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Is Yellow loosestrife invasive?

maggie_berry
14 years ago

A friend, of a friend, gave me a few of her plants. She did not know the name of the the two shrubs she gave me. I did not think much of it until I tried to look them up. Now, I think they are yellow loosestrife. I am worried the shrubs might be invasive. According to what I could find in my books, only Purple loosestrife is invasive but Yellow is not invasive. As you can see from the picture below I am about to throw them away, then I thought about bringing the situation to this forum. Any information on these shrubs would be appreciated.

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Comments (8)

  • ginny12
    14 years ago

    Yellow loosestrife is a perennial, not a shrub. It is not invasive but it does spread. I just rip out what I don't want each spring. It's a wonderful perennial that blooms much longer than most perennials.

    I am amazed to see a variegated yellow loosestrife, ie, one with green and white foliage rather than plain green. A lot of gardeners would be happy to have it.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    14 years ago

    There're several variegated forms of yellow loosestrife - 'Alexander' and 'Golden Alexander'. Neither are invasive and even spread far less aggressively than the straight green variety. And there is also a dark leafed form, Lysimachia ciliata 'Purpurea', and a purple flowered form, Lysimachia atropurpurea 'Beaujolais'. I've not found either of these to be very aggressive spreaders either.

    It is important to note that purple loosestrife - an invasive, noxious weed in much of the country - is Lythrium salicaria, an entirely different plant from Lysimachia.

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    14 years ago

    This entire discussion is an argument for using the Latin (Botanical) names.

  • maggie_berry
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I am so very thrilled. Thank You all for responding!
    she is a keeper!
    Maggie Berry

  • maggie_berry
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    People love nick names and they will use them no matter what. I have known people who have decided not to select a particular childs name because of the horrible nick names that could be used in the future. In this particular case, I admit,I thought the plant was a shrub! So if the person told me they had Lysimachia I would have still been worried that they really had Lythrium because it looks more and more like a yellow Lythrium the longer I looked at it. I divided the two plannts in half and have planted one each next to a garden bench under a tree, and the other two in moist partial shade. I am hoping it spreads out a bit. It is a real beauty against the dark green woods. Again Thank You all!

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    14 years ago

    Different plants behave differently under different conditions :-) The species Lysimachia punctata (straight green - no variegation) spread rampantly in my garden but was relatively easy to remove where not wanted. Lysimachia clethroides has always been extremely well-behaved for me - in fact, it didn't spread as much as I would have liked, but it was in a dryish location in a fair amount of shade....not its ideal conditions. This is a perennial I would not be without! An established clump in bloom in stunning.

    Both 'Alexander' and 'Golden Alexander' have proved to be very well-behaved clumpers in my garden.

  • beauseau
    14 years ago

    Wonderful looking! Thanks for posting, I have the perfect spot to plant a few of these!