Can anyone tell me if this is Evening Primrose? It's spreading like wildfire in my front garden... If it is, I would like to put it around my back foundation. I thing that would look nice. Barb in Pa.
I don't think it's evening primrose, at least not the ones I am familiar with, your blooms have pointed petals and the evening primrose blooms have rounded petals. Oenothera macrocarpa (Ozark Sundrop, Missouri Evening Primrose) Oenothera biennis (Common Evening Primrose)
It's not a Primrose, but a Loosestrife ladies. If it's happy it spreads like crazy! Lysimachia vulgaris (Yellow Loosestrife)
Wow, Now what do I do?.... My Bee Balm is spreading like crazy the same way. Is it going to be undesirable also? Barb in Pa.
Hi all, I think it is Lysimachia punctata: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1126/ Yellow loosestrife Oops...Netty beat me to it. I started this posting, then got distracted by conversations happening around me.
Barb, I have a patch of this in my garden as well. I really like it as it blooms a long time and has no real pests. It grows quickly and is not hard to control - here in zone 5 anyway. I also have bee balm, which spreads quicker, but I enjoy it too. I guess 'undesirable' depends on the person ... I wouldn't do without either one in my garden!
Thanks everyone. I am going to split them both and start some in other places. I have some other stuff that spreads allot but easily pulled out to keep under control. I don't mind doing that, so far.I usually through it in pots and let it get reestablished and then give it away. Guess if I get too many little pots running around I could always go back to selling on Ebay and Craigslist. Barb in Pa.
Any plant growing in the perfect place for it can become invasive. The reason Loosestrife is on the list in so many states is because it is an introduced plant that is taking over many areas and the native plants are dying off because of it. In many states and some Canadian provinces, it is illegal to possess, plant, transport or sell Purple Loosestrife or any of it's cultivars. And from what I have read Yellow Loosestrife is close to being put on that list of illegals. So you might want to check out the laws of your state before selling any of it.
It is pretty. My husband pulled half of our bee balm when he pulled the the lemon balm! It does get crazy but I love all the hummingbirds and bees that visit. Of course, the bee balm that escaped his notice are doing really well! I guess they like not having all the competition! Your Loosestrife is a pretty plant, any herbal uses? I found a site that says yellow loosestrife is not related to Purple Loosestrife but to Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia) http://www.wiseacre-gardens.com/plants/ ... trife.html and is used as a deer resistant plant Funny how names work, the Sow thistle is also not a thistle! but a dandelion cousin.
i've never seen the yellow loosestrife, but i have seen the purple variety and know that it is on our states list of invasives and every master gardener on our local radio & t.v. programs tells us to stay away from it, and i don't think i've ever seen it in a nursery or garden center in the area.
I actually think it's Lysimachia punctata, not Lysimachia vulgaris, and punctata is not an invasive species. Vulgaris is.
It is getting much larger. I am going to cut some out and move it to other parts of the property that will be better suited for it. My Bee Balm is growing like crazy and just beginning to bloom. I have been so busy lately I can't keep up with myself. Hubby and I both take Tylanol every night lately for all our little aches and pains and then hobble off to bed. Barb in Pa.
Hobbling is my new walk lately too! LOL I found a patch of the same yellow flowers. They are growing in the shade, so not as many flowers, but very pretty!
