Montbretia..

Graces7

Last year was my first full year here. What flowers etc here had survived total neglect for at least a decade. I grew in pots and containers..

Starting to reclaim now. There was a clump of what looked like montbretia by the big gate. Lots of leaves and only one flower..

Need that space and the montbretia can go elsewhere, so I started gently uprooting the bulbs..

To find that what was there was a two foot high heap of growing bulbs. Unable to spread outwards, they had simply reproduced atop existing and new bulbs.

I am gently winkling them out. Mature bubs and strings of juniors. So far literally hundreds and more galore. Will be thousands before I am done. There is a neglected overgrown field here so will border it with them.

If anyone would like bulbs? Happy to exchange.. Never seen anything like this in my life!

Thud

sorry to burst your bubble...
https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/farmingschemesandpayments/glastraining/MontbretiaFinalDraft230616.pdf

When I moved into this house there was an infesation of them here. It took me many years to eradicate...you always miss some bulbs.
I gathered them in their thousands let them dry out and burned them.

I still have the odd one shoot up every so often. How garden centres are allowed to sell this stuff is beyond me!!


OP please dont spread them around any further than they are. They will take over quickly and allow nothing else to grow.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

TheTorment wrote: »

When I moved into this house there was an infesation of them here. It took me many years to eradicate...you always miss some bulbs.
I gathered them in their thousands let them dry out and burned them.

I still have the odd one shoot up every so often. How garden centres are allowed to sell this stuff is beyond me!!


OP please dont spread them around any further than they are. They will take over quickly and allow nothing else to grow.

They are a glorified weed. I'm sorry I every allowed them near the garden. Every year I remove hundred of bulbs and struggle to keep it contained.

strandroad

TheTorment wrote: »

I still have the odd one shoot up every so often. How garden centres are allowed to sell this stuff is beyond me!!

Garden centres sell crocosmia which is a related plant but doesn't spread nearly as much as the field montbretia.

looksee

Graces we have had this discussion before, I recall your enthusiasm for montbretia was not dimmed by arguments about its invasive qualities.

Himalayan balsam is very pretty, it blocks waterways and is a complete pest.

Japanese Knotweed is actually quite an attractive plant but will happily take over acres and is almost unkillable.

Rhododendron has taken over mountain sides, very pretty but an invasive nuisance.

Spanish Bluebells, as invasive and un-eradicable as montbretia, are crowding out native bluebells.

Please dispose of unwanted corms of montbretia by burning or putting in the black bin, don't spread them any further, they don't need any help.

Graces7

looksee wrote: »

Graces we have had this discussion before, I recall your enthusiasm for montbretia was not dimmed by arguments about its invasive qualities.

Himalayan balsam is very pretty, it blocks waterways and is a complete pest.

Japanese Knotweed is actually quite an attractive plant but will happily take over acres and is almost unkillable.

Rhododendron has taken over mountain sides, very pretty but an invasive nuisance.

Spanish Bluebells, as invasive and un-eradicable as montbretia, are crowding out native bluebells.

don't spread them any further, they don't need any help.

There was no discussion. You made a statement which I disagree with .. as I said before on deaf ears.

They add a bit of much needed colour and are free... which means a lot here. All on my own land of course.

We will have a wonderful display this year.

Thank you

Graces7

looksee wrote: »

Graces we have had this discussion before, I recall your enthusiasm for montbretia was not dimmed by arguments about its invasive qualities.

Himalayan balsam is very pretty, it blocks waterways and is a complete pest.

Japanese Knotweed is actually quite an attractive plant but will happily take over acres and is almost unkillable.

Rhododendron has taken over mountain sides, very pretty but an invasive nuisance.

Spanish Bluebells, as invasive and un-eradicable as montbretia, are crowding out native bluebells.

Please dispose of unwanted corms of montbretia by burning or putting in the black bin, don't spread them any further, they don't need any help.

No way will I burn bulbs. and they are not unwanted.

There was no discussion. You made a statement which I disagree with .. as I said before on deaf ears. I disagree with your exaggerations and conclusions, especially as you have no knowledge of the terrain out here

They add a bit of much needed colour and are free... which means a lot here. All on my own land of course.

We will have a wonderful display this year.

Thank you

Oh we have gunnera here too and I am not burning that either. I agree totally ee JKW and have no acquaintance with the others etc

Over and out on this, bless you!

The advice you were given here was also free, and given generously and in good faith, which means a lot here.... looks like you're chosing to ignore it.

Is it your land? From your previous posts I was under the impression that you were renting.

Quite frankly I think that spreading an invasive species, having been informed of it's invasive characteristics, is just downright ignorant and irresponsible.

magicbastarder

Graces7 wrote: »

There is a neglected overgrown field here so will border it with them.

what part of:

The biodiversity of ecosystems can be significantly affected by an infestation of Montbretia.

did you not understand?

Igotadose

magicbastarder wrote: »

what part of:

did you not understand?

Grace's history of posting shows her attitude towards life - her beliefs trump all, facts don't matter, it's only what makes her feel good that counts. What's most interesting is her stating this was her first full year in Ireland - thought she was a local, turns out she isn't. Good to know.

magicbastarder

Igotadose wrote: »

What's most interesting is her stating this was her first full year in Ireland - thought she was a local, turns out she isn't. Good to know.

that's quite a jump to assume 'here' means 'ireland' rather than 'this house and/or garden'. why that is relevant for you, i'll not speculate on.

Igotadose

Igotadose wrote: »

Grace's history of posting shows her attitude towards life - her beliefs trump all, facts don't matter, it's only what makes her feel good that counts. What's most interesting is her stating this was her first full year in Ireland - thought she was a local, turns out she isn't. Good to know.

I think that she means that it’s her first year in that property.

looksee

Graces7 wrote: »

No way will I burn bulbs. and they are not unwanted.

There was no discussion. You made a statement which I disagree with .. as I said before on deaf ears. I disagree with your exaggerations and conclusions, especially as you have no knowledge of the terrain out here

They add a bit of much needed colour and are free... which means a lot here. All on my own land of course.

We will have a wonderful display this year.

Thank you

Oh we have gunnera here too and I am not burning that either. I agree totally ee JKW and have no acquaintance with the others etc

Over and out on this, bless you!

Please don't presume to know what I have knowledge of. I, along with others here, am aware of the need to protect fragile ecosystems from invasive non-native weeds.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Digging up an old clump of Monbretia and using the bulbs to line a neglected field, that is reverting to nature, is irresponsible and a significant risk to the local ecosystem. Monbretia are a dime a dozen and of no value to any wild setting.

delly

Folks, discussing pro's and con's is great, even passionate opinions are great. What is not great, is documenting people's history and marking them out, or being offensive towards another poster. Consider this fair warning from this point on.

magicbastarder

Any I have in my garden, I stamp on them and put them in the compost bin. So far it's worked fairly well as I usually sieve the compost before using it.

macraignil

I have also planted Montbretia in my garden from a clump growing in my grandmothers garden. In the linked video clip you can see it growing on the north facing slope at the front of the house where I live. They have been growing there now for four years in a place where very few perennial flowers would have been able to get established and I have seen bees and other pollinators using their flowers for food and they contribute to the colour of this flower bed without overgrowing the red valerian and buddleja (which can also be seen growing wild in many places) and other flowers including a native variety of daisy that introduced itself to the flower bed. The ecological value of an overgrown field which will often be dominated by just grass species is being over estimated by some of the posters on this thread in my opinion. Growing flowers of any type will benefit pollinators many of which are under serious threat of extinction. The Montbretia I have planted have no chance of killing off the small shrubs and trees I have planted on the north facing slope at the front of where I live and have in fact contributed to stabilising the slope and allowing other plants get established.

The only legislation controlling what plants people can grow in Ireland as far as I know is the noxious weed act from 1936 and the species that are required by law to be controlled are ragworth, thistle, dock and wild oat according to this government web page. Otherwise people in this country are allowed to grow what they like in their gardens even if some other people do not agree with their choice.

Rows Grower

macraignil wrote: »

I have also planted Montbretia in my garden from a clump growing in my grandmothers garden. In the linked video clip you can see it growing on the north facing slope at the front of the house where I live. They have been growing there now in a place where very few perennial flowers would have been able to get established and I have seen bees and other pollinators using their flowers for food and they contribute to the colour of this flower bed without overgrowing the red valerian and buddleja (which can also be seen growing wild in many places) and other flowers including a native variety of daisy that introduced itself to the flower bed. The ecological value of an overgrown field which will often be dominated by just grass species is being over estimated by some of the posters on this thread in my opinion. Growing flowers of any type will benefit pollinators many of which are under serious threat of extinction. The Montbretia I have planted have no chance of killing off the small shrubs and trees I have planted on the north facing slope at the front of where I live and have in fact contributed to stabilising the slope and allowing other plants get established.

The only legislation controlling what plants people can grow in Ireland as far as I know is the noxious weed act from 1936 and the species that are required by law to be controlled are ragworth, thistle, dock and wild oat according to this government web page. Otherwise people in this country are allowed to grow what they like in their gardens even if some other people do not agree with their choice.

What about the whacky baccy?

macraignil

Rows Grower wrote: »

[/B]

What about the whacky baccy?

I think that's more controlled substance legislation that can be applied.

magicbastarder

something to do with only the male (or is it female?) plant can be grown, and on fields which are not visible from a public road, etc.
last time i read about it (many years ago), the main destination of the crop was for rolling papers.

Graces7

macraignil wrote: »

I have also planted Montbretia in my garden from a clump growing in my grandmothers garden. In the linked video clip you can see it growing on the north facing slope at the front of the house where I live. They have been growing there now for four years in a place where very few perennial flowers would have been able to get established and I have seen bees and other pollinators using their flowers for food and they contribute to the colour of this flower bed without overgrowing the red valerian and buddleja (which can also be seen growing wild in many places) and other flowers including a native variety of daisy that introduced itself to the flower bed. The ecological value of an overgrown field which will often be dominated by just grass species is being over estimated by some of the posters on this thread in my opinion. Growing flowers of any type will benefit pollinators many of which are under serious threat of extinction. The Montbretia I have planted have no chance of killing off the small shrubs and trees I have planted on the north facing slope at the front of where I live and have in fact contributed to stabilising the slope and allowing other plants get established.


The only legislation controlling what plants people can grow in Ireland as far as I know is the noxious weed act from 1936 and the species that are required by law to be controlled are ragworth, thistle, dock and wild oat according to this government web page. Otherwise people in this country are allowed to grow what they like in their gardens even if some other people do not agree with their choice.

Thank you, and my experience totally. The bees love montbretiia. So do we.

Lumen

macraignil wrote: »

The only legislation controlling what plants people can grow in Ireland as far as I know is the noxious weed act from 1936 and the species that are required by law to be controlled are ragworth, thistle, dock and wild oat according to this government web page. Otherwise people in this country are allowed to grow what they like in their gardens even if some other people do not agree with their choice.

I don't think that's right. What about Japanese Knotweed?

http://www.japaneseknotweedireland.ie/information1/japanese-knotweed-policy-and-legislation

In September 2011, comprehensive regulations which address deficiencies in Irish law implementing the EU Birds and Habitats Directives were signed into law. The European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 contain important new provisions to address the problem of invasive species. A black list of unwanted species is set out in the Regulations. It will be an offence without a licence, to release or allow to disperse or escape, to breed, propagate, import, transport, sell or advertise such species.

And here is that S.I.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2011/si/477/made/en/print

Now, interestingly Monbretia is not on that list. But JK, Spanish bluebell, Rhododendron , Gunnera are.

I have Rhododendron but I guess I'm OK since it just sits there doing nothing, so I am not doing any of "release or allow to disperse or escape, to breed, propagate, import, transport, sell or advertise such species".

Actually, it might be breeding with something, but how would I know?

I had Gunnera before I killed it at the wife's request.

So there you go.

macraignil

Lumen wrote: »

I don't think that's right. What about Japanese Knotweed?

http://www.japaneseknotweedireland.ie/information1/japanese-knotweed-policy-and-legislation



And here is that S.I.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2011/si/477/made/en/print

Now, interestingly Monbretia is not on that list. But JK, Spanish bluebell, Rhododendron , Gunnera are.

I have Rhododendron but I guess I'm OK since it just sits there doing nothing, so I am not doing any of "release or allow to disperse or escape, to breed, propagate, import, transport, sell or advertise such species".

Actually, it might be breeding with something, but how would I know?

I had Gunnera before I killed it at the wife's request.

So there you go.

Thanks for the update on the legislation. Good to see that the Montbretia is not on the controlled list. I see the rhododendron on the list is rhododendron ponticum so I am going to guess that means the legislation does not apply to the other 1023 species of rhododendron. I'm not sure of the species name of the rhododendron plants I have in the garden but they do not seem to be very vigorous or strong growing and therefore are probably not the one mentioned in the legislation in the link.

Graces7

macraignil wrote: »

Thanks for the update on the legislation. Good to see that the Montbretia is not on the controlled list. I see the rhododendron on the list is rhododendron ponticum so I am going to guess that means the legislation does not apply to the other 1023 species of rhododendron. I'm not sure of the species name of the rhododendron plants I have in the garden but they do not seem to be very vigorous or strong growing and therefore are probably not the one mentioned in the legislation in the link.

Well most of my spare montbretia bulbs are now spoken for and will be safe and lovely in folk's gardens etc.

Love the dramatic gunnera too. Again, safe in my garden where it has been many years clearly

recedite

There's nothing like the sight of the flaming orange Montbretia lining both hedgerows while strolling down a Kerry boreen, of an evening in the late summer.