”In the weeds I find a palimpsest of capitalism and colonialism, a living history of globalization.” New York Times, Jennifer Kabat

Creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) has been popping up as patches in an upper savanna unit (19D), the upper north woods, the east Valley Prairie, and along the road adjacent to the Ridge Prairie. We are disheartened, but determined to get rid of it. Kathie suspects a small amount of seed may have been spread by accident several years ago, and it is just now showing itself, spread also by deer or small mammals. Creeping bellflower was brought to the U.S. as an ornamental. The purple, bell-shaped flowers bloom in summer and are located on just one side of the stem. The plant has a fast-spreading root system with fine rootlets, interconnected rhizomes, and a deeper (6-8 inches) tuberous tap root—virtually impossible to eliminate by pulling and digging. Creeping bellflower can take over an area fast. In addition, each individual produces around 15,000 seeds. All parts are edible. In the early spring, mats of young leaves, close to the ground, are distinctive and demonstrate the ability of this species to dominate an area.

In Madison this year, my dog and I see creeping bellflower everywhere, and it seems to love all the recent warmth and rains. One really impressive yard illustrates how a native garden planting can literally be replaced by this weed (see below). Amanda planted and cared for an area of native prairie flowers when she lived here approximately 10 years ago. Look at it now.

What is a weed?

Since I’ve also been cruising the north woods at Pleasant Valley this spring plucking out garlic mustard that has been spread from neighbor lands by deer, I’ve been revisiting my assessment of what makes a weed a good weed—a sort of meditation on “naughty” as applied to plants.

A weed is a plant that chokes out other nearby plants. Those “other plants nearby” are often referred to as “local” or “native” or “endemic” or “wanted.” The weed is aptly called “invasive.” The Invasive Plant Society of Wisconsin (IPAW) refers to a weed as a “plant out of place,” or POOP. (John Burroughs likens humans to weeds, but that’s for another day.)

What characteristics make a plant very good at being bad?

• it gets an early start in the spring and/or overwinters
• it grows fast and out of control (irrepressible)
• it makes gobs of seeds
• it smothers, strangles, crushes native plants
• it poisons adjacent plants by secreting a chemical agent
• it spreads by runners, stolons, suckers, hidden taproots and fine spreading rootlets—all of which can produce new individuals
• it reproduces rapidly and profusely, and is often self-pollinating
• it can crumble roadways and undermine foundations—often lowering real estate values
• it is highly adaptable to extremes of heat, drought and cold
• it lacks natural controls such as diseases and predatory herbivores
• it provides no, poor or unhealthy food for local wildlife
• it is hard to get rid of
• it decreases the diversity of landscapes and ecosystems, often leading to monocultures

So, whew—I’ve been carefully applying herbicide to the creeping bellflower foliage and revisiting problem areas many times to kill the plants as they emerge. Garlon, roundup and Escort all work, and the extensive root system seems to help transport the treatment. The zone of death is not pretty and will need to be seeded with desirables when the weed is gone for good.

I personally don’t refer to aggressive native plants as weeds, but some see them as “too much of a good thing”—like woodland sunflower, grape, raspberries, Canada goldenrod, pale Indian plantain, and more. Often, with the right competition, frequent fire, cutting back, and lots of time, these eager ones will be tamed and integrated into a prairie or savanna tapestry. That said, smaller plots often require more selective and aggressive management— as Kathie is always reminding me.

”Plant, and your [friends] plant with you. Weed, and you weed alone.” Rousseau [with one minor edit]

Lest we weed with abandon and not with care, we might mistake tall bellflower for creeping bellflower, and that wouldn’t be good. Campanula americana is a native that grows in savannas and is flowering now. It is a self-sowing biennial, and its flowers are open rather than bell-shaped (see below).

I’ll close with other lovelies seen while perusing weeds: