Interesting and Surprising Garden Plant

Have you seen this plant?

In the planting of my heirloom garden this year, I surprisingly received a guest plant. Not sure if it is something I want to keep or pull up. It has become a Monster plant invading space in my raised garden bed which is almost six feet tall. My son researched it as a tree, Sesbania bispinosa. I wonder if this special seed was in my heirloom seeds or brought in by the birds, or wind. What do you think? Has any of our readers experienced one of these surprises in their space? I’d like to know about it.

Characteristics of the Sesbania plant:

• is a tree whose yellow flowers and green leaves are eaten in Southeast Asia or South Asia
• is rich in protein, minerals and vitamins
• produces biotin which supports stronger and thicker hair strands
• human uses are to treat or alleviate type 2 diabetes

Sesbania plant to Avoid

The Red sesbania plant is also known as Scarlet or Rattle bush and is expanding its appearance in northern California. This plant is difficult to control because it produces from 100 to 1000 pods per year. These pods get trapped in water ways and cut off access to rivers, streams and natural vegetation needed for wildlife. It contains chemicals called saponins that are poisonous to humans, livestock and wildlife when eaten. California nurseries continue to sell the Red sesbania plant despite all the negative experiences occurring in the environment.

Call to Action

I inherited a Sesbania bispinosa (yellow) plant that is invasive to my garden space due to size, however, this tree has lots of wonderful qualities, unlike the Red sesbania. What would you do to naturalize or save the space in your garden and to provide a cleaner, more accommodating area to grow plants efficiently? Let’s start a conversation on this blog. Contact me at wandaphd.com, thank you.