It’s time to fess up! How many plants are there in your
We 3Growbags need to step into the Confessional Box with 9 horticultural howlers of our own……….
1. Acanthus is an undeniably handsome plant. Its strong spikes of lipped flowers rise from dark green jagged leaves with real drama. The Romans absolutely loved it for its stylistic design and even based the Corinthian order of architecture on it.
But believe me, this apparent paragon among herbaceous plants is not without faults. The foliage is caviar to snails who can reduce it to ribbons overnight. In full sun, this plant is prone to mildew which turns the leaves white, floppy and unattractive.
But worst of all, Acanthus has deep running roots, which have little concept of staying in a neat clump in the flower border. One minute you’re admiring its elegant spires, the next you’ve spotted that its telltale rosette of leaves has popped up the other side of the path in a special group of salvias like an unwanted gatecrasher. The roots are a devil to hoick out. Do I regret planting it at all – yes, I do.
2. My next regret is actually a plant I really like – in the right place. Golden creeping jenny (Lysimachia mummularia aurea) will lighten a semi-shaded spot like few other plants. Lime-green little leaves and yellow flowers hug the ground and give the impression of a shaft of sunlight in a gloomy spot.
But I stupidly used lots of divisions of it to carpet a bed full of pink and cream roses, pink Abelia and delphiniums. Acid-yellow looks hideous as a background to sugar-pink – who knew? Hours of painstaking weeding followed as I hauled it all out again.
3. Lots of ornamental grasses are reluctant to stay in their own lane. Even Stipa tenuissima can party a little too hard in the right conditions. I didn’t actually plant tall sedge (Cyperus eragrostis) in my
4. It’s true Acanthus is a menace but you have to have been around the block a few times before you realise it’s potential to become completely entrenched – Caroline is still trying to get it established in her
5. Next let’s talk about bamboo – I have a well- behaved clump of Phyllostachys aureosulcata f. aureocaulis or golden groove bamboo whose culms I manicure and whose roots are pruned religiously every year. It’s fine and people compliment its shiny yellow canes in winter 👍.
What I wish I hadn’t done is stick a rooted offshoot in a wilder part of the
6. Finally I think it is my civic duty to warn you about Amsonia orientalis. Yes, that’s the pretty blue prairie plant that I have waxed lyrical about in the past – reference the cheerful little caption about it that I posted in 2022….
It’s a different story now – I had been watching its creeping annexation of the plant plots around its borders for a couple of years and decided it needed its wings clipped. It was a total horror story underground with tough anchor roots plunged deep into the subsoil from which it was sending out raiding parties to all corners of the bed and even under the flagstone edging.
Not one website cited invasiveness as an issue with this plant, but it took three days of hard labour and a lot of bad language to dig it out, and I’m never planting another one.
7. I’ll whisper it even though we’re 800 miles apart, my biggest mistake was something given to me by Elaine……
It was 34 years ago but it feels like yesterday. Why would you give ANYONE Centaurea? It’s spindly blue flowers are disproportionately meagre compared to its coarse, hairy leaves which, by the way, go a stale grey before succumbing to rampant mildew as it sets about its evil plan to be the only plant in your
I’ve moved house since planting it – not solely because of the centaurea, but there’s no denying, it’s a relief the struggle is over.
8. Now you might know from previous posts that planting a bank of Rosa rugosa beside my drive has given me regular bouts of insomnia and self-loathing. It looks absolutely horrible in winter and its ugly grey stems can’t be tackled with anything other than the stoutest gauntlets (you can buy good ones in our shop BTW). It responds to my attempts to dig it out or firebomb it into extinction, by sending up shoots that look so pert and healthy, it takes ‘passive-aggressive’ to another level.
Unbelievably it sometimes draws admiration from passers-by and although you’ll think it fanciful, I can actually see it giving me a wink.
9. My final disappointment is, I’m afraid, the fault of the other sister Laura who regularly recommends this plant – Macleaya.
Enthused, I introduced it to my
Lucky old Laura, it won’t have the same painful association for her because she’s always been the short stumpy one in the family.
Do you have any horror stories about plants you bitterly regret planting? If so we’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Louise’s has chosen a clematis with a bit of a twist this week. Find out more about it and why it’s her Great Plant this Month.
Solitary bees use bee hotels as long-term nurseries. The bee hotel we stock in our shop is both pretty and functional and with it, we can help halt the decline of solitary bee numbers:
And here are a few tips from Laura on how to site your bee hotel correctly:
💚 The costs of keeping our site working and safe are going up. We want to go on sharing everything for free without adverts, but if you enjoy our weekly posts, the price of a cup of coffee would be extremely helpful in paying the bills! Thank you 💚
NB If you’re not already a subscriber and you’d like a bit more gardening chitchat from the3growbags, please type your email address here and we’ll send you a new post every Saturday morning.
36 replies on “Oh I wish I hadn’t planted that!”
I very much enjoy and welcome your weekly offerings and wholeheartedly agree with most of the content.
However, I think you are mistaken about the ID of your bamboo.
Phyllostachys aurea is green, not really yellow at all! A misnomer.
Seeing the slight zig zag at the base of one of the culms and the colour of your plant, indicates that it is most probably …
P. aureosulcata Aureocaulis
If so, the culms will be rough to the touch.
Hello John – Thank you SO much for writing in. You’re absolutely right I have mis-named the bamboo in question- it is indeed Phyllostachys aureosulcata f. aureocaulis – and it’s even more annoying that I must have known this all along as I named it as such in the little video I made on YouTube about how to keep in under control (you can find this on our YouTube channel
The3Growbags) Obviously a lapse in memory/attention to detail on my part which your eagle eye spotted and I’m very grateful as these things are important. I’m going to nip into this morning’s post now and correct the mistake. Thanks again and it’s very reassuring to know that we have experts such as you in our readership to keep us our toes! Best wishes Laura
It took my husband 18 months to dig out the bamboo which had gone rogue so never again. I also planted an acanthus which I then wanted to remove, only to find it has a very deep woody root which is very difficult to remove. I still have bits popping up which I have to dig out. The other one which I will never grow again is Japanese anemone. It spreads everywhere and is extremely difficult to get rid of. Masses of foliage, some pretty flowers that don’t last very long and then an attempt to muscle everything else out of the border.
Ah Rosemary your experiences sound very familiar … this is the rather tedious aspect of gardening that doesn’t really get enough coverage when one sets out isn’t it? Never mind, we need to look on the bright side – all this digging and hauling out probably keeps us fit and strong without the expense of gym membership! Best wishes Laura
We planted Nectaroscordum siculum – such beautiful flowers, but definitely a thug. Ditto a perennial relative of sweet peas, with interesting orange flowers; it doesn’t seed itself much, but after flowering it spreads itself out & overshadows all around. Other thugs were left behind by the previous owners, principally acanthus & Japanese anemone, as well as centaurea (although we have a very dark form which would be better if it didn’t flop).
Hello Elaine, yes I have heard that Nectaroscordum can get out of hand. I have a small patch of it which I tolerate as the bees love it but I always try to snap off the spent flowers before it has a chance to seed around and this strategy seems to be working at the moment! I also have a perennial sweet pea (in a rather hideous pink) which I could do without for the same reason as you – it’s finding time to deal with all these things isn’t it? We all seem to be agreed on acanthus, Japanese anemones and centaurea (thank goodness Elaine only gave the last one on this list to Caroline and not me ..) Best wishes Laura
Two serious regrets about plants I loved – for a year or two.
1.Miss Wilmott’s Ghost-,eryngium gigantium loved by the bees but now dreaded by me. It’s invaded my small front garden popping up through other prize plants. Almost impossible to remove the long tap root.
2. Quaking grass – brizza maxima. Loved by me for years but now I can spend hours yanking it out only to find just as many the next day.
I do also regret the perennial cornflower.
Thanks for writing in with these two new candidates Margaret, I’ve got both of these issues, so I feel your pain! Each year I start off with a zero tolerance campaign hoping that I can eradicate these imposters but inevitably I miss a few so the endless cycle goes on … the trouble is that they are both very pretty plants, much admired by visitors to the garden, blissfully unaware of the battle going on behind the scenes. That cornflower seems to be getting bad press from everyone today .. definitely one to avoid it seems. Best wishes Laura
I so agree about acanthus and Miss Wilmot’s ghost, but quite like centaurea! Astromeria goes a bit rogue and difficult to extract. Love your weekly post, thank you. Diana
Hello again Diana, at last centaurea has got a supporter! I agree about alstroemeria – its very brittle roots make it very difficult to dig out in one piece, although I know many people would love to grow it but can’t get it to establish so perhaps we should be grateful for its love ?? Best wishes Laura
Top of my ‘wish I had never planted it’ list must be Geranium Wargrave Pink …it just gets everywhere ! We live only 7 miles from Wargrave, maybe it’s trying to get home !
Hello Gaynor – your comment made me laugh out loud! I think you’re probably right too – it was named after the geographic location of its hybridisation so definitely must have been very happy there and long to return to its birthplace – it’s a real trooper! Best wishes Laura
Borage! Great for the bees and lovely looking flowers. However it took over my herb bed last year, flopping and shading out everything else and this year there are loads of self-sown plants with very prickly leaves. At least they are easy to pull out.
Ah yes Lisa – borage! … I have issues with several plants from the family Boraginaceae. This family contain the annual borage that you have and also the perennial comfrey and maybe worst of all, green alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens). All have the same coarse hairy leaves and predominantly blue flowers. At least be grateful that borage itself is an annual so you do have the option of not letting it go to seed, the other two are deep rooted perennials. They are all very popular with pollinators but if you let them get away, that’s all you have to offer, as they will smother other plants that might offer nectar at different times of the year or to specialised insects. So avoided in your main garden but tolerated in the wilder margins maybe? Thanks for bringing this plant up in our chat! Best wishes Laura
Lysimachia – I’m amazed no one has mentioned this horror or maybe no one has been silly enough to plant it in the first place. But so far 25 yrs, my acanthus has been well behaved in NW Lancs but with climate change I shall be hawkeyed!
Hello Caroline – two very interesting observations.. Elaine did actually mention a lysimachia but it was the creeping one L. nummularia ‘Aurea’ the golden creeping Jenny so it probably didn’t register as being related to the taller herbaceous perennials that I’m sure you are referring to, and I completely agree- most of them are absolute menaces! But I’m reserving judgement on one that I recently introduced into my borders, Lysimachia ephemerum, with lovely glaucous grey leaves and upright white flower spikes with pink stamens – at the moment it’s behaving itself 🤞 Your second comment about acanthus is interesting as environmental conditions definitely affect a plants tendency to spread or not. The acanthus genus originates from the Mediterranean, so perhaps it is more vigorous in the over-heated south than in your cooler climate? Horticulture is endlessly fascinating isn’t it? Best wishes Laura
I spent about 8 years religiously snapping off every leaf of Acanthus mollis that popped up. I have now got rid of it…I hope!
On a happier note, some of these plants are good for the non-gardening offspring’s garden. And can cope with dogs and children, being sat on, footballs etc!
Beware Elaine – it might still pop up somewhere when you’re not looking! It’s good to hear an alternative method of control apart from endless back-aching digging. You obviously have to be consistent and patient (8 years!) but you got there in the end. You make a good point about some gardens needing to be bombproof, there are definitely different phases in your gardening life that require different approaches to planting choices. Best wishes Laura
I’m surprised no-one’s mentioned Saponaria officinalis aka Bouncing Bet. She certainly bounces everywhere in our garden! I agree about the Geranium and Acanthus. I also have a problem with Perovskua.
Mine too Janet! I had an absolutely purge on them from my main beds but it still survives in a bed separated from the main garden by a large stretch of concrete along with two other miscreants, tree poppy (Romneya coulteri) and a burnet rose, Rosa pimpinellifolia, which have also been banished for bad behaviour. The three of them fight it out between them … thanks for reminding us all to watch out for this one. Perovskia can definitely put itself about a bit, but it’s so drought resistant that it can be a bit of saviour in a very hot year- I put it in the same bracket as Althea cannabina the lovely tall, small-flowered hollyhock, both with a tendency to seed about but quite a welcome sight in late summer Best wishes Laura
Yes to canthus & centaurea but soapwort is the absolute worst. I wish I had a time machine to stop me planting it over 25 years ago: it took over a 2m/sq bed by the driveway. We have just today pulled everyting that we could find (ha!) and removed any surviving other plants that were overwhelmed (so few). Then we are putting cardboard & black plastic on top of the bed. Pots will sit on top. I am hoping it will only take a few years to finally give up
You’re the second person to write in with woes about soapwort, or saponaria, Lisa – it seems to be a real nightmare. 25 years is a long battle. It’s a real
enigma too that a plant that originates from water meadows can survive drought so well. I’m ashamed to say that I grew my specimens from seed so had lots to dot around the garden- what was I thinking??!!! Best wishes and good luck with your latest campaign. Laura
Akeba quinata (the white form) – a thug which I’ve only tolerated because of the wonderfully scented flowers in early Spring. Clematis “My Angel” – Angel? You must be kidding! I’ve moved house and just hope that they haven’t come with me!
It’s funny you should mention Akebia Sue, I’ve eying ours up (just the usual chocolate coloured one) and wondering how much longer we can go on tottering to the top of a high ladder each autumn to hook ours out of the gutters and barge-boards. I feel it might not be very much longer and your comment has helped with this decision! Thanks for the tip-off about Clematis ‘My Angel’ it’s a tangutica that I might have been tempted to try but it would clearly come with a health warning! Best wishes Laura
I do agree with some of the above but my worst plant is Soleirolia, or Mind Your Own Business. I had this by a water feature in our last garden, where it was very well behaved. Why did I think it would be pretty round our pond in our new garden? It spreads like wildfire and has invaded clumps of other plants. I shall never be rid of it, despite our best efforts. Caveat emptor!
I loved your parting comment of ‘buyer beware’ Jennie- you obviously feel this little blighter will outlive your occupation of your current house! I think you have to submit survey results for Japanese Knotweed in some areas but I don’t think they check for the presence of mind your own business yet 😂 I’ve never grown it so can’t offer much in the way of helpful advice apart from suggesting to the rest of our readers that they avoid it. Best wishes and good luck with the eradication programme, Laura
Well, fascinating reading in what to avoid!
Agreed on acanthus, japanese anemone, lysimachia, bamboo (took my husband three months to dig out by hand in our inherited garden).
Alkanet, surely no-one would plant this deliberately? It gives me a rash, and has a root to Australia.
No idea about clematis My Angel, about which Taylor’s Clematis say ‘In some countries these wonderful plants are considered to be invasive and problematic, however in the UK this is not the case.’
I’ve always wanted a Romneya Coulteri – so beautiful. Perhaps not….
It’s been a real eye-opener hasn’t it Barbara! Re the alkanet, it just turned up in my garden and for the first year I thought it was a brunnera blown in from a neighbours garden. I think you could risk a romneya if you just found the right spot for it – maybe in a front garden under a tree. They had a clump of it in the car park at Beth Chatto’s garden under an olive tree and it looked superb. Best wishes Laura
Agree about acanthus. Can’t get miss willmot to grow and took ages for Japanese anemones to take
In my bog garden I mistook petasites for darmera peltata it took years to dig out
Also dont plant mimulus gutters in a bog garden it spreads everywhere
Thanks for writing in Sue. Judging from the comments of others it may be a blessing that Eryngium ‘Miss Willmott’s Ghost’ doesn’t like you garden conditions and it may be a case of ‘be careful what you wish for’ with the Japanese anemones. That was a dangerous slip up with the petasites for the darmera. We were given a chunk of petasites (butterbur) after admiring its innocent looking domed flower in late winter, but it’s an absolute machine and has advanced right down our stream bank. Thanks for the warning about the cheerful looking monkey flower, mimulus, it sounds like a wolf in sheep’s clothing! Best wishes Laura
Well…..we seem to have planted most of these rogue plants in our tiny garden! When asked the Head Gardener immediately responded that blooming enormous weed (he means…Tetrapanax Rex!)…he hates it….I love it..he chops it down every year..hoping to kill it! but it does pop up here and there….
I have only one plant that drives me to distraction…..Spanish bluebells…have been trying for25 years to eradicate them….yes we did plant them..how very foolish was that…
Oh dear Angela, your Head Gardener has now worried me as I have a Tetrapanax rex in a little pot waiting to be planted out this autumn 😬 oh well – it might not survive the hard frosts we get here – which may be a blessing in disguise! You’d think it would be easy to remove a clump of bluebells wouldn’t you but they always seem to survive from the one tiny bulbil that you left behind ….Best wishes Laura
Centaurea is a plant I’ve just learned to love. We had it everywhere in our garden and after pulling lots up and replanting in other areas I’m happy to let it thrive and attract the bees.
Yes sometimes you just have to go with the flow don’t you Rachel! Far better to have a garden full of a pretty nectar plant than hermetically sealed tarmac. Every plant has its plus points and there will be plenty of insect life that will appreciate your cornflowers Best wishes Laura
When I learn that certain plants come with the warning that they are invasive, I don’t find they are ….. for the first year or two and then they begin to take over!
Sage words Linda, which sound like they have sprung from bitter experience! We never learn do we? Best wishes Laura