My sister-in-law sent me this picture of a vining weed growing in their garden. It has variegated leaves, quite robust stems, a very pungent smell ( to her, although I don't smell it) and a very deep root. It doesn't look like English Ivy and isn't Field Woodbine (unless there is a variegated strain, with a pungent smell) but I am not sure what it may be. Does anyone else know? Note the French lavender beside it, for scale. Thanks in advance.
See I was replying at the time as Eric. Agree it is hard to remove and can get to be a real nuisance, maybe it would be ok in a pot. It also has a tendency to revert to plain green leaves.
You were responding at t almost exactly the same time, it appears. I don't know where the Houttuynia came from, but I'm pretty sure my SIL didn't deliberately plant it .. must have been a root of some sort, that came from a neighbor. Considering how vigorous it appears to be, it is not going into a pot but rather, into the city organic recycling where reversion from its variegated colour won't be an issue. And it is good to know that her difficulty in removing that plant is more a reflection of the plant than of her.
I'm not sure how the city organic recycling program works, but hopefully it doesn't unknowingly pass live parts of the plant on to somebody else.
The local composter (Harvest Power) claims their measurements indicate composting temperature of above 50C, with much of it above 60C for almost a month. Other information I'd read indicate that this is more than enough to kill off Phytophthora species so I certainly hope it is also adequate to kill off unwanted / invasive plant material.
