Gunnera

[Small pumpkin]

Has anyone any experienced on how the roots of a gunnera behaves?

I’m thinking of one or two of these for a spot in the new garden to hide the treatment plant. I know they grow well up here. Need to know they don’t have invasive roots that work there way into pipes and things like some things do.

[veggiechicken]

I've never grown them but I know they spread well and are painful to walk under as the leaves are very spiky. You can imagine how I know!!
Do they die back in winter and, if so, would they reveal your treatment plant in all its glory?

[Small pumpkin]

Good point VC. I think they do die back. I’ll have to think of something else then.

[Babru]

They definitely die back, and I have an idea that they're not reliably hardy either.

[veggiechicken]

I grow Phormiums/New Zealand Flax in my front garden - acquired them from Freecycle about 12 years ago when they were in small pots. They are clump forming, evergreen, dense and massive.
One has striped leaves, the other is a bronzey green. They have flowwer stalks about 10' high and, when dried, make great kindling.
The leaves can be use to make string and I've experimented with making plant pots from the leaves by coiling them up and holding them together with "flax string".

The sun has just reached them this morning!

[veggiechicken]

This article suggests they're reasonably hardy!
https://www.burncoose.co.uk/site/con...s+-+Care+Guide

[Small pumpkin]

Thanks VC. I’ll have a look at that article

[burnie]

I thought Gunnera and skunk cabbage had been banned in Scotland as they spread all over the place, might be worth checking.

[Small pumpkin]

Shame no one thought to ban bracken and rhododendrons as well .
I’ll have a look anyway.

[quanglewangle]

Gunnera is invasive in warmer parts of the country and is a particular problem along watercourses. The roots spread into culverts under roads and block them causing local flooding, and eventually breakage and collapse.

The non-native species specialist for our local authority hates the the stuff.

[edit] see http://www.nonnativespecies.org/fact...speciesId=1647 from the excellent Non-native Species Secretariat. The para headed Economic Impact should be enough to scare anyone off.

[Small pumpkin]

Gunnera is invasive in warmer parts of the country and is a particular problem along watercourses. The roots spread into culverts under roads and block them causing local flooding, and eventually breakage and collapse.

The non-native species specialist for our local authority hates the the stuff.

[edit] see http://www.nonnativespecies.org/fact...speciesId=1647 from the excellent Non-native Species Secretariat. The para headed Economic Impact should be enough to scare anyone off.

Thanks, that’s exactly what I needed to know. Gunnera is definitely not going any where near my new garden.

[Babru]

Really interesting, thanks quangle.

I can't imagine trying to dig it out, a nightmare. The stems are seriously scary too. I have never found it attractive, but saw it growing in a ravine at Abbotsbury garden in Dorset and it was amazing. It looked primeval, I was expecting pterodactyls to fly over any minute.

[Stan79]

I love it! It's one of my earliest childhood stories... apparently as a very precocious little tot i was on the back of my Dad's bike in the Sicilly Isles on holiday and apparently said, "Look Daddy, Gunnera Manicata" and two ladies walking past nearly fell over in disbelief that such a small sprog could pronounce it let alone know what it was...

We had one next to a pond when i was growing up and planted one at the bottom of our garden but it succumbed to the frost as it gets pretty cold where i planted it!

Thanks to this thread, i shall try again!

[Aberdeenplotter]

Noted you won't be giving it room space Sp but for anyone else considering, yes they do die back overwinter so not ideal if you need all year round cover. My last remaining customer who is no longer a customer had one. Every year in late autumn, I would cut the lawn/hoover up leaves and then drop several grass boxes full beside the plants which she would then use to cover the plant centre and protect from frost.

Best examples of the plant I've seen is in Harrogate just down the road from Betty's tea room. Huge plants .