Santa Barbara Daisy
Invasive Plants or Plants for The Lazy Gardener?
It all depends on your point of view! All these perennials are hardy and colorful. and some are prolific reseeders. Pictured is Erigeron karvinskianus (Santa Barbara daisy). It will bloom all summer with very little care, but you have to decide if you want it everywhere or if it’s worth it to pull out the little seedlings. The same can be said for Gaura, Geranium incanum and Euphorbia wulfenii.
Another category consists of the plants that spread by rhizomes. A prime example is Oenethera speciosa (Mexican primrose). The delightful single pink flowers abound spring into summer, but with a little water and nourishment, they will overtake their neighbors. And then there’s Origanum “Hopley’s purple”. Like many other ornamental oreganos, it sports lovely mauve-purple flowers in profusion – it just doesn’t know where to stop! Salvia darcyi is spectacular with its bright display of red flowers all summer. Fortunately, the runners that appear are usually welcome, but if not, they are quite easy to remove.