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| I have researched chinese lanterns (physalis alkekengi) quite a bit and have heard plenty of the the horror stories, but, with the little knowledge I have, I feel like a naughty child who is still going to do something his/her parents have expressly told him/her not to do. So, the question is not should I or shouldn't I, but how much space do they really take up and how can you keep them in check. My first thought was to put them in my veggie/potager garden under my butterfly bush so that I could admire them as the season progressed and keep an eye on them if they end up not getting along with the neighbors. the soil is very rich though and that makes me worry just a little bit that i will have a rampant bully that i will be sorry i planted. how much space are we talking when we say they spread rampantly though? i can handle 6-8 sq ft, but if we're talking more than that i will probably move them to a place where they can stretch their roots some more. and when they do out grow their bounds how do you keep them in check? is it as simple as taking a spade an cutting out the unwanted portion? and how many times a season would I have to do this? remember it is a veggie garden, would it make that corner of the garden completely unusable because of competition or just make it a nice full looking area? sorry for being so longwinded, i have the seed packet ready to wintersow already and am trying to figure out how much and where i would plant these neat looking plants. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 8:32
| So, the question is not should I or shouldn't I, but how much space do they really take up ===>>> i will yell... THE ENTIRE YARD and how can you keep them in check. ===>>> YOU CANT.. HENCE ALL THE STORIES ... first thought was to put them in my veggie/potager garden under my butterfly bush ===>>> YOU WILL HAVE TO KILL THE BUSH WHEN YOU DECIDE TO GET RID OF THEM ... AND EVERY TIME YOU PLANT A VEG.. YOU WILL BE CUTTING ROOTS AND MAKING MORE PLANTS ... BESIDES THE FACT.. THAT EVENTUALLY VEG's WONT BE ABLE TO COMPETE AND PRODUCE.. SO THEN YOU WILL HAVE A GARDEN BED.. WITH HIGHLY AMENDED SOIL.. AND A PATCH OF INVASIVE WEED .... ===>>>> you have been warned.. you know you should not do it.. SO DONT ... i would even bet.. if you grew them in a 5 gallon [i dont know the metric equiv.] pot.. they will grow out the bottom drain hole.. and still invade the year ... my best suggestion ... burn the seed packet with the drying xmas tree.. and enjoy pix online.. and get over it ... BUT FOR THE COOL NAME.. THERE SIMPLY IS NO UPSIDE TO THIS GARDEN THUG ... crimminey.. lol ken PS: IN THE ALTERNATIVE.. GO FOR IT ...darn caps lock.. lol ... what do i care.. worse that can happen.. is you start your own blog about how to get rid of it .... live and learn.. experiment ... i say go for it ... |
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| The above certainly wasn't my experience, but I guess every garden is different. I had them for a couple of years, didn't really like them since the foliage is UGLY and the lanterns too easily available at your local farmers market, so I dug them out and that was that. Yes, they spread, but I didn't find it difficult to get rid of them. I realize others will say something different, but that was my experience. Violets on the other hand are hell on earth to get rid of, but that's another topic. Kevin |
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| In a word, YES, in more words than one, LISTEN TO KEN, In my early gardening days, approx.10 years ago, I planted them in a perennial bed. I am still pulling them out. |
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- Posted by clematisintegrifolia Los Osos, CA zone 17 (My Page) on Sat, Jan 5, 13 at 2:21
| They are definitely as bad as people say they are. I planted a one gallon pot and two years later it took me a full day of work to remove all the plants and roots. The roots removed filled a trash can. On the plus side once I removed them they didn't continue to come back like some other invasive plants do. Grow them in a large pot, collect the lanterns in the fall, throw the plant out. The dried lanterns will retain their orange color for years so you don't need the plant to stick around. |
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- Posted by northwestplanter 6 Columbia Basin WA (My Page) on Sun, Jan 6, 13 at 21:00
| thank you so much for the ====>>> enthusiastic responses!!!!! <<==== I am sure you all will be pleased to know that because of what you guys have said I AM NOT going to put them in the garden. I am actually kind of afraid to put them anywhere near the garden because of what's been said. I do have my eyes on a half a wine barrel that I am going to use this year and put it just outsid the garden I think. we'll see how that goes. unless someone ===>>>> objects that is! hahah jk :) thanks again |
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| Half barrel idea sounds good, just remember to remove the lanterns, before they dry or any seeds that blow into your garden can propogate an entire colony, in a very short time |
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| Also, just thought of this, when and if, you remove plant from the barrel, do not put the used dirt into your garden, as even a small piece of root will propogate and spread especially in fertile soil. I don't know about putting the dirt in a hot compost pile, you could go to soil and mulch forum and ask them, but myself, I wouldn't risk it. Hope you don't think I'm being preachy, just trying to save you the mess I have here |
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| Invasive plants sited in a large pot/tub have a way of eventually escaping confinement. This past year, my Lysimachia clethroides went over the wall and colonized a two square foot area. I think I'll dig it out this spring before it can spread further (nice enough perennial, not that showy). |
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| i had a running joke with a gardening friend years ago about how good a gardener could I really be if I could get Chinese Lanterns to grow? I tried any number of times to direct sow them. Then I discovered Winter Sowing and finally had success. I planted them in a marginal area and was disgusted by what slug magnets they seemed to be - barely surviving. I would have removed them if I hadn't gotten a few pods And then they gathered enough steam to get happy. I was pretty happy that I was moving and didn't have to deal with the consequences of my foolishness! Being an idiot I would probably plant them again. Some people never learn. : D |
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| Cloud 9, I too would plant them again, in the gardens of the people that I don't like. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, Jan 17, 13 at 7:28
| EXACTLY... there are good plants you share with good friends.. and plants you share with those that irritate you.. guess which list this one goes on ... lol and those that P you off.. while touring your garden.. are usually those that listen to everything bad you say about the evil weed.. and are ecstatic to have the gift.. lol ... i think this is one of those plants with a name which conjures all kinds of emotional attachment... and is otherwise a horrible plant ... and dont delude yourself into the potting dream .. it can .. AND WILL .. grow down the inside of the pot.. until it escapes thru the drain hole ... you have been warned.. you like the name .. you WILL SUFFER... if you ignore us all ... and that is fine with me.. live and learn.. like we did .... do as i say.. NOT as i did ... blah.. blah ... ken |
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| I just received a couple of these in trade for something else. Im tempted to throw them in that shady backyard corner with the ugly blackberries: the ones that migrate over from the neighbors' back corner and only bear sour fruit. Battle Royale Of The Invasives! Who will survive?!?! :D But, no. I get the hint. I'll keep them contained until I can find a big, sturdy decorative pot for them. I have plenty of recovered bricks and cinder blocks that support my herb pots, so keeping the plant off the ground wouldn't be problem, either. (I've done this with my mint plants and had good results so far.) |
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| Ah, THOSE chinese lanterns! I initially thought you were referring to those paper lanterns with a in-built fuel reservoir, which float up in the sky, eventually sputtering out and landing in some distant field. There was a rash of these a few years ago - no celebration was complete without them....until irate farmers started to complain that their cows were eating the remains....and then aviation authorities chipped in to complain of the dangers. Consequently, we still have several, stashed in our horsebox, as we decided against enraging our local farmer (although we did set off some lurid fireworks when we took ownership of our woods (the cows probably had a fright). But yeah, physalis - no thank you. Tatty, coarse plants which I class alongside statice as remnants of the 1970s interior decor style -.dust magnets inside, slug magnets outside. |
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| campanula writes: "Tatty, coarse..." Around here, we just call that style of gardening "Improvisational." Or possibly, "Low Budget." :D |
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| Ah well, you should see my hosta - looks like crochet done by a three year old, after the slugfest....and yep, after munching those, physalis would be dessert - tatty is a much kinder term than what originally came to mind. Still - 'improvisational' - I am stealing that (low budget goes without say).. |
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| :D At least your slugs have some gumption, campanula. Mine completely ignore all the hostas once their leaves are more than 1" off the ground. They prefer the toad lillies right now, possibly because those are supposed to be the caviar of the slug kingdom. Or maybe they can discern that I paid good money for the lillies, but got the hostas for free. [grumble] Anyway, I just moved the Chinese Lanterns to a slightly bigger planter, which I've parked on top of a porcelain lid that came off somebody's toilet tank. I figure that even a Chinese Lantern can't bore through solid porcelain, and if it can-- I'll be more than happy to start a new religion centered around it. Like those tribe folk in an old Godzilla movie who worshipped Mothra. :D |
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