My new little friend Hairy is on the left while the familiar Blue Daze (Convolvulus) is on the right.
After work, I googled my new friend and found out this native flower (that's right, native) is not well-liked.
Was cute little Hairy a criminal?
I read things like "Prowl & Treflan provide no control, while Pursuit & Valor kill 90% of the plants."
Or
"Cobra and Ultra Blazor can be used to control Hairy Clustervine, but 2,4D is totally ineffective. Treflan provides no control and Evoke is useless."
Wow, a lot of people want to wipe out this tiny little native. But who are these people?
That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's a TURF WAR!
And that's how I found him. He was in the new turf planted at my school.
Hairy clustervine is one of our many native morning glories (actually a close cousin) from the southeastern United States. He's a bad boy because he picks the wrong places to grow.
It's botanical name is Jacquemontia tamnifolia. The specific name means 'leaves similar to the yam family'.
It grows into a small vine like many members of the morning glory clan. The leaves are dark green and very pretty just by themselves. It has hundreds of little blooms in a cluster and would grow well on a trellis.
Please keep it away from your private putting green. :0)
Our kitten really wanted to help me with the photography. 'Bear' loves to garden with me.
Hey, maybe Hairy clustervine smells like catnip.
At any rate, I'm going to plant this little native in my garden and see what all the fuss is about.
And if I find giant Jack-in-the-Beanstalk vines twining through my window tonight, I'll be the first to tell you.
Thanks for stopping by!
David/:0)
Notwistanding its crime of trespassing, the flowers are beautiful. I like the image of your kitty sniffing it out.
ReplyDeleteThe blooms have a lovely shade of blue! Planted where it's wanted, it seems set to be a rewarding plant.
ReplyDeleteI love its name! It almost sounds like a kids book criminal: The Case of Harry Clustervine. Pretty flower. :o)
ReplyDeleteI think its a pretty plant, even if it does manage to pop up in unwanted places. Such a cute cat, my ben loves the smell of flowers, when he was a puppy, he used to eat them, oh! my poor roses.
ReplyDeleteA simple blue flower certainly grabs a lot of attention.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I loved you story today. Some may think of it as a criminal, Hairy is pretty. Jack
ReplyDeleteI have also invited wild flowers into my Houston garden that I thought were beautiful and interesting. Unfortunately, they usually do really well and cause extra work keeping them under control. I am working on a post about some of my mistakes!
ReplyDeleteWhat an entertaining post :o) I actually stumbled upon this beauty in my flower bed and left it alone since I wanted to see what it was (curiosity kill the cat, satisfaction brought him back!). I put in a trellis and it's a beautiful addition to the bed. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete