Dawn
Thanks so much for reaching out to the UVM Extension Master Gardener Volunteers!

I have to say, I wish I were experiencing your poppy problem. I cannot seem to overwinter Papaver orientale or Oriental Poppies and I have tried many times. I am not sure which annual variety you are growing, but I do have two options for you.

1. If you clip the flowers before they form seed heads, they will not be able to cast their hundreds of seeds. Meantime, you can enjoy the beautiful flowers. This will minimize your poppy population. It will take more time. Of course, if you allow the flowers to form seed heads/miss cutting the flowers, just clip the seed heads after they form and either give them away or destroy them.

2. Another option is to cover the garden with a tarp and eliminate the poppies by smothering the plants entirely. This may take one to two growing seasons, but it will work. If you can at least cover the areas where your vegetable garden isn't planted, this would help in your efforts. 

3. I'm not sure this will be as successful, but you could try heavy mulching the poppies -after you cut them back to the ground (if you are discouraged by pulling the plants). Then mulch heavily around your vegetable plants to aid in your efforts. Once your vegetables are harvested for the season, go ahead and cover the entire garden with heavy mulch or better yet - look to recommendation number 2, to eliminate the poppies by smothering. 

I do hope this information has been helpful.

Thank you, Judy. I appreciate the information. It is hard to imagine envy of any kind for the situation we find ourselves in. Had there been any sort of warning with the plant, I never would have risked it. Labeled only as an "annual" it was really a wolf in sheep's clothing. Your suggestions are about what I expected, though it is devasting to think that I need to smother my veggie garden for years to hope to eradicate the poppies.

We unfortunately have a similar situation with a false spirea shrub bought from a different local garden supply house, that turns out to spread by seed and root. Two small shrubs planted in a large sloped perennial bed have rapidly taken over at an exponential rate. The growth is uncontrolled & incredibly fast. The perennial bed is lost & there are volunteers venturing now into the neighboring lawn. We've had consultations with several landscapers & they common theme is to bring in large equipment to remove that area of the garden to haul it away. It will likely cost us thousands of dollars to have a large area cut away & removed in hopes of eradicating the shrub from our property. God forbid we miss a root section.

In both instances -- poppy & false spirea -- the success with which these plants are self-propagating is astonishing. I worry that failing to act to remove these plants in their entirety will be to risk their invasion into our meadows and beyond. Then what?

Please hear my tiny plea for more stringent labeling requirements! The home gardener/landscaper looks to suppliers to be the experts & gate keepers, but instead they are happily selling invasives with no consequences but to the unwitting consumers.

Thank you,

Dawn

Hello Dawn:

I understand your frustration.

False Spirea is on the watch list in Vermont. Here is a link to information on what this means - https://fpr.vermont.gov/sites/fpr/files/Quarantine_WatchListUpdate-2017_November.pdf
Since it is not in the Class A or Class B list (both of these Classes are legally prohibited from purchase, selling, transporting, etc. in
Vermont), it has no legal authority, but are certainly things that are recommended to avoid and may be added to the Quarantine list at a later date.

This information provides some control methods for False Spirea.

The best advice I can think of to give you is:

-relay your concerns with the nursery(s) where you purchased the plants.

-Do extensive research prior to purchasing, either online, at a
library, etc. To narrow down online searches to sites that are
reputable, I recommend using this search engine - https://extension.org/search_gcse/#gsc.tab=0
For instance, if you enter into the subject line "false spirea
shrub", you will find a lot of info. about this shrub, including
questions from the general public about problems others have had with the shrub, etc.

OR, contact us first to receive information prior to purchasing/planting. Master Gardeners have been trained on conducting research and providing education on Invasive Species, etc.

-We also have some great resources on our website - https://www.uvm.edu/extension/mastergardener/gardening-resources

-You could also relay your concerns to the VNLA - https://vnlavt.org/

I hope this information is helpful.