There are so many beautiful plants to enjoy in our landscapes, but one must always remember the “right plant, right place” mantra when selecting and planting. Sumac, mint/catmint, bamboo, and ivy, among others, can be beautiful in the right place, but planted and used improperly, they can become a nightmare.
Sumac (Rhus typhina) grows in “the wild” in the Pacific Northwest. Staghorn sumac is often planted in the landscape because of its beautiful fall leaf color, interesting flower, and architectural look. Unfortunately, sumac spreads by rhizomes, and can invasively grow through the landscape into areas where you don’t want it. Sumac can also heave sidewalks and driveways – resulting in expensive repair work. Tiger Eyes sumac is a smaller variety of sumac and has been billed as a non-invasive sumac. My experience with Tiger Eyes, however, is that it still spreads. It isn’t as aggressive as the Staghorn sumac, but it still spreads. Sumac may best be planted in a container if you really want to enjoy it and not worry about it.
Mint is another plant that needs to be planted appropriately. I love the smell of fresh mint, and I love to use it to make mojitos and sauce for fruit salads. Most mints, however, are horribly invasive. One mint plant can quickly create a landscape nightmare. If you want mint, either plant it in a container or in a small planting bed surrounded by concrete to contain it. Mint also likes moist growing conditions, so a container is the perfect place to provide an ideal spot. I have a customer off of Marvin Road, who inherited a landscape with mint. He has been trying to remove the mint for years. Not fun! Catmint, or Nepeta, is in the mint family but isn’t invasive. Nepeta has soft, aromatic grey green foliage and is extremely drought tolerant. Nepeta likes full sun, a small amount of water, and produces lavender colored flowers throughout the summer. Walker’s Low catmint is the most commonly planted catmint in the landscape. I have extremely sandy soil in my landscape and have had some issues with it popping up three feet away from an existing plant, but it is easily removed with a shovel.
Bamboo for years had a bad reputation because of its rapidly spreading nature. The tough rhizomes would break through ceramic and plastic containers and even pop up 10 feet away (or more) from an existing plant. Bamboo is also horribly difficult to permanently remove. Fortunately, there are some new clumping bamboos that slowly spread and can be easily maintained with a shovel. Phil Comer, of Outdoors by Design in Shelton, is our area’s bamboo expert. He has a great selection of all types of bamboo for sale and provides bamboo educational workshops at the nursery.
Last, but certainly not least, ivy… We’ve all seen ivy growing 40 feet up trees, ivy swallowing up landscapes, ivy growing on hillsides, and ivy growing everywhere! The correct variety of ivy can be wonderful in a container planting arrangement, but don’t plant ivy on a hillside or in a planting bed. Ivy does not have the fibrous root structure necessary to hold soil on a hillside. Ivy does have the right root system to rapidly spread and overwhelm a landscape. English ivy is a definite no, no because of how it rapidly evolves into a noxious weed. The bottom line is, the right plant can be wonderful to enjoy in the right place!
Cathy Johnson is a landscape designer and consultant in Olympia. If you would like to inquire about her services, contact Cathy at 360-455-9164. Her email address is cathy@dandeliongardens.com and website address is www.dandeliongardens.com
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