Aw shucks I've just bought the white Honorine Jobert. Shall I confine it to a pot?
If you read back a bit, I mentioned the fact that I also grow Honorine Jobert in my back garden and it is perfectly well behaved. It's the pink 'September Charm' which has spread out of control in my front garden which is south facing and quite dry. These are the only two varieties I have growing in my garden soil, although I did buy a single plant of 'Ruffled Swan' last year which has done well in a large container.
As Fairygirl explained earlier, the white ones are generally better behaved, and it's only the pink ones that I've heard some other gardeners complaining about. However, I still think it would be helpful when purchasing new plants, if the pink varieties came with a warning that they can be invasive in certain soils and conditions. Gardeners need to be informed of this BEFORE planting them in their garden soil, and I would not have done so if I'd been aware that 'September Charm' would become such a curse.
I think it's impossible for any plant label to cater for every type of location and soil type though. There are too many factors that have a bearing on the growth of any plant.
For example - lots of plants don't grow as tall as the info states, or often grow much taller. That's just growing conditions, and the info is ultimately only a guide.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think that we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one, Fairygirl. Some plants do come with a warning that they CAN be invasive. Of course that doesn't mean that they WILL be invasive in every type of location and soil though. If the label had stated that, I would have thought twice before deciding whether to plant 'September Charm' in my garden soil, and from reading other similar reports, so would many other people.
I agree with you @Andyman, it would be very helpful to have information on labels on whether plants 'run' and how. I've several times in the past bought plants new to me and have then had to dig them out later when they've got too rampant. Geranium 'Johnsons Blue' springs to mind - I just can't get rid of it.
Glad that you agree with me, Lizzie27. Three words isn't much to ask for is it ?
I've seen the warning: 'Can be invasive' on the labels of other plants that are a lot easier to get rid of than my abundance of 'September Charm'. It's become a war of attrition whereby I have to regularly spend time in spring, summer and autumn pulling out the leaf stalks in order to allow other plants some space to grow without having to compete with this thug.
I think it would be useful to note the plants that grow from little bits of root left behind. I didn't know that about these plants when I put them in.
I have pink and white but neither are thriving. I thought it was just too dry, but others here are saying that they thrive in their v dry ground. So who knows. But I will be giving mine away. I don't like them enough to risk a take over and the foliage is underwhelming for the year to Sept.
Just to post an update on the 'September Charm' issue. I still have to toil away pulling out the leaves from Spring to August. They grow on stems that can reach two feet high, and that limits what else can be grown in their vicinity. They have spread to every inch of my flower beds and even into the gravel paths between. I haven't tried to eradicate them by digging out all the roots because they cover a large area which also contains established shrubs and spring bulbs (neither of which have been adversely affected).
I have become accustomed to living with this thug and at least I am able to plant other perennials and annuals among them as long as I keep on top of the job of pulling out their tall leaf stems to give the other plants a chance to grow and flower. The upside is that I quite like the flowers which still appear in abundance, despite the lack of foliage. Incidentally, for years I have grown the very beautiful 'Honorine Jobert' in my back garden, which is thankfully free of 'September Charm', and I've never had a problem with it becoming invasive.
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These are the only two varieties I have growing in my garden soil, although I did buy a single plant of 'Ruffled Swan' last year which has done well in a large container.
As Fairygirl explained earlier, the white ones are generally better behaved, and it's only the pink ones that I've heard some other gardeners complaining about. However, I still think it would be helpful when purchasing new plants, if the pink varieties came with a warning that they can be invasive in certain soils and conditions. Gardeners need to be informed of this BEFORE planting them in their garden soil, and I would not have done so if I'd been aware that 'September Charm' would become such a curse.
For example - lots of plants don't grow as tall as the info states, or often grow much taller. That's just growing conditions, and the info is ultimately only a guide.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Some plants do come with a warning that they CAN be invasive. Of course that doesn't mean that they WILL be invasive in every type of location and soil though.
If the label had stated that, I would have thought twice before deciding whether to plant 'September Charm' in my garden soil, and from reading other similar reports, so would many other people.
There simply isn't enough room on plant labels to have absolutely every criteria stated on them.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I've seen the warning: 'Can be invasive' on the labels of other plants that are a lot easier to get rid of than my abundance of 'September Charm'. It's become a war of attrition whereby I have to regularly spend time in spring, summer and autumn pulling out the leaf stalks in order to allow other plants some space to grow without having to compete with this thug.
I have become accustomed to living with this thug and at least I am able to plant other perennials and annuals among them as long as I keep on top of the job of pulling out their tall leaf stems to give the other plants a chance to grow and flower. The upside is that I quite like the flowers which still appear in abundance, despite the lack of foliage.
Incidentally, for years I have grown the very beautiful 'Honorine Jobert' in my back garden, which is thankfully free of 'September Charm', and I've never had a problem with it becoming invasive.