Should it stay or should it go?

Last May, I published a post with the same title focused on whether or not I should remove a particular plant in my back garden.  This post features a host of plants that I'm looking at with a side-eye.  I have issues with plants in virtually every area of my garden.  I'll start with the back garden.

 

I like both the succulent foliage and the bright yellow blooms of Didelta 'Silver Strand' but it's an aggressive spreader.  The tag said it would grow 12" wide but it's easily twice that size despite repeated trimming.  I think it needs another home but, until I find one, I'm planning to cut it back (again).

This dwarf Jacaranda 'Bonsai Blue' was the subject of my May 2022 post.  It's still here, partly because I never found anything to replace it and partly because I've a long-standing affection for Jacaranda trees.  At this time of year, the leaves turn a sickly yellow-green before they're replaced by new foliage..  Still lacking a replacement to fill this spot, my interim plan is to cut the tallest stem to improve the tree's proportions.

I've been pulling out the weedy foliage of what I think is Oxalis stricta for the last 2 months but I actually love the delicate flowers, which fit into the blue, white and yellow color scheme in this bed so I'm considering leaving them in place.  Am I crazy?

I planted a lot of Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' in 2016 as edging material.  According to its tag it was projected to grow 8-12" tall and wide.  Some sources say it requires a light trimming annually and others that it can be mowed to the ground.  It haven't found either approach keeps it tidy.  I might try dividing the clumps and replanting it in some spots but I'm leaning toward digging it all up.

 

There's only one plant that's currently bothering me enough in my south side garden that I'm considering its removal.

The tall spiky plant in the middle of this photo is Dasylirion longissimum (aka Mexican grass tree).  It hasn't developed much of a trunk in the 6 years it's been in my garden and it's never bloomed but my real issue is that it seems out of place here.  It probably also doesn't have the space it needs and it's impossible to weed around it without getting stabbed.  Of course, getting it out of that area could be a literal pain.

I've substantially more concerns with the front garden.

I inherited 2 western redbuds (Cercis occidentalis) with the garden.  They sucker relentlessly and, even with pruning, look more gangly with every passing year.  The spring flowers are pretty and the foliage is attractive but I'm not sure they're worth keeping; however, their placement on a moderate slope surrounded by succulents will make taking them out somewhat difficult.

In the early days after moving here, I added a lot of Duranta repens 'Gold Mound'.  At the time, they were were sold as shrubs that grew 2-3' tall and wide.  Later I found tags on shrubs that looked identical with tags saying they could grow 2-20' tall.  The one on the left is too big for its space and partially hides the Grevillea 'Superb' behind it and the smaller one on the right is both too tall for its space and lanky.  They're on my list to go.

My beloved Echium candicans 'Star of Madeira' has become very woody.  Tip pruning hasn't kept it within bounds.  While it has a lot of fresh green foliage, it also has a lot of bare branches.  I'm going to take cuttings in early spring to get a start on replacing it.

This Grevillea 'Ned Kelly', one of 2 in my garden, isn't happy in this relatively shady area and I don't think the occasional flower it produces is worth leaving it in place

The white bower vines (Pandorea jasminoides 'Alba') on either side of the arbor over the front door came with the garden.  They've looked sadder with every passing year and this January's rain hasn't reversed that trend.  I've no idea what to use to replace them but, at this point, having nothing there would be an improvement.

I planted more Sesleria 'Greenlee Hybrid' along the bed shown here (photographed from 2 directions).  It looks even worse than the plants in the back garden.  I'm not sure what I'll do to fill in the empty space.  Adding creeping thyme might be the simplest solution.

 

The cutting garden has one possible candidate for eviction.

I'm not sure what I was thinking when I planted lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) here, although I like it when it's in bloom even if the faux birdbath gets lost in the middle.  We had to hack it back when we replaced our water pipeline last year.  It's looking pretty woody now so I'm thinking it may be time to replace it with something more manageable.

The final three candidates are found on the north side of the house.

I underestimated how big this Grevillea lavandulacea 'Penola' would get when I moved it to the narrow space between the concrete block stair and the fence separating us from a neighbor.  It needs frequent pruning to keep it from encroaching on the stairway leading down the back slope.  However, it blooms well despite all that pruning so I'm not sure I can bring myself to remove it.

This Psoralea pinnata (aka Kool-Aid bush) is another plant meant to be kept in shape through tip-pruning but it's become very leggy.  I'll see how it looks when in blooms in late spring before I do anything.  It's supposed to readily self-seed but I've seen no signs it's been so inclined.

This mass of prostrate rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) is healthy but it's taking up a lot of space that could be given to more interesting plants.  I probably wouldn't remove all of it but I've been considering reducing its size substantially since last year.

 

If you have views on any of these, please share them.  I can't possibly remove them all of them at once so whatever comes of my evaluation will be approached in stages over the course of the year.

What about you?  Do you have any plants begging to be booted out?

All material © 2012-2023 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party