Category: Snow on the Mountain

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Eradicating Goutweed

TheGardenLady received this comment from Susan:

My mother planted [Snow on the Mountain] 37 years ago. We bought her house 21 years and we are still trying to get rid of it. I am at my wits end!! But I have decided this year is gonna be the end of it! I have made it my personal challenge to finally see the end of it. I curse my mother every year when I see it. She thinks it’s funny. I however do not!! I cringe every time I’m in a garden center and see them selling it. It gives me anxiety. It must die!! Lol

It is interesting to this Garden Lady that so many of the plants that were brought to the US as ornamental or medicinal plants, have now
become invasive, noxious weeds. My lawn problem is ground ivy, glechoma hederacea, which was brought to the US as an ornamental or medicinal plant in the 1800s. It is interesting to me that it seemed to take so long for these plants to become pests. There is a long list of ornamental plants that have become invasive. Ornamental plants like Japanese and Chinese Wisteria wisteria floribunda and W sinensis, Callery Pear pyrus calleryana and Common periwinkle, Vinca minor are a few plants that have become invasive. Go here for some other invasive plants.

Your problem is Snow on the Mountain also called Goutweed or Bishop’s weed- Aegopodium podagraria. You are correct that this plant is difficult to eradicate. One has to get rid of all the root. To do it without chemicals, first remove your good plants from the area where you want to get rid of the Snow on the Mountain. Dig down 2 1/2 feet to get all the root. Put removed roots in the garbage, do not compost it. Then cover the dug area with black plastic and let sit fallow for 6 months. This should get rid of at least one area of the plant. See here.

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Be Wary of Goutweed, a Garden Invader

TheGardenLady received this comment from Julie:

We bought our house in Port Perry, On in 2012 and immediately removed an eyesore of a “pond”, but then were left with an area of 12’x16′ of dense Goutweed. We tilled and removed plants & roots about two times that year. The following spring we continued the same process another two times before we were able to plant grass on the area. This plant is a nightmare to deal with! I have no idea why the previous owner “loved” this plant so much?! We now need to dig up the front garden as it has completely taken over that area as well along with it spreading into the ceder hedges.

Sorry to read your email about the Goutweed on your new property. It is a letter of warning to anyone buying plants to be wary of invasive plants because of how difficult it is to eradicate them. Read this.

Goutweed has numerous other common names including ground elder, herb gerard, bishop’s weed, snow-in-the-mountain, also sometimes called English masterwort, or wild masterwort and its Latin name is Aegopodium podagraria,

Goutweed is listed as an invasive plant in the US and Canada. See here. The definition of an invasive plant is any plant tending to spread prolifically and undesirably or harmfully. No one should plant anything that is listed as invasive. TheGardenLady doesn’t understand why stores that sell seeds and plants still sell any seeds or plants that the government lists as invasive. Responsible nurseries should know about the plants and seeds they sell to be able to tell you if you might have a problem with the plant. So ask questions when you buy a plant or seeds. Many of the plants that have become invasive were brought to the United States or other countries for ornamental purposes or for agricultural use, not knowing they would become invasive or problematic for gardeners.

But since there are lists of most invasive problem plants, there should be a law against selling them. Knowledgeable gardeners know how difficult it is to get rid of these invasives. If you are a novice gardener, please contact your local native plant society or state Department of Natural Resources to find out which plants are invasive in your area.

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How to Deal with Snow on the Mountain

Aegopodium podograria #1 by J.G. in S.F.

TheGardenLady received this question from Janet.

I was given some hostas and there were some pieces of Snow on the Mountain mingled with them, which is taking over everything.  How can I kill the snow without killing the rest of my plants? I have dug until I’m blue in the face.

There are quite a number of plants that were brought to this country because they looked pretty and horticulturists or gardeners wanted to plant them in their gardens in America or wherever they moved; then these plants became invasive. Unfortunately Snow on the Mountain, ‘Aegopodium podagraria Variegatum’, also known as Bishop Weed or Goutweed is one of them.

One nursery touts it as the number one seller for a ground cover. So it is still being sold. It is advertised to use for difficult sites. Many people say they love the plant and it isn’t invasive for them. However, some people rue the day that this plant entered their yard. One lady said when she sold her house she didn’t tell the new owners all they were getting. The government lists this plant as an AGGRESSIVE invasive (see here).

People who buy plants should check the invasive plant list before buying plants or buyer beware. Even nurseries don’t seem to keep on top of the invasive plant list, so they might not be aware of the problem. Always check pots when buying plants to be sure that you are not getting an unwanted guest, whether weed, disease or pest. But you seemed to have the misfortune of inheriting it when you got your hosta plants from a friend.

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