Plants to avoid:

Whilst we're still dealing with our bindweed problem, I'm trying to stay positive and looking into what sorts of plants we might look to plant/sow in the future (though obviously not now).

In doing so I've obviously come across lots of plants and had more suggested by others, most of which we have never grown and have no experience of. So, whilst there are mountains of (often contradictory) information around about various plants, I thought I'd just ask those with more experience generally whether any of these are plants to avoid. Whether that be due to them becoming a nuisance/taking over, having a negative impact on established perennials (meaning Pyracantha, Phlox, Fuchsia, Ice plant/Stonecrop and Roses here), or simply being a bit underwhelming.

Obviously we're by no means going to try planting all of these, but I thought it might be worth getting some opinions to maybe cross a few off the list. Some of these we're more skeptical of than others based on what we've been able to find already, but I'd be interested in hearing any experiences (positive or negative) people have had with any of these:

So the list as it currently stands:

Crocus, Snowdrop, Cowslip, Primrose, Oxlip, Tickseed, Scabious, Black-eyed Susan, Verbena, Ox-eye daisy, forget-me-not.

 

Forget me not and self seed everywhere but easy to remove where you don't want them. I think Ox eye daisy self seed quite a bit but I never grown them.

Crocus don't flower long but a nice hit of colur while not much else is flowering.
Not sure which verbena you are on about ? bedding - perennial , the bedding are good in baskets / pots and the perennials like V,Boniarises are nice with other perennials.

 

Hypericum is a bit of a thug seeding everywhere. It's probably the birds who spread it around. Some hardy geraniums are voracious and unless you have plenty of space should be avoided. Personally I love them.

 

Yeah, I'm rather skeptical about the wisdom of planting forget-me-nots/daisies precisely because of the likelyhood they'll spread all over the place and become very difficult to get rid of if they do become a problem, they just happen to be a fairly common suggestion.

From what I understand/have heard Tickseed and certain types of Scabious have similar 'throw seeds all over the place' properties, but are possibly easier to control. But like I said, there is such a mass of information, some of it contradictory that it's hard to actually tell.

 

Any bulbs are generally going to stay around wherever you plant them - that's part of the attraction, not needing to do anything more. They don't spread beyond where you've put them though. So I'm in favour of crocuses and things like that.

Hypericum is hard to shift once it's in, and it can get very big. Similar problems with forsythia, snowberry, weigela, ceanothus, kerria, buddleia. All lovely bushes, but pay real attention to the final size, and be prepared to prune.

Weed trees are the worst. Elder, ash and sycamore need to be killed immediately, as soon as you spot the saplings sprouting.

Columbine (aquilegia) tends to self-seed widely. It's a pretty plant and it doesn't get in the way of other things, so generally it's a pleasant surprise. Ditto cornflowers, stocks, poppies, flax, nigella, off the top of my head. If you want a cottage garden look, them making themselves at home is actually a bonus, but they will upset an ultra-formal arrangement.

Mint has a habit of escaping, as do many herbs. Plant in a tub, or in a bucket set in the ground, to keep them in check.

Do not plant lemon balm or fennel. Of everything, those are the two where I've once brought them into the garden and spent the next however many years trying to shift them.

 

Really difficult to answer this one.

Depending on what youre after from a garden depends on what is a problem / what is underwhelming. If youre after every plant being an explosion of colour then plants used for foliage or texture may be seen as underwhelming.

Sometimes you need the insignificant plants for underplanting so that they don't distract from the star of the show.

I wont have digitalis in the garden as it clashes with what I want to achieve and seeds like crazy. Forget me not - as soon as I see it I rip it up. Ivy has to go.

We have a lot of grasses in the garden which would not be for everyone.

One mans muck is another mans gold

 

I'm in the process of removing lemon balm right now - year 2 and it keeps making an appearance

 

Of your list Caelius I would not plant forget me nots....as pretty as they may be (if you want those flowers plant brunneras like Hadspen Cream). I think crocus are more weed than anything too, besides they flower so briefly.
Don’t plant muscari either....those pretty blue spires are tempting but spread fast spoiling other plantings. Also the pretty purple oxalis purpureum .....it self seeds quite a lot. I’m still digging out the occasional seedling despite years of trying to eradicate it
Two bad plants to avoid are houttynias chameleon and artemisia Limelight ....a nightmare if they get a foothold.
Verbenas? Avoid Rigida, it is thuggish...the rest are fine
Euphorbias can be well behaved or rampant.....Griffithii is one I definitely avoid. It is very invasive popping up everywhere via underground runners.
Many silver artemisia too are the same....the best is well behaved Powys Castle
Hypericum Hidcote, already mentioned, is a dream; it’s cousin Calycinum is a weed that will take over.
Many grasses and sedges will self seed prolifically so it’s a question of selecting wisely or be prepared to pull out the flowering stems.
A dilemma isn’t it? Salvias are fantastic plants but some are potentially invasive so need to be planted with care. Ditto alstroemerias.
Bamboos?? NO
Do your research on plants you want to grow.....as well as the variety.

 

@Verdun I meant to mention bamboo too. even the clumping varieties can run

 

Thanks for all the replies, lots of useful 'avoid this' tips which is what I wanted. I already had some of these on the 'no way I'm touching that" list, but it's good to get more opinions.

One notable one that no one has commented on (which is maybe a good sign?) but from my reading/searching is possibly problematic is Primrose (meaning Primula vulgaris) and similar plants(cowslip etc), since some places seem to suggest they can spread rapidly and take over (where as other information is essentially "trouble-free spring flowers" which I'm sure is probably true in the right conditions).

 

God, I forgot bamboo. Probably because the clump in my new place is in an area which I'm not going to get round to clearing for a while. Yeah, all of that.

Oh, and vinca (periwinkle). Pretty enough, but it does spread badly. It's also a happy home for snails, which isn't so good if you value things like hostas. If you like the look of periwinkle, ceratostigma is generally a much better choice.

Another thing to think about is whether you have kids and dogs. For children, poisonous, spiky and/or allergenic are issues. For dogs, there's another list of what's poisonous for them. No idea whether it's a thing for you, but worth mentioning. Foxgloves reminded me there.

 

Interesting thread you started here @Caelius I agree with a lot of the suggestions made by others, but a lot depends on where abouts you garden and your specific conditions. For example in Essex I grew Coix lacryma-jobi ( Job's Tears) with no problem here in damper Devon it spreads and pops up all over. I used to grow Centranthus ruber ("Red Valerian") until it took over the patch it was in and the dry stone wall next to it. I find that once they get established Japanese Anemones pop up several feet away. I have Primula vulgaris and it seeds and spreads, but not uncontrollably staying mainly in the dry shade under the pine trees where there are also wood anemones, autumn and spring crocuses, snowdrops and snakeheads fritillaries all gradually increasing in number and occasionally popping up in odd places.
I grow a clumping bamboo which is relatively easy to keep to size, Euphorbia griffithii does run and pop up, but not uncontrollably, the same goes for some of the geraniums. I have to let mint run if I restrain it, it doesn't come back the next year.
I would give grape hyacinth (Muscari armenicaum) a miss, there are other attractive Muscari that are well behaved, Allium sphaerocephalon will try and take over as will some of the other decorative allium hybrid, also avoid some of the other small white alliums. A christophii self seeds gently with me.
Raspberries run and spread as do some of the decorative Rubus.
It also depends on the style of garden you want a more formal style means you will want better behaved plants, something that runs in one area of your garden may behave in a dryer, damper more exposed area. I'm happy to allow seeding and running within reason as my garden is politely described as a mess of plants and the "lawn" is a tussocky unevenly sloping patch of mainly grasses, ants nests with self seeded cyclamen and geraniums in places.

 

Thanks for the replies.

I had heard that Valerian is one of those plants that either does okay and is relatively confined/easy to manage, or is incredibly prolific. Your experience with Primrose seems to match up with a lot of comments I've seen so that's encouraging.

As for going for a more formal style vs a 'wilder' look, personally I'm not concerned with 'neatness' so much as just wanting to avoid plants that might potentially either get seriously out of hand or have a negative impact on the plants we already have (though I'm not sure how likely that is to happen realistically?).

For me, if a plant produces a lot of seedlings, so long as it A) Can be removed relatively easily if need be and B) Won't muck up the existing neighbouring plants I don't really mind.

It's the ones that spread all over, strangle out other plants and have runners all over the place and take forever to eradicate if you end up needing to that I'm wanting to avoid, though obviously I appreciate as you say Nigel that plants will grow differently depending on soil, location, shade etc.

 

You are sensible to be aware Caelius of those runners and “stranglers”. Also to research any new plants you desire for their tendencies and wantoness. Don’t be persuaded by the hype that goes with plant descriptions

 

Fascinating thread! I note that the OP has mentioned both Primula vulgaris and veris, my impression (tho it may be a false one) has always been of the latter being a little more invasive, so I found Nigel's comment very interesting. An elderly lady who lives nearby has Centranthus ruber growing in her front garden and I suspect she intentionally allows it to do its own thing, within limits. It's a shrubbery/cottage garden sort of space so it fits in delightfully, but I certainly wouldn't have it in mine, would come straight out!

Am I a tad mental or does that sound absolutely lovely to anyone else here?

Nick