Definitely not stars in your lawn

QUESTION: Every year, the small white flowers called star-of-Bethlehem pop up in our lawn. The flowers are cute, but they’re everywhere! It makes an ugly lawn. How can I get rid of it?

Star-of-Bethlehem: Get rid of it if you can.

This time of year, star-of-Bethlehem shoots up in lawns, on creek banks, in wild meadows. They are indeed everywhere – even in gardens, where unsuspecting gardeners may plant them because they are a pretty little wildflower. The bad news is that once they get a foothold in your lawn, they are tough to eradicate.

Star-of-Bethlehem is a cool-season perennial that grows from small bulbs. The foliage resembles wild garlic, and the small white flowers each have six petals. The bulbs multiply rapidly, and are spread easily. After it blooms, the plant dies down and remains dormant until next spring.

As you might expect, it’s considered an invasive exotic here. The plant is native to North Africa, parts of Eastern Europe and western Asia. UT’s Institute of Agriculture notes that it has become a weed problem on athletic fields and golf courses. Even more bad news: the flowers and bulbs of star-of-Bethlehem are poisonous.

You could try digging it up, but that would be a monstrous task because you need to get every little bulb. UT Extension has a list of control products (most of which are to be used only by professionals). There may be very little you can do except wait it out, and don’t spread them around. The USDA Forest Service is very clear about this: “Do not plant this species.”

EVENTS COMING UP

Big Old Tree: Tuesday April 3 is the deadline for entering this year’s Big Old Tree contest. Send in information about that big old tree in your yard, your neighbor’s yard, or anywhere in Nashville you see an awesome tree of any species. It (and you) could be awarded honors at the annual High Tree Party, which will be held April 27 – Arbor Day – at Sevier Park.

Entering is easy: Download an entry form from the Nashville Tree Foundation’s web site, or enter online. You can see past winners at the web site – a good idea to check it, to make sure the tree you enter hasn’t won in the past. There are also instructions on how to measure a big tree.

Whether you enter a tree or not, you are invited to enjoy the High Tree Party, where big tree winners will be announced, the Victor Johnson Award will be presented to the tree champion of the year, and you can enjoy tree-themed snacks.

Bloom ‘n’ Garden Expo is April 13 – 15 at the Ag Expo Center in Franklin, Tenn. Plants, gardening products from hundreds of vendors, speakers and educational workshops are on the schedule throughout the weekend. Details are at the web site.

The Perennial Plant Society’s annual sale is coming back to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds April 14, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. There will be thousands of perennials for sale for sun and shade, all from Tennessee growers, so they’re adapted to our growing conditions. Admission is free, but PPSMT notes that the Fairgrounds has a $5 parking fee. To learn more, visit PPSMT’s web site.

The Herb Society of Nashville’s annual plant sale is April 21 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. It’s 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., but get there early to browse through 15,000 herbs (including some of those hard-to-find varieties) and talk to the Answer Ladies and all the other herb fanciers who turn out for this annual event. Look for more info at the Society’s website, www.herbsocietynashville.org and Facebook page.

Cheekwood is celebrating its gardens all through April with a series of Cheekwood in Bloom events.

The 20^th annual Spring Art Hop is April 7. More than 20,000 candy-filled eggs will be hidden throughout the gardens for egg hunts every half-hour. There will also be music, arts and crafts and live entertainment.

Ka-Bloom! on April 14 includes at family art activity and scavenger hunt,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; flower arranging demonstration at10:30 a.m.; guided tour ofhte Robertson Ellis Color Garden at 11 a.m. Howard Pink and his Musical Garden Hoses at noon; guided tour of the Carell Dogwood Garden at 1 p.m.; and container garden demonstration at 2 p.m.

The grand opening of the Howe Garden at Cheekwood (after a million-dollar renovation) will be April 21, with activities, live music, guided tours and refreshments,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

In honor of national Arbor Day, April 28, there will be several drop-in activities and demonstrations. By the way, Cheekwood is now a certified Level IV arboretum, with more than 120 identified species of trees.

Every Sunday in April there will be guided greenhouse tours atnoon; guided museum tours at1 p.m.; and a drawing room concert series featuring Blair School of Music at2 p.m.

Complete details on Cheekwood in Bloom are at Cheekwood’s web site.

Periwinkle: Bigleaf can be a big problem

QUESTION: This vine (in the photo) is growing behind the boxwoods in front of our house. I’ve never seen it before. Is this something I should keep or get rid of?

Variegated Vinca major (bigleaf periwinkle) is a major pest plant.

Get rid of it, if you can. It looks like variegated bigleaf periwinkle (Vinca major), and left to grow on its on, will scramble and snake its way across everything in its path. This plant, considered an ornamental groundcover by some, was brought here from Europe more than three centuries ago.

It has pretty little blue or lavender pinwheel flowers in spring, but that’s not enough reason to keep it around. According to the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, the vine has crept in to open and dense canopied forest, forming mats and “extensive infestations” by vines that root at the nodes. They consider it a “significant threat” in the state, and note that it’s also considered invasive in several other southern states, and in California and the Pacific Northwest.

If your “infestation” is still fairly small, I suggest pulling it up, roots and all, if you can. You’ll probably have to pull it several times before it’s all gone. I never recommend chemical controls, but you can read what TNEPPC suggests here.

One of the nice features about the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council’s web site is that they suggest alternatives for the invasive plants you might be considering for your landscape. So, instead of periwinkle, TNEPPC recommends using these natives:

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata) and Creeping Phlox (Phlox stolonifera). Both attract bees and butterflies. Creeping phlox does best in the more acidic mountains of East Tennessee.

Several grass-like sedges make good groundcovers for shady places: Seersucker sedge (Carex plantaginea) has puckered light green leaves. Silver sedge (Carex platyphylla) has slightly puckered, light blue-green foliage. Blue wood sedge (Carex flaccosperma) has silvery blue foliage and can do well in wetter sites.

Partridgeberry (Mitchella repens) is a small creeping vine with tiny, glossy, deep green leaves, pairs of white fuzzy flowers in early June, and bright red berries. It grows in shade, and needs acid soil. Birds like it.

Golden Ragwort (Packera aurea [ Senecio aureus ]) has dark, evergreen foliage that colonizes as a groundcover and yellow flowers in early spring. Attracts bees and butterflies.

Marginal Woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis) is an evergreen fern that likes shade and moist soil.

EVENTS COMING UP

This just in: The Nashville Tree Foundation has extended the deadline for entering this year’s Big Old Tree contest. You now have until April 3 to send in information about that

One of last year’s Big Old Tree winners was a Dawn redwood: 109 inches around, 80 feet tall, with a 35-foot crown spread.

big old tree in your yard, your neighbor’s yard, or anywhere in Nashville you see an awesome tree of any species. It (and you) could be awarded honors at the annual High Tree Party, which will be held April 27 – Arbor Day – at SevierPark.

Entering is easy: Download an entry form from the Nashville Tree Foundation’s web site, or enter online. You can see past winners at the web site – a good idea to check it, to make sure the tree you enter hasn’t won in the past. There are also instructions on how to measure a big tree.

Whether you enter a tree or not, you are invited to enjoy the High Tree Party, where big tree winners will be announced, the Victor Johnson Award will be presented to the tree champion of the year, and you can enjoy tree-themed snacks.

The Perennial Plant Society’s annual sale is coming back to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds April 14, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. There will be thousands of perennials for sale for sun and shade, all from Tennessee growers, so they’re adapted to our growing conditions. Admission is free, but PPSMT notes that the Fairgrounds has a $5 parking fee. To learn more, visit the PPSMT’s website www.ppsmt.org.

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The Herb Society of Nashville’s annual plant sale is April 21 at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. It’s 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., but get there early to browse through 15,000 herbs (including some of those hard-to-find varieties) and talk to the Answer Ladies and all the other herb fanciers who turn out for this annual event. Look for more info at the Society’s website, www.herbsocietynashville.org and Facebook page.

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Cheekwood is celebrating its gardens all through April with a series of Cheekwood in Bloom events.

The 20^th annual Spring Art Hop is April 7. More than 20,000 candy-filled eggs will be hidden throughout the gardens for egg hunts every half-hour. There will also be music, arts and crafts and live entertainment.

Ka-Bloom! on April 14 includes at family art activity and scavenger hunt,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.; flower arranging demonstration at 10:30 a.m.; guided tour of the Robertson Ellis Color Garden at 11 a.m. Howard Pink and his Musical Garden Hoses at noon; guided tour of the Carell Dogwood Garden at 1 p.m.; and container garden demonstration at 2 p.m.

The grand opening of the Howe Garden at Cheekwood (after a million-dollar renovation) will be April 21, with activities, live music, guided tours and refreshments,10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

In honor of national Arbor Day, April 28, there will be several drop-in activities and demonstrations. By the way, Cheekwood is now a certified Level IV arboretum, with more than 120 identified species of trees.

Every Sunday in April there will be guided greenhouse tours at noon; guided museum tours at 1 p.m.; and a drawing room concert series featuring Blair School of Music at 2 p.m.

Complete details on Cheekwood in Bloom are at Cheekwood’s web site.

Banishing ‘leaflets three’

QUESTION: What’s the best way to get rid of poison ivy?

Growing up where pavement and neatly trimmed lawn were the modern idea of landscaping, I didn’t encounter poison ivy until I became a real gardener. But by the time  I did learn the mantra (Leaflets three – let it be!) I knew to keep well away from it. Unfortunately, it seems to show up everywhere these days.

The best way to deal with poison ivy is, of course, to treat it very carefully. Fitzroy Bullock, a professor at Tennessee State University’s Cooperative Extension Program, has written a fact sheet on identifying the vine and dealing with it in the landscape.

When you find the sweet little seedlings in garden beds (often at the edges of the lawn, along fence lines, places that don’t get regular mowing), you can dig them out, roots and all, and dispose of them. Wear long sleeves and gloves to do the job. If you use disposable gloves, you can throw them away when you’re done, and avoid the possibility of accidentally getting the plant’s irritating oil on your skin. Some have suggested using a plastic newspaper bag as a glove, of sorts. Put your hand in the bag, use it to pull the vine out of the ground, then peel the bag off, inside out, with the vine inside.

If it’s a big vine with a well-established root system, it’s a bit harder to get rid of. Cut it as close to the ground as possible, and to keep it from growing back, immediately treat the stem with a garden herbicide that contains glyphosate (such as Roundup). Don’t spray the vine itself, and be careful not to let the spray get onto other plants, because glyphosate – or even a drift from the poison – will kill or damage most every green thing it touches.

Even after it’s dead, a large vine can be a problem. The toxic leaves dry up and fall on the ground, and later, after the aerial roots that have held it up begin to die, the whole vine could fall. Dispose of dead leaves and vines carefully, because the toxin is still present.

You may need to apply a second helping of herbicide if the vine begins to grow again from the stump. Apply herbicide again when the new, young leaves have opened fully.

If you are sensitive to the plant and accidentally make contact, expect intense itching, rash and blisters – not a serious situation, but certainly bothersome for a few days. It’s a good idea at any rate to wash your skin with soap and water after a day in the garden.