Invasion of the garden snatchers

By Rebecca Burcher Jones

Correspondent

This is a story with a couple morals to it.

Spring a year ago, one of my neighbors knew demanding family circumstances would prevent me from caring for a flower bed around my mailbox, where I usually plant annuals.

So she offered to plant my bed with begonias, plus about 15 offspring of a new plant she'd bought. The new plant, whose name she didn't know, had stunning variegated foliage in creamy white, shades of chartreuse and rich green, and it was sending up new plantlets that she could share.

I was busy, so without giving the details much thought, I agreed.

All went well till this spring. That's when I realized my neighbor's offer hadn't been so wonderful. After only a couple warm days, foliage from literally hundreds of volunteers from those 15 original plants began poking out of the soil. They covered the entire bed, plus some crept into the lawn.

OK, I'd just have to pull them out. But when I tried, I discovered lots and lots of fleshy roots like spaghetti, stretching deep and wide beneath the soil. There was no pulling them out; the job called for a shovel, moist soil and a lot of patience.

Mother Nature cooperated with a good soaking rain, and I carefully cleaned out the bed over two days' time. I felt I did a thorough job.

Not so. A week later, additional new plants sprouted, and I dug again, amazed to see more masses of spaghetti-like roots. Since, I've dug roots twice more, and there's now yet another crop of plantlets, albeit fewer than before, waiting for me and my shovel.

First moral - never plant an unidentified plant, no matter how attractive.

In my neighbor's defense, she didn't knowingly pass along an invasive plant. She didn't recall the plant's identity or even where she bought it. All she knew was that she'd purchased only one.

This brings us to the second moral - read plant labels and follow the recommendations.

Brian O'Neil, director of horticulture at Norfolk Botanical Garden, identified a sample of my invader as a form of Artemisia, a genus of plants known for showy foliage. From there, I discovered via the Internet that this particular variegated Artemisia is sold as a hybrid nicknamed 'Oriental Limelight.' It's marketed by Proven Selections, which is a complementary label to the familiar Proven Winners brand.

The plant's features, described forthrightly on the Proven Selections' plant label, are "eye-catching variegated foliage of lemon-yellow and green; may be aggressive in the garden." The label also states that this plant is recommended for containers, and it concludes with this tip: "Plants may be aggressive or even invasive in some conditions."

One plant reviewer writing on the Internet reported that even the smallest piece of root from Oriental Limelight generates new plants. I can attest to that.

As a gardener, be responsible - read plant labels and follow their recommendations. As for plant offers, make sure you know what you're getting. Otherwise, "just say no." You'll be glad you did.

Rebecca Burcher Jones,

vpgarden@cox.net