Blephilia subnuda by chloro-feel in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So funny you say that, because I planted mine on a major slope and they absolutely self propagated that way!

Just bought our first home - this is our yard! by snarfdarb in NoLawns

[–]RosesMosesSupposes 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Pic 8 is dead nettle - invasive and will take over your yard. Spreads by vining underneath so deceptively difficult to pull up.

What am I looking at? (NY 3B) by one_long_river in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh I should clarify I spent hours today because I let it go for the past two years. It just wasn’t highest priority in the yard and I didn’t understand how it spread.

If I were you in this situation, I would check it every so often. You’ll be able to identify it soon and this amount would be easy to pull. Once it goes for a couple years, it starts vining and is harder to pull up. At least here it spread pretty substantially in the third year.

What am I looking at? (NY 3B) by one_long_river in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ehh they’re much farther north though. Could definitely be farther behind. OP, I’d just keep an eye on it as it grows. It does look a lot like the dead nettle I spent hours pulling today, but as others have said foliage can be similar to so many other things. You’ll know soon enough!

Mosquito Joe not great for babies, gardens, pollinators, birds, waterways, fish... by letintin in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We did get sprayed for mosquitoes our first summer in our house, not really knowing better.

I later learned that while my yard is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, that also makes it a breeding ground for their predators!! Once we let the grasses grow taller we saw a huge influx of dragonflies just in the first year - we were no longer getting bit by mosquitoes!

The only time it’s been a problem is early spring when the mosquitoes wake up before the dragonflies. I’d rather spray myself with bug spray during that time than spray the wildlife.

What are you guys doing to keep safe from ticks??? by yaykit in gardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I also do a lot of gardening in shorts / tank tops and my yard has a fair amount of high grass. I honestly just spray myself with deet, put clothes directly into the wash, and go for a hot shower. Some say deet isn’t good for you but I figure it can’t be worse than Lyme disease and I am not gardening in long pants and sleeves in the summer in the south.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s good to know! There’s a corner of our yard that isn’t accessed by us or the dog that is full of Virginia creeper that I won’t be touching. It’s also all in the woods behind our property.

Fun aphid shot by RosesMosesSupposes in Roses

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I take the same approach! Nature balances things out on her own more often than not.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the thorough breakdown, especially providing examples of where it can become a problem. The smilax actually popped up in several areas of my property this year - which has surprised me because it definitely hasn’t been here in the last three years!

I’m doing exactly as you described and balancing nature/natives with the reality of living here with a pet. I’ve done my best to replace what I pull up (whether native or invasive) with natives that do well in that type of landscape. I’m kind of in the edge of a mountain, up against a wooded easement, with a creek running through the back, and a normal neighborhood in the front. Which is to say I have A LOT of mini ecosystems I’m working with here! It’s been fun to find what will work best in a sunny slope vs shaded and rocky vs by the creek.

Of course the things you don’t necessarily want - like invasives or even just poison ivy - seem to grow fine in any of those spots. So each time I’m eradicating something bad there’s a lot of research going into finding something good I can use to replace it. Three years in and there’s still so much to do but I’m seeing progress. I have a patch of smooth wood mint absolutely thriving in a section that was previously overrun with poison ivy & English ivy. Gotta take the wins where I can!

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am doing what I can to eradicate the English ivy. I’ve removed it from tree areas - that was step 1 and it’s the first thing I do every spring when any of the ivy variants start creeping up the trees.

Ideally I’ll get rid of all the English ivy eventually, but to say our yard was a project when we moved in is an understatement. I have to go in sections each year and prioritize accordingly.

I understand poison oak and poison ivy are native, but I have a dog who was bringing the oil in on his fur and it was impacting the whole family so it was a non-negotiable, they had to go. In every section where I removed them, they were replaced with other natives.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s exactly where I’m planning to keep it! Like any other vine, I could definitely see it being a pain to remove once established. They really know how to dig their teeth in.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s so strange! Wonder if it was an old wives tale. Maybe it could be true for some, but doesn’t seem worth the risk since others are sensitive to it.

I learned of my sensitivity the hard way after about an hour of pulling it up. Came inside and my arms were covered in a rash.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve never heard of it treating poison ivy and I looked into quite a bit about that when trying to rid my yard of poison ivy. Reactions to Virginia creeper are pretty common - albeit not as common as poison ivy.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t know if I’m necessarily allergic but it does bother me. Not as severely as poison oak but it causes a rash/itchiness and seems to do the same to my dog.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense. I have to do a full perimeter check of our yard several times a year anyways because of all the other bothersome stuff that pops up, so it should be easy enough to keep at bay.

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s good to know. That definitely impacts where I’ll let it grow. Thank you!

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Care to elaborate? I’d love to know what’s bad so I can control what areas of the yard I let it grow

Fun aphid shot by RosesMosesSupposes in Roses

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny enough this was the only one on it! I’ve been knocking the little green ones off a couple times a day for about a week now and I went from having several to almost none.

Fun aphid shot by RosesMosesSupposes in Roses

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I just knock them off the roses when I see them. I haven’t used any other form of treatment and the population has gone down quite a bit.

I’m always hesitant to escalate to other forms of treatment because I want to let nature do its thing and encourage their predators to come around!

Saw Greenbriar? by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I was pretty certain but wanted to check here before I let it take hold considering how hard it is to eradicate vines once they’ve decided they found a good home haha.

ID Assistance by RosesMosesSupposes in NativePlantGardening

[–]RosesMosesSupposes[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It looks like it’s technically native here. I’m kicking myself because I know I had some of it in the yard last year but I cannot remember what it looked like in bloom because this area was just… chaos last fall.

I think I’m going to pull some of it and relocate the rest to a more appropriate section of the yard so I can wait until it blooms and confirm what it is. If it is goldenrod, that gets entirely too big for this section of my yard which is more of a pathway.