• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

There is just one mayapple

March 31, 2012 By Carol Michel 14 Comments

Podophyllum peltatum

There is just one mayapple.

I should pull up this one mayapple like it is a weed. It might take over my woodland wildflower garden.

I never planned to have mayapples in my woodland wildflower garden. It’s a hitchhiker, a hobo, catching a ride with another wildflower that I saved from the woods-turned-into-a-lake.

There is just one mayapple.

In the woods where the mayapples grow, you never see just one mayapple.

You see a whole field of them. Can you have a field in a woods? Maybe it is a grove of mayapples?

Field or grove, there is never just one mayapple plant, all alone.

There is always a big colony of them.

Yes, colony. A large grove, field, colony of mayapples.

There is just one mayapple.

Is it likely to be happy in my garden? Probably not, or not for a long time.

I think the lone mayapple may hang on for a while, but I don’t think it will thrive in my garden. Not enough shade. Not enough good, rich forest soil and humus.

There is just one mayapple.

What harm would there be in leaving it? What would it hurt to just let it be and see if next year there are two leaves, then four leaves?

I’ve never heard of a gardener cursing the mayapples in their garden, expressing regrets for planting one mayapple or resorting to all sorts of evil deeds and evil thoughts to get rid of mayapples.

There is just one mayapple.

What could happen?

I think I’ll leave my one mayapple alone and see.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: gardening, weeds

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karin / Southern Meadows says

    March 31, 2012 at 3:18 am

    One mayapple is better than none! I love this native plant. If this one did just show up maybe it likes your woodland garden after all.

    Reply
  2. irvin says

    March 31, 2012 at 3:18 am

    I think it will be happier than you think.

    Reply
  3. Helen says

    March 31, 2012 at 3:24 am

    No, I haven't heard of gardeners cursing mayapples either. I find them rather pretty.

    Reply
  4. Delisa says

    March 31, 2012 at 4:16 am

    Silly Gardener, these are not "just" Mayapples, they are Fairy Umbrellas! Let the fairies decide how many are needed!

    Reply
  5. Gail says

    March 31, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    I think they're charming…glad you decided to let it be and see what happens. gail

    Reply
  6. Layanee says

    March 31, 2012 at 12:46 pm

    You cannot have too many mayapples but you can have too few. Keep 'em growin'.

    Reply
  7. Lisa at Greenbow says

    March 31, 2012 at 12:59 pm

    They are slow colonizers, at least in my garden. They don't begrudge any other wildflower that wished to grow with them either. I don't think you will be disappointed if you leave this loner. They are so cheerful in the early spring. Popping up to see what the world will offer them. Then of course they offer the fairies some beautiful green umbrellas and a lovely little flowers they can see.

    Reply
  8. Artificial Grass says

    March 31, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    I find it very interesting. I can see the ideas that you want to share. Thanks!

    Reply
  9. vic says

    March 31, 2012 at 11:37 pm

    Not only are they pretty and hardy but the females have fruit which you can harvest and make jam out of. But of course you will definitely need a grove, colony, field, whatever of them to make very much jam.

    Reply
  10. Kathy says

    April 1, 2012 at 1:05 am

    I'm with Irwin. It will be happier than you think. I would not get rid of it, but I would move it away from anything slower growing. Spoken by someone who had to dig up a trillium to remove all the mayapple roots entwined around it. The mayapple was winning.

    Reply
  11. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    April 1, 2012 at 2:07 am

    I say leave it. You've seen the size of my garden, and I wouldn't want to be without mayapples. They are a delight of spring. That said, I do have to dig up copious amounts of them every year as they spread into the path. I have them segregated from less thuggish things by a dry creek and a path.

    Reply
  12. Sheila Zattau says

    April 21, 2021 at 10:20 am

    why don’t i ever see blooms on my mayapples?

    Reply
    • Gail says

      May 1, 2021 at 9:53 pm

      The blooms are hidden beneath the large leaves, and the blooms face downward so they are hard to see. You have to lift up the leaves.

      Reply
  13. Gail says

    May 1, 2021 at 9:50 pm

    We have a one-acre woods in the mountains of NC. We didn’t know what Mayapples were when we bought the property. Now, 7 years later they blanket large swaths of the understory. We also have many beautiful wildflowers, including Trillium, which we love. We are now worried that the Mayapples will crowd out all of the other wildflowers. We’d like to get reduce the spread of Mayapples. How can we get rid of some of them?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,047)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT