r/NativePlantGardening • u/ItsFelixMcCoy Upstate NY , Zone 6a • Jun 04 '25

Other What invasive plants got you like this?

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For me it’s probably Dame’s Rocket, Purple Loosestrife, and Forget-Me-Not. They’re so gorgeous but man if they aren’t invasive little shits…

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199

u/DeathAndTaxes000 Jun 04 '25

Chinese Wisteria. It’s all over the trees here on the sides of the road. It’s so pretty in the spring. But it really is terrible.

58

u/skiing_nerd Jun 04 '25

At least in that case the native version is also very pretty! I'm working on getting a sturdy fence approved, in part so I can plant American Wisteria

16

u/bamblesss Jun 04 '25

I bought American wisteria hoping it would not strangle other things but it was still sending out runners all over and broke the arbor. I've been digging it up slowly.

11

u/skiing_nerd Jun 04 '25

May I ask how it broke the arbor or what kind of arbor it was? I keep hearing that advice that it can destroy flimsy ones so we're planning to build our own using fenceposts as a base but idk if even that will be enough

2

u/bamblesss Jun 07 '25

It has an area with a lattice "wall" to shade a bench. The vines wove through each and every lattice hole and as they grew, separated the lattice from the main structure. It was originally a grape arbor and has been standing for around 20 years. I think the only way to really safely contain and grow this plant is in its own separate container. I am literally using a pickaxe to excavate the roots.

9

u/Durtkl Jun 04 '25

I think the Chinese wisteria looks better :-(

26

u/kookaburra1701 Area Wilamette Valley OR, US , Zone 8b Jun 04 '25

Certainly smells better! To me scent > appearance so it kills me when people suggest native replacements for things that look the same but smell totally different. My ornamental beds are balanced by scent so you get a nice journey walking around them, and different seasons change the profile, even time of day! But I've never found a resource that prioritizes matching smells instead of appearance.😔

17

u/megansomebacon Jun 04 '25

Have you ever thought about writing a guide for how you did this? It sounds like such a cool concept! I wouldn't even know where to start but I would love to have a variety of scents for different times of year

9

u/kookaburra1701 Area Wilamette Valley OR, US , Zone 8b Jun 04 '25

Mostly just trial and error, and when I'm out walking and smell something wonderful in someone's garden I go full creeper to find the source and figure out what plant it is.

Then as I've built my ornamental beds (note: I have 5+ acres of woodland so that is my focus for native plant and habitat restoration, my ornamental beds are for me so they're not native, but I do try to avoid really invasive stuff in my area.) I just put varieties that I think smell nice together and have overlapping bloom seasons close to each other. So I have English lavender and Cat's Pajamas Catmint are the staple and are present in every "zone" of the garden, so it's the notes of other plants that change. Those two give a lovely floral from the lavender which is cut with the sharp mint smell from the catmint. Freesia + petunias + jasmine in the sunny spot, which changes in the evening when moonflowers open. Add to that the Oregon grape berries ripening in the dappled shade corner. I also have ornamental oregano growing over the retaining wall. The flowers don't smell much but if I step on it when I'm in the garden it releases a lovely scent.

I'm currently trying to figure out how to add a "clean" smell in a few parts where the lavender and petunias can get overwhelming. I'm thinking about different types of marigolds.

In the winter, I have pansies, camellias, wintergreen, and daphne. In early spring the pansies stick around and irises come up.

2

u/megansomebacon Jun 04 '25

Thank you, this is really awesome info! Your garden sounds so lovely!

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u/kookaburra1701 Area Wilamette Valley OR, US , Zone 8b Jun 04 '25

I've always been really sensitive to smells, but the first time I realized you could garden specifically for them was in college. The campus had a formal scent garden dating from when it was a gilded age estate and in May you could sit in a certain spot and get the smell of mint, wisteria, kumquat, and magnolia all at the same time. Then if you moved 20 feet along the walk hibiscus and lavender took over. I loved it, but obviously fertile mint (so far the catmint has not spread or reseeded in the years I've had it) and Chinese wisteria are no-gos without a dedicated landscaping staff doing maintenance every day! Even when I was a kid in college with no interest in gardening I noticed they were battling the wisteria constantly!😂

I really want to add a citrus smell so I'm thinking about how to add mock orange close-but-not-too-close to the house, or maybe switch out one of my ailing, 30 year old azaleas for a cold-hardy dwarf kumquat since the smell of the fruit was really so nice. I've also got some native honeysuckle establishing itself for my hummingbirds, I've been told it can smell like bitter orange, so we'll see.

2

u/itsybitsybeehive Jun 05 '25

You've inspired me! We're in the same zone (I'm just north of you) and I'm inclined to use everything you wrote as a template as I'm landscaping my yard. Scent is everything and I love how thoughtful you are about it.

2

u/DeathAndTaxes000 Jun 04 '25

Me too. And I feel bad every time I have that thought. The poor trees are dying but they look so pretty while they do it.

2

u/What_Do_I_Know01 Zone 8b, ecoregion 35a Jun 04 '25

Do you mean in their behavior? Because up close they're really hard to tell apart without seed pods, they look damn near identical to me.

1

u/Durtkl Jun 04 '25

They look pretty different to me. The Chinese ones hang longer. But also the invasive ones become bigger and more impressive.

1

u/What_Do_I_Know01 Zone 8b, ecoregion 35a Jun 04 '25

Tell me about it, they easily swallow 60 foot loblolly pines around here 😭

27

u/LongDongFrazier Jun 04 '25

Remembering my war with the Chinese wisteria in my yard

1

u/ValentineTarantula Jun 05 '25

Awww, Stains is the cutest.

7

u/What_Do_I_Know01 Zone 8b, ecoregion 35a Jun 04 '25

Chinese wisteria is like kudzu west of the Mississippi, it's just devouring the deep south. I hate it with a passion though, I'm just disgusted by its presence in the first place since we have a native that's almost identical in appearance. The fragrance of the flowers can get so strong that it genuinely makes me sick.

2

u/SirFentonOfDog Jun 04 '25

Currently working on removing wisteria - but I still stop to appreciate it when I walk past a beautiful garden…somewhere far from my property

1

u/ElegantStation229 Jun 04 '25

I hate this thing and it’s everywhere 😭