Interesting. One uncultivated stream-side area on my lot that has some very old (not my doing) lilac and rose-of-sharon plantings among weeds and annoying walnut seedlings, where the lilacs are failing badly, but the ROS are competing better and put out some welcome flowers in the dry weather this early fall. So I actually appreciated the few there amongst the weeds and declining lilacs. As an isolated specimen, maybe I wouldn't be so appreciative.

PS One of my two 30+ ft pondcypreses is so sparse last 2 yrs, that I'm thinking of removing it. Baldcypresses, at least on my lot, are 1000X better trees.

I can't thing of anything I've completely removed this year. I have discarded divisions and plants that were seriously on the decline (some variegated iris had to go for that reason, but I still have many other clumps of them).

Ben even your part of Maryland, is probably a better climate for ROS than lilacs. I didn't mention it in my review, but the Barnes Arboretum had some lilacs that were awful looking...1/2 defoliated and the rest of the leaves covered in powdery mildew. (Although some were blooming, I guess because they planted the newer fall blooming ones?) My house came with some very ancient bushes that looked similarly bedraggled, it was actually my first impetus for learning to use a chainsaw in 2007! Not that I'm an expert but I'm going to guess it's really only New England and the northern tier of states where they are worthy of being planted.

My cluster of big ole lilacs was also attracting swarms of European hornets, who supposedly use the bark to build their nests. (But not in the lilacs? odd) Only place I've been stung by one, only time I was chased for at least 15 yards before being stung, and the worst insect sting I've had my life...some of the worst pain in my life, period. Little beast chased me and got me in the back of the head! It felt like I'd been hit with a hammer. Absolutely stomach turning pain. Needless to say, I was anxious to get rid of them. And btw, I was able to take the whole colony out that year, and they've never been a major presence in this area since. The secret is they are the only stinging insect attracted to light at night. So I would turn on my porch light, crouch very low and crack the door open with a vacuum cleaner wand...reach up and suck them up. The cool weather in fall make them a bit slow and bumbling, it might be riskier to try it in summer. I sucked up well over 30 of them, then sprayed the tree where I had determined the nest was w/hornet spray. Since then I see a scout once in a blue moon from somewhere else, but there aren't so many of them.

prairiemoon -- that must have been heartbreaking to lose an old beloved plant like that. She sure is beautiful in the pics!

My lilacs here in VA are beautiful. I have 3 white French lilacs and 3 Miss Kim. Only this year because of torrentisl rains that went on day after day did they get a fungus . The 3 whites started dropping leaves. I hand picked every single leaf off . bagged them and waited as drier weather came. they are covering nicely with beautiful green healthy leaves. I will monitor closely next year and hope for better weather.

I dug out every single native soldago goldenrod. that stuff is horrible and takes over everywhere. the native asters are next in line for significant removal. Im getting more shrubs and things that don’t spread with suckers . It has definitely been a learning experience.

When we moved into this house in April there was a huge, pink-flowered Chaenomeles speciosa in the extremely hot and sunny NW corner of the back garden. It was 15' tall and wide with dozens of crowded stems. I don't do pink, and I don't do Chaenomeles any more. I removed about 25% of it by hand in the cooler spring weather. Then it got too hot to work back there for most of the summer. But, little by little, I whittled it back to about 50% by September. It then launched a counterattack in late summer, and grew back about 20%! I got back to work on it again in the cooler autumn weather and have it down to about 40% of its original size. I hope to have it completely eliminated before spring.

My method is chop and drop using hand pruners and pruning saw. This allows me to do all of the work standing up straight (and not making any noise, I can still watch the birds and enjoy nature). When I have it cut down below waist height, I'll finish it off with the electric chainsaw.

Thank you Porkchop!

I'm learning about a few other things not to grow...goldenrod? Who knew. But...I'm right there with you for plants that sucker. I have a couple that are not a problem. I gave a whole shady corner to a Gray dogwood and that suckers but, it seems to have stopped at the lawn and I lined a few hydrangea along one edge and that seems to keep it in place. I haven't even had to remove suckers for a few years. I planted a Calycanthus and that is suckering much more than I expected and I may havev to think about removing it.

We are in the process of getting rid of Virginia creeper. Native enthusiasts are always pushing this plant and I was influenced to allow it to do it's own thing, thinking, oh...it's a native. Bad idea. That vine is ridiculously invasive. It went everywhere. We have 3/4 of it out but I am leaving the area open and watering it to make sure if something is coming back, I catch it before I replant.

I really dislike plants that make a nuisance of themselves. I have a small 1/4 acre and I can't fight those kind of battles.

I had to remove the two Panicum 'Heavy Metal'. Splaying open to cover some 15 ft of garden just didn't work. Now two big holes in the garden.

I shovel pruned 3 Miscanthus and 2 nice clumps of Panicum CLoud Nine.

both were tough plants, did well, mine did never splay and even bounced back after an unusual dusting of snow bent the canes to the ground.

I got tired of hacking away those genormouse stems in spring. I moved aoround some taller perennials, got some Calamagrostis x acuti-thingy Karl Foerster, which is almost as tall, sprouts earlier and has way thinner stalks

and I culled 2-3 "so so" Hemerocallis to make place for some more interesting Salvia from the microphylla-group which grow quite well in our region

My splaying Northwinds have been such a problem. They are supposed to stay straight but due to my ” improving ” the soil I caused an enormous problem. I have divided several times in just a few years and they are awful again. I love my Karl Forrester they are all so well behaved . I will make a decision in early Spring.

My Pink Muhly has put out babies nearby and I love them. So you win some and lose some.

I don't have hardly any perennials, due to the fact so many that grow here, don't survive the snowless winters that we have off and on. And the ones that do survive, everyone, and I mean everyone, has them growing in observable places of their front yard and around the mailboxes. So not anything 'special' if I plant those at my place.

This Fall I pruned my last two maple trees, both back to single leader trees and removed a sick spruce and the two pines that were crowding out my more favorable ponderosa pine. Shovel pruned a red maple that wasn't performing earlier this season.

Otherwise, it's all woody plants here with the exception of some annuals and biennials that self-seed in my flower beds. And DWs' summertime hanging pots on the deck.

Wow...some of you are much more patient gardeners than I am!

Still trailing, thanks for your perspective, I thought we might hear from some [southern] 'lilac defenders'!

UBG (davidrt), I guess a coincidence, but right near my bedraggled lilacs was where a couple yrs ago a giant European hornet shot out from and stung me thru my glove between my fingers while ride-mowing (it happened in a fraction of a second), and my hand swelled up painfully like a balloon for several days. This summer has been the worst for getting stung since I've been here, but fortunately no hornet stings, tho paper wasp stings are pretty bad (yellow jacket stings are pretty mild).

As a beekeeper long ago, it was always said that head-stings were the worst, due to blood circulation there (or lack of?).

I had a love/hate thing going with my pagoda dogwood. I had planted it a few years prior from a small 2 foot sapling, and the thing grew wild and crazy. I called it my wonky tree. I’d try to train it, cut it back nicely, then some rain windstorm would happen and it would get all deformed and splayed and strange. Towards the end of spring I said, this is enough, I’m taking it down. I sawed off all the top growth, got it down to a 3 foot single stump in the ground, began to saw that down but I had no energy left, so left that to do later. Loved how the space opened up and just looked great without that wonky and wildly aggressive canopy. Can you guess where this is going? Got busy with the summer and didn’t get back to finish cutting that stump down. It sent up new growth like mad from the single stem…which now actually looks quite attractive! I’m thinking I can now at least work with this and have given this dogwood a second chance.

Good thread idea. I don‘t keep records of culled plants, but I removed several well established trees this spring, including Ostrya virginiana, Larix decidua, Pinus cembra, and Picea omorika ’Aurea’. The first two were badly damaged when large oak branches fell on them during a late spring storm, while the latter two suffered repeated and extensive deer browse. I planted the Ostrya with my granddaughter, so removing it was painful.

LaLennoxa: I wish my dogwoods grew that fast! I have an 8-y/o Kousa that is not a whole lot bigger than when I first bought it, though it is very healthy and blooms well in it's "on" years. Planted another one last year that has done a whole lotta nothin' growth-wise. Sigh...