Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Thursday - December 02, 2010

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Compost and Mulch, Planting, Problem Plants, Vines
Title: Eliminating non-native Asian Jasmine in Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have a large bed in front of the house full of jasmine that was planted by the builder 25 years ago. What suggestions do you have to eliminate it and prepare the bed to plant native flowers and plants?

ANSWER:

A later note from you indicated that your plant is Tracelospermum asiaticum, Asian jasmine, native to Japan and Korea. If it has been there 25 years and has not overgrown your trees and other plants you must have been very vigilant in controlling it. It is capable of being quite invasive, and herbicides have little or no effect on it. You have chosen a good time of year to go after this plant. If you want to plant native plants there, which we applaud, you need to get the roots and vines totally out of the soil, perhaps even taking the soil out and replacing it with fresh soil and a generous helping of compost. We would suggest digging it out, going after every root you can find. The stems root where they touch the ground, so leaving any vines unscathed in your yard can well mean they will be back. You will probably have to stay after them for several years, learn to recognize the plant when it first peeps out of the ground, cut it down as far as you can reach and pull out as much as you can. Deny the roots of nutrition long enough and they will eventually starve, but you must be thorough. Doing it now when you are not worried about protecting other plants already in the bed will make it that much easier.

If you get this done soon enough, you can certainly get some woody plants into the new bed, shrubs and perhaps small trees, depending on the size of the area. Be careful to get plants in the ground as quickly as possible after they have come from the nursery. Check them for being root bound. A plant that has been too long in a pot will tend to grow around in circles and, when planted, cannot get its roots out into the nice new soil you have provided. Cutting some of those roots will avoid further "girdling." It is a little late in the year to plant wildflower seeds, if that is in your plans, but you can plant perennial bedding plants early in the spring, hopefully for first-year bloom. A layer of good quality shredded hardwood mulch will not only protect the new roots from cold, but is attractive. As it decomposes, it will compost into the soil and continue to contribute to the nutrition and drainage in the soil.

 

More Compost and Mulch Questions

Poor drainage in clay soils in Langhorne PA
September 15, 2009 - Our backyard has very poor drainage, to the point of up to 3 inches of rain can sit until it is evaporated. Talking to neighbors, they informed us that there use to be a terrain that ran through our ...
view the full question and answer

Removing St. Augustine, replacing with native plants
October 06, 2007 - Hello Mr. Smarty Plants, always excited to talk to the Green Guru himself. I've recently purchased a house in South Austin and am interested in establishing a small, 500+ sq ft, prairie grass and wi...
view the full question and answer

My newly planted Mountain Laurel isn\'t doing well.
March 13, 2009 - My mountain laurel was planted from a container in Dec. It is in part sun, clay soil, and its leaves are turning yellow. should I move it or will that kill it?
view the full question and answer

Plants for pavilion over fountain in Washington State
December 26, 2008 - I have a tall fountain in a 7 foot square which is surrounded by pavers. Inside the 7' square there is about a 2' mulched soil bed around the center fountain and an iron type pavilion that goes up h...
view the full question and answer

Transplanting Mexican bonebract in Floresville, TX
November 12, 2008 - My kids and I finally identified a small plant that we found growing in our pasture. There was only one and it is lovely. It is the Mexican Bonebract. What I am interested in finding out is how to tra...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.