Carole at Ecosystem Gardening had a recent blog post titled “Most Hated Plants”. She asked her readers to comment on the invasive plants growing in their own yards and neighborhoods. After writing a post of my own on invasive Chinese Wisteria, it may seem odd that my comment included, of all things, lemon balm. As Carole commented “It’s very funny to compare lemon balm with Chinese Wisteria…”. Funny, yes, also true.
Plants can be a lot like people. Some are aggressive, pushy, “in-your-face” types. You recognize them easily with a bit of experience. The best way to deal with thugs is to avoid them altogether. In the plant world they are known as “invasive” and include the likes of Chinese wisteria, English Ivy (Carole’s nemesis) and many more.
Not as easy to discern are the “freeloaders”. We enjoy their company and they’re sweet to have around, but they always seem to be taking whatever you have to give and not giving much back. In the plant world they are called “freely self-sowing”. Lemon balm is a freeloader in my yard. As I commented on Carole’s blog, it’s a delightful lemon herb for breads, teas and more. It also attracts pollinators. I harvest lemon balm throughout the summer and I value the leaves for many purposes. The problem began when neighbors who aren’t astute in the plant’s habits regularly allow it to go to seed.
The result is a continuing bumper crop of spring seedlings all over the neighborhood, including in the cracks of driveways and sewers etc. A walk through the park across the street yields large clumps of well-established lemon balm everywhere including the gravel parking lots. In my own yard it has set down roots in every garden and bare spot and under every tree and shrub, many times choking out other plants before I notice. When I dig them up, I find the roots have permeated easily through the sandy loam of the backyard and aren’t easily removed. Miss one small piece and the process starts all over again. Like all freeloaders, it knows a good thing when it finds it and hates to leave.
*Sigh*. I know lemon balm is not at fault here. This is my gentle reminder to all gardeners that we need to be diligent observers of the plants we grow. Growing a garden results in the happy responsibility of careful cultivation. We should hold ourselves accountable for the plants and land we’re tending. After all, too much of anything is never good. Even in the garden.
Abundant winter seed heads means abundant spring seedlings in my garden.
A brilliant article! Thanks for the reminder!
Great reminder. I have lots of little blood-veined sorrel (Rumex Sanguineum) popping up everywhere this year. Pretty and useful, but I don’t really want it between pavers, in my lettuce bed, etc!
Thanks! I seem to learn many valuable gardening lessons the hard way…LOL!
It’s a fine line between re-seeding and weed-seeding sometimes. I love lemon balm but the yearly chore of digging up over 30 or so seedlings serves as a reminder to DEADHEAD! Thanks so much for your comment!
This is kind of funny. I’m making my way around my favorite sites to see what’s new as I write my “Best of the Web” post for tomorrow, and there’s my name, right in the beginning of your article! Thanks for the shout out and the gentle reminder to dead-head and take responsibility for what we grow. BTW, this article will show up in best of the web tomorrow. Great stuff!
Thanks Carole, for your kind words and for encouraging conversations among gardeners and growers! As Spring (s-l-o-w-l-y) comes on it’s an ideal time to take a closer look at not only what we’d like to grow but we’re already growing and how better to care for them.
Great article! and a good reminder for sure. I am SO guilty of not dead-heading properly and every year I cuss myself!
I was terrible about growing just about anything that seemed “neat” when I first started. Big mistake! I, happily at the time, planted a small patch of mint in the front yard flower beds. I enjoyed the smell of mint and adding it to teas. That was twelve years ago, and I am still losing the battle of conquering my mint invasion. It has spread throughout the entire flower bed, and front yard. I no longer have much grass as it has all succumbed to “The Interloper”. At least it smells great when I mow the (mint) lawn.
This article is a perfect reminder to double check our garden plans, and think twice about what we are going to plant.
I like to leave seedheads for birds foraging in winter, but ONLY ones I know won’t invade the beds the following spring should the birds snub them. Echinacea (or coneflower) is a good example of a healthy self-sower. Finches love to feast on the seeds and the rare few that escape their notice aren’t enough to spread far and wide throughout the neighborhood.
Would you believe I have a dear friend who can’t grow mint? I’ve given her so many clumps to grow and she kills them all. Would you like me to give her your address? LOL! It’s all part of the learning process…
I learned the hard way to to systematically cut the seed heads off my invasive plants. Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’, one of those hardy cranesbill geranium, was my biggest problem. I didn’t bring a cutting of it with me when I moved into my new house. I wish I had your problem with the freeloading lemon balm. I haven’t ben able to find any seed for it.
I think it’s a good reminder for all of us gardeners: just because a plant isn’t identified as invasive doesn’t mean it can’t become a weedy pest under the right conditions. Remember… always deadhead the freeloaders in your garden!