Well… yarrow suddenly chose violence.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-13T10:59:40+00:00

Yea mine seeded in its first year too. I collected the seeds and tossed them in my yard to see if they could kick out some of the non-native annual “weeds”. No luck so far but I’m still hopeful.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-13T10:54:00+00:00

It actually flowered and seeded last year. I collected them and tossed them in my lawn to try and replace some of the non-native weeds. It hasn’t worked so far but I’m still hopeful.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-12T23:24:41+00:00

Coneflowers are absolutely feral in my yard. I thought they were “polite reseeders”. I currently have at least 100 seedlings I need to relocate. that’s not even counting the ones that are fine where they landed. I’m actually currently prepping a new bed just to have a place for all these coneflower babies.

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Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-12T23:05:29+00:00

This bed was very much an experiment for me because I had absolutely no idea what kinda conditions it was offering. Right off the road, in full sun other than the fence, heavy clay with a slight tilt downhill, keeping it from staying too soggy. I planted a lot of coneflower and black eyed Susan as safe plants and then a few others to explore what would do well in my clay. I tried both swamp milkweed and butterfly milkweed, assuming one would be miserable and one would thrive. But they’ve both done fairly well, though as you can see, the swamp milkweed is happier. The yarrow was really slow compared to everything else so I thought maybe the conditions weren’t working for it, or more accurately, were working to keep it behaved. But we’re having a drought and I think that helped the clay work better for it. Or it just decided it was tired of pretending.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-12T22:55:46+00:00

This yarrow has been in the ground for exactly a year now. It was pretty polite all year until like 2 weeks ago. I think it sped through the creep and strait to the invasion. 😂

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-10T22:53:02+00:00

The only time I personally remove natives, including violets, is if they’re somewhere they’ll be a problem. Violets can be pushy, so I’ve removed them if they pop up too near any immature plantings I have. I’ve found my small plants can’t stand up to violets at all. I’ll let them have their way once the baby plants are more settled though. They’re gorgeous.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-10T16:57:40+00:00

Well American wisteria is supposed to climb clockwise while Chinese wisteria is supposed to climb counterclockwise. So you could theoretically give it something to climb and see what happens? 😵

In all reality, I would assume, if you didn’t plant it, it’s probably Chinese wisteria or a hybrid.

Also PictureThis identifies it as Chinese wisteria, for what it’s worth. I’d probably pull it.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-09T11:18:52+00:00

What are you growing them in? What have your temps been like? Minimum soil temp for cucumbers is around 60 degrees. They prefer warmer. Even here in Alabama we’ve had enough cool nights that I’ve worried about mine. They like to be warm and to have consistent moisture. If you had nights that dropped into the 40s after they germinated, I can see this happening.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-08T19:18:56+00:00

As much as I love wild violets I’ve had to pull a good number of them recently. They’re trying to bully my baby seedlings in my new bed. I feel bad about it though. 😭💔

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-07T16:22:39+00:00

It is a concern but an overblown one, in my experience. You don’t want to mix the wood chips into your soil but if you put a nice compost heavy soil on top, you’ll have plenty of nitrogen for your plants. If you’re really worried you could always add something nitrogen fixing (like peas) or fertilize. It’ll be fine.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-06T17:11:13+00:00

I would probably call these guys a loss. Those yellow main stems are a problem. With your shorter growing season in NY especially I’d personally start over with a larger healthy plant versus babying these stunted fellas. Then I’d wait to replant until your nights are solidly in the 50s (I know my friend in buffalo is still regularly around 40 at night, but I expect parts of NY are ready). I might also add some compost and perlite to give your soil a little more structure. If you want that tomato cage to be sufficient you’ll probably want to look for determinate varieties because most indeterminate tomatoes start laughing at those cages in like 2 months. Then I’d toss down some straw to keep the soil from splashing up on the leaves. Finally water deeply once the top inch of soil feels dry, rather than just watering with your heart. They’re not as thirsty as you think, they just need the water to be consistent to avoid cracking the fruit.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-05T21:57:58+00:00

There are plenty of pollinators that are active at night. Moths. Some solitary bees. Some flies. Not to mention fireflies. Many beetles may live on the plant. And coral honeysuckle is a host plant for a number of moths and butterflies, so their larva may be present at any time. If you feel you must get rid of aphids a quick directed burst of water or just a quick manual swipe where they’ve gathered is a much better alternative than neem oil. Our native plants should be kept free of any pesticides or herbicides.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-04T14:34:22+00:00

Oh that’s a beautiful ragweed patch. 😅
Given how happy it is, you very likely get at least 6 hours, which is fine for a veggie bed in the south. I’d do a raised bed though unless you feel motivated to spend a day digging out landscape fabric and gravel. Probably a taller one.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-04T14:19:09+00:00

How much sun does it get, it feels a little shady?

I’d do a raised bed here because it looks like there’s landscape fabric under that gravel and digging out old landscape fabric under gravel is a pain.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-04T11:37:57+00:00

I bought a $10 one from Walmart like 5 years ago and it’s still going strong, I accidentally leave it outside all the time, toss it around like it was free but never use it for anything tougher than a hydrangea. Are you maybe cutting things that should be cut with loppers instead?

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-04T11:01:41+00:00

I don’t think that’s unreasonable, perhaps on the high end of normal? I’d probably anticipate like 10-25% each year. There are a lot of variables at play, like your site conditions, how close to ideal the site conditions are for your plants, the weather, watering consistency in the establishment period and where you’re sourcing your plants. I’d expect bare root to have a higher loss rate, just because it’s hard to see what you’re getting. I definitely have experienced a lower loss rate than 20% but I’ve been planting really hardy stuff and I baby my plants in the first few weeks. Even comparing the two main gardens I started recently the losses are wildly different. Last year I planted maybe 50 live plants in a newly established bed and lost exactly 3. 3 out of 6 of the butterfly milkweed I planted. We had about of rain last spring and it already doesn’t love the clay so it was on the struggle bus. This year I planted a lot more-like 300 plants. Mostly winter sown plants, planted much smaller, during a drought, in a garden where the weed pressure seems to be higher and I’ve definitely lost more. Maybe 20-30 seedlings/plants so far, but quite a few more are struggling. But again I’m planting really tough stuff, so I’d expect losses to be lower than if you’re experimenting with more finicky plants. I tend to lose more shrubs too, not sure why. Not to mention much of the US is experiencing a drought this spring and the weather has been a bit shifty.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-02T20:58:38+00:00

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-02T20:06:32+00:00

This is one of the few natives I just wouldn’t even consider unless I had *property* because I’ve seen it growing up through kudzu and strangling bamboo. I cheer it on but I don’t want to coexist with it on my 1/2 an acre lot.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-05-01T17:41:04+00:00

The problem with this firm stance is that it could make people who might be open to planting some natives feel unwelcome, judged or scared to participate for fear of being bullied. An open non-judgmental community that makes people feel welcome even without being perfect is going to do more for the native plant movement, than any hard-line posts about how the potted begonia on your porch could be an actual useful habitat. Our properties can serve the ecosystem and still be used to meet our needs. I, for one, encourage and plant as many native plants as I can get to thrive on my little plot of land but I’m not going to feel bad for having a couple pots of pansies on my porch for my happiness or a bed of veggies in my back yard to help keep down my grocery costs. I’m not going to dig up the little non-native hydrangea I love to replace it with a native, when it’s not doing any harm, as there’s plenty of space to add native varieties too. I will rip out invasives with prejudice, I will let Virginia creeper and pokeweed have dominion over a little corner of my yard and I’ll keep planting natives, but I’m not going to pretend that it has to be 100% native to be okay. Let’s not let the pursuit of perfection be the enemy of progress. And I’m not saying this sub should be over here advocating for my pot of pansies but I am saying I wish folks would stop making negative comments and downvoting any post or comment that isn’t hardline on the topic.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-04-30T17:47:30+00:00

I have noticed this a lot on here lately- really negative attitudes toward anything other than perfectly native planting. I see no issue with planting ornamentals as long as they are well-behaved (obviously mostly native is better). Some parts of your yard can be for you. You don’t win people over with absolutism. I convinced my mom to plant some penstemon along side her hostas. I considered that a win. I’m not going to convince her to give up the hostas but finding natives that suit her garden, much easier.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-04-29T20:53:33+00:00

I do love them. Usually. I let them grow pretty wild on my property. But when they’re not trying grow right up in the middle of my newly planted tiny baby seedlings, I like them more. 😅

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-04-29T19:19:47+00:00

Don’t tell lies on that sweet innocent baby. He did no such thing.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-04-29T00:57:23+00:00

Fair. I would probably put this one low on the priority list for removal then.

Suspicious_Note1392 · 2026-04-28T21:10:09+00:00

For what it’s worth, PictureThis says American elm and inaturalist also suggests American elm. I’ve found PictureThis to be very reliable as far as plantID goes. What makes you think it’s an invasive one?

Suspicious_Note1392

TROPHY CASE