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New plant that is taking over our garden #877635
Asked July 17, 2024, 1:45 PM EDT
Anchorage County Alaska
Expert Response
Thank you for your question. This is probably rampion bellflower or creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides). Have you seen any flowers or flower buds yet?
The flowers are pretty “bluebells” and some mistakenly assumes this is a nice perennial. Unfortunately, it quickly becomes an aggressive and invasive plant (there are lots of testimonies to back that up).
The plant is not easy to control as it has underground rhizomes and tubers. Some say to dig it up, but apparently that is not easily done. In the factsheet from the Alaska Exotic Plants Information Clearinghouse (AKEPIC, https://accs.uaa.alaska.edu/invasive-species/non-native-plants/), it is stated that it is just about impossible to control mechanically. Most don’t want to use pesticides, but roundup (glyphosate) for instance, can be effective.
You can find the factsheet here
https://accs.axds.co/data/akepic/document?documentType=species_bio&usdaCode=CARA
Wish I had some better news and information for you.
On Jul 18, 2024, at 10:08 AM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote: