps everything, it has nasty thorns everywhere, it loses it's leaves and then you just have a tangled mass of ugly woody branches covered in thorns. The vines are long, stiff and upright as well as drooping and climbing. Wherever a they touch ground they start a new plant creating giant alien hordes of blackberries sweeping the nation.
As a matter of fact this blasted thing comes out of the womb, like all evil things, complete with thorns.

And like all evil things it bears a temptation. The berries. We all love them, we collect them, we make jams and pies and delicious smoothies. The evil demon's plan? Have the birds you feed carry them to your gardens and plant them EVERYWHERE. Guard your young!

Natalie, I would love some Salvia Black and Blue, it's not hardy here, (usually, but I had ONE come back) so every year I spend to much money buying one or two plants.

Mary Stokes aster, it's threatening to take over the bed it's in.
Yarrow
Silver King, I had a little piece from a friend, took me 15 years to get rid of it.
Siberian Elm, If I had a penny for every little sprout I have pulled, I would be a millionair.

Jenny P

The worst behaved plant in the yard is a wysteria vine that is actually my neightbors and planted just accross the property line. Unfortunately it sends these big long snakelike vines ground level over to my side because thats were the sun is.

The upside to living in Z4 is that NONE of this stuff takes over here!!! lol. Jenny P, plant bee balm, it will eat your silver king. I don't know about Mary Stokes; the only yarrow that has ever even slightly thrived is the native white. All others die back.
Ianna: creeping jenny, yeah, but you can shovel prune; sweetwoodruff - not really, not yet, anyways!!;anemone - didn't overwinter; mint - aaiichheewowa, you bet!!; artemisia silver king and queen - the bee balm and the obdedient plant ate it....I brought a wee piece that had survived with me to the new garden, and it didn't overwinter; bamboo - haven't tried it; obedient plant - yes, world domination, for sure, but the sphinx moths love it!!

For these invasive plants, you get tea roses !! ! 'K??

Nancy.

Nancy I would love it IF I could get bee balm to grow! I have planted it numerous times, and it just creeps along slooowly, I doubt it could eat anything.

Centurea Montana on the other hand is threatening to take over everything! And don't forget the golden jubilee hysop I planted a few years ago, I planted it once 4 or 5 years ago, and I am still pulling seedlings from all over!

Jenny P

Lambs Ear and Obidient plant!

seamommy--that's the ticket! The enemy of your enemy is your friend!

foxearth--I miss Confederate jasmine :-( I lived in Charleston SC for a few years and I just loved the scent and flowers. It doesn't winter over here.

bluesunflower--you have me cracking up--"like all evil things it bears a temptation"--bwahaha! I guess I'm insane, because I want to grow blackberries! I grew up with blackberries and there's nothing better than picking a ripe one right off the vine and popping it in your mouth. No, even better: picking a bunch and putting them in a bowl with cream and sugar!

newyorkrita--we have wisteria growing in the woods next to our property and when the breeze carries its scent...wow! So, I guess there's an upside.

Jenny- I'll trade you the bee balm for the Centaurea Mountain Bluet!

My BB here does exactly the 3-year plan: 1st year sleeps (grown from seed), second creeps, and this is its third year, and it LEAPED all over the area I planted it. I wasn't sure it was going to do anything for the first 2 years.
I'm good with it leaping; it's Raspberry Wine, and I have it with a new grouping that I'm hoping will be pretty nice come late July ("Frost" Sedum, and a Hyperion (I think) daylily). If it gets too unruly, I'll have plenty to share at our local plant swaps.

Nancy, I actually have creeping jenny. I had some difficulty with it when it invaded my lawn. It requires really aggressive prunning.

And sweet woodruff, and I can attest to the woodruff's spread. It managed even to grow in and among my dry river bed. However I love the white blooms this thing has and so it's still a kepper for me. Anemone - ah I found out by accident and around the same period I discovered artemesia king is also a bully.

Oh to add to the list:

Goutweed
Chinese lantern
Hops

Violets

Missouri evening primrose...it actually managed-somehow- to find it's way into the bed on the opposite side of the yard. It didn't come up in the middle-in the grass. But, it came up in a bed across the yard. I pull it up in the original bed I planted it in. If I could keep it contained in there, I'd be happy.

My husband hates trumpet vine. I planted one towards the back of the yard on a fence 3 years ago. No blooms, yet. But, there's more coming up in odd places. The previous owners of the house must have planted it as it was here when we moved in & I didn't realize what it was. He pulls & pulls at that.

Gaura...I planted one last year. Readily self sows, I read. HAHAHA!! I had no idea just how readily. I've been yanking up itty bitty seedlings for 2 months.

Orange ditch lilies, boston ivy, trumpet vine, green vinca, lemon balm, and loostrife(white gooseneck). This is what I do with my time in August when everything I WANT to grow is struggling from heat and drought. ARRRRGGG!

Pat

Lily of the Valley

I love the foliage, the flowers and the scent when it blooms IF I could contain it. Every yard in the blocks around my home has it so I am sure it was here before all of us were. I have an area on the north side of my house where I inherited a bed of about 5x25 of lily of the valley. It was shade but I had to take a tree out so now it is mostly sun and so the edges of the leaves fry in the sun. I have rototilled, hand dug up roots twice, roundup 3 times last year and 3 times this year.

It still comes up. I swear when they say there will be nothing but cockroaches at the end of the world there will actually be cockroaches and lily of the valley.

Anyone in Chicago that has a contained spot they want this beauty, feel free to come over and dig some up.

You know how some women just can't stay away from badly behaved men? I have that same issue with plants.

Horsetail rush: "Oh, I'll bury it in pots so it won't spread."

Golden Bamboo: "When we mow the grass that will keep it back."

Mint: "The hairstreak butterflies love it. It's pretty when it blooms."

Passion vine: See above, sub fritillary for hairstreak.

Milkweed: See above, sub monarch for fritillary.

Crown Pink, Valerian: "I'll keep it deadheaded."

But worst of all, the one plant that should be outlawed in Socal: the purple morning glory that ate the house of the little old lady down the street. "It's in the driveway. It won't be able to reach anything, because I'll keep it trimmed back..."

Renee

Blackberries and the pink evening primroses,and the purple castor bean.It throws seed everywhere,i'm forever pulling them out.Thank goodness dh cut it down 2 weeks ago.
kathi

Hollyhocks! They're popping up all over my yard, even in the grass, and the two plants I planted have become two dozen in two years.
Caryopteris. This lovely shrub generates hundreds of little seedlings that have to be hoed out each spring.
Lemon balm. Relocated itself clear across the yard to make a huge patch right next to some volunteer mint of another kind.
Cantaloupe. I never planted any but every year I get at least a dozen seedlings. Must be the compost.

Globe thistle! - planted one, decided it was too aggressive and have been pulling seedlings ever since!
Lemon balm - keeps coming back too.
Mallow - omigosh its a huge clump and has spread to a bed across the yard!

Yipes. I love globe thistle. At least if it reseeds, I can provide seedlings to others. Oh I do hate Mallows. It drove me crazy when it refused to die...

Of course... let's not forget those weeds.. The dandelion which was originally brought in as a salad vegetable. Imagine!

Ianna

Dandelions are evil. Plain & simple.

No one has mentioned my hates!

Chameleon Plant, Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon' , omw this thing is horrible, horrible I say. I received this plant from a "friend" I loved it thought oh what pretty foliage oh and it blooms white. OMW I planted that plant bout 4 years ago just little pieces mind you, I have been pulling digging cutting I cant get rid of it. When you pull it it has this distinct odor. I guess its called chameleon cause its so pretty but acts so bad!!

Coreopsis Tinctoria, I see people begging for this plant I hate it. We all know how bad bermuda grass is well its all over my yard I cant stand that either, well this tinctoria grows in my bermuda grass. I planted one plant few years back and I have been pulling it every since. Grows in trunks grows in my grass grows everywhere in my beds. Horrible, Horrible, Horrible.

About dandelions:

There is a dandelion festival every year in Vineland, NJ. People make dandelion wine, dandelion salad, dandelion...I don't know, quiche?

It's still evil.

Dandelions, bindweed, aspen tree shoots, chickweed, wild strawberries, wild raspberries for the wild stuff. Tame bad boys are zebra grass, Limelight Artemisia, lamb's ears, shastas, feverfew, mallow, catmint seedlings from years ago, Jacob's Ladder, clustered bellflower, red yarrow. Don't mind some of them but others are noxious. Many came from yard/charity plant sales (except the dandelions, they come on the wind). I keep them because I like many but do have to weed more.

My Centaurea Montana is not a problem, slow increase only and I like it. Same with lily of the valley - I wish it would spread more but it doesn't. My creeping Jenny only slow increase. Guess they are at the limit of their zone altho I never waste compost or mulch on them which might explain it.

It's funny I hardly have any Johnny-jump-ups any more, must be mulching too much. I miss them even tho there were at one time a lot all over the garden. Such a happy little plant.

Marcy, my achillea (red and yellow) don't flop but I never fertilize or even amend the soil. They are tough herbs that don't need it IMO.

There are some advantages to zone 3, I've tried to grow blackberries but they die back each year so no flowers/fruit. I know they are a dreadful rampant weed in warmer climates.

For me, my biggest problem plants are:

Bishops Weed - such nice variegated foliage, but the plant is a monster. It can take over Lily of the Valley and kill it, which I wasn't sure was possible. It is also almost impossible to remove effectively. I've been battling this one for years. And then they sell it at local nurseries for $5 per pot. Unbelievable.

Mint - someone planted it in the ground just "for the winter" and we've have trouble getting rid of it. I think we might finally be having some success. I will always want mint, but I'm afraid it will have to stay in a pot from now on.

Maple Tree - Oh, I could go on forever about this. Our town plants them on "town" property, right on the edge of the street and then asks us, as property owners, to take care of them. But why Maple Trees? Why not a tree that doesn't send seedling out by the thousands every year? I have little Maple trees growing everywhere. Some start in the middle of my shribs so you can't even see them till they are larger and it is too late to just yank them out. Some people (non-gardening neighbours) decide not to pull them out so we have mid sized Maples springing up all over. Not a good situation. I think if towns insist on planting rows of trees up and down the streets, they should choose a tree that isn't such an aggressive spreader!

Dandelions too. Seems no matter how many you remove, there will always be neighbours who don't bother . . . so the seeds blow in anyways!

I'm just very happy I never planted Morning Glories in the garden as well. I think the seedlings from that, added to all the others I deal with, would be the end of me!