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Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegata' |
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| Common name |
bishop's weed; goutweed; snow on the mountain |
| Family |
apiaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial |
| Flowers |
white |
| Size |
6" |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
| Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
As pretty as this variegated groundcover is, we consider it to be mostly a weed in our garden: it is near-impossible to contain its wandering roots, which specialize in intermingling with the roots of neighboring plants, to escape extermination attempts. One patch survives, by our mailbox - that area is so dry that it stays pretty well contained. If it shows any inclination to spread, out it goes!
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Aegopodium podagraria 'Variegata'
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| diana | Jun 24, 2005 | is this plant poisonous?
Not that I know. It's in the carrot/dill family, many of whose members are edible, but that's not to say this one is. |
| Laurie | Apr 25, 2006 | I've just been reading up on the habits of this plant, and several people have mentioned severe skin rash and allergic reaction from contact with it. Similar to Poison Ivy.
That's adding insult to injury - a plant that's invasive and itchy! Luckily, I'm not affected. |
| Chris | Aug 13, 2006 | Why do you call it snow on the mountain. Snow on the mountain is "euphorbia marginata"
Never count on common names to be specific. They vary from country to country, and even from area to area. |
| Diane | Oct 03, 2008 | This plant doesn't seem to grow near our house. Every other site I read said that it will grow anywhere. What do you think?
'Everywhere' is a bit of a broad term... The plant will certainly respond best to good garden conditions, and grow more slowly in dry or poor soil. |
| karen | Nov 08, 2008 | I have snow on the mountain and I would like to move some to another area wondering when I should "transplant"?
Depends on your climate. It's probably still safe to transplant now, but you can also wait till mid-spring. Stay away from mid-winter and mid-summer. |
| Greg | Mar 29, 2009 | Does the 'Variegata'have the ability to produce fertile seeds? If so does it spread by seeds as well?
I've not noticed any seedlings. Nor many flowers, for that matter. |
| Kris | May 20, 2009 | The plant is fully edible and is considered good for health. It contains many vitamines and microelements, it also (as the latin name sugests) helps cure podraga. But it has a specific taste and smell, similar to carrot leaves. I usually force myself to eat some of the first leaves in spring in fresh salads, but I really dont like the taste. |
| Tami | Jun 30, 2009 | Does snow on the mountain change to plain green? and if so what causes it to change? It used to be all variegated and now I have half veriegated and half dark green
Yes, some parts of the plant may revert to all-green in time. If you don't remove the green parts, these may take over the entire patch. |
| Karen Shanklin | Jul 16, 2009 | I am looking for seeds for aegopodium variegatum so I can throw it on a hill. Is there seeds available.
I've not seen seeds offered - I'd guess vegetative propagation is the best for this (and so easy, too!) |
| Caroline Butler | Mar 11, 2010 | Has any source for the aegopodium variegatum appeared yet? I'd like some for a large hillside too. |
| Tammi | Apr 11, 2010 | How do you get rid of it?
Persistance. Digging out every bit of it when I see it rearing its head. My guess is Roundup might work too. |
| Jane | May 31, 2010 | I have a large amount of successful (no really!) snow on the mountain where I want it. But I also want to get it going on a slope in an entirely different spot. One contributor (Karen Shanklin) mentions vegetative propagation. Will you explain it further in relation to this plant?
With plants that spread as rampantly by roots as this does, vegetative propagation is a breeze: just dig out pieces and stick them elsewhere, keep them watered for a while until they're happy, and you should have established a new stand. |
| Mike | Jun 21, 2010 | I am thinking of putting some under a new Heritage Birch tree. How do I know how often and how much to water?
If you're sure you want to let this thug into your garden... They are not finnicky, and will not normally require supplemental water - if you have a severe drought, you'll want to water your birch anyway. |
| Bee | Aug 18, 2010 | Why anyone can even think about planting this very aggressive and invasive weed!!! It is awful, and not even pretty. I am fighting this in my raised beds and can't get rid of it. It always comes back, does not let any other plants to establish, spreads out like crazy you can't control it at all. It is illegal to sell in few states like MA and VT. Seriously, this weed will destroy your garden. I have read that people fight for years to get rid of this, and most of the weed chemical do not work, just a little warning here, |
| Dia | Nov 07, 2010 | My mother planted this and it spread like wildfire. As to the comment about skin rashes...I got one so bad from this stuff that I had to go to the emergency room after removing it from a corner of the yard. I had swollen blotches all over my hands, arms, and face. Do yourself a favor and plant something else!
(Thank you for having a good picture of it on this site, I've been trying to ID the @#$% stuff. This is definitely the plant. This was worse than poison ivy for me!) |
| Christine | Jan 26, 2011 | I've never had any problems with this plant, except if I water it very much, then the leaves turn partially brown. It likes it dry. I've never itched from touching it. I think it is very beautiful. I've read that if the soil is good, then it spreads, but if the soil isn't good, then it isn't invasive. I've had it at two different houses and it never spread. Must be from it being planted in poor soil. It was in sorta of part sun/part shade in both locations. |
| J. Scott Lewis | Apr 09, 2011 | This plant is invasive if you do not care for it properly. Box it in and mix it with a couple of already well established perennials and it will generally stay put. If it spreads dig it out of the undesired area, or round-up painted on the leaves will work if you are into chemicals [I am not]. I have it growing in a rocked in area with a grape hyacinth, and both do well because they are both vigorous spreaders and cancel each other out as they compete. |
| Arbe | Aug 12, 2011 | How late can I plant this at alt. 5300'(San Bernardino Mountains, CA)? |
| BJ Crichton | Oct 12, 2011 | Your web page gave me just the information I wanted. Permitting comments from others broadened the range of the discussion and added to its general interest, IMHO. I have successfully contained thugs that spread mostly by runners by planting them in groups of buried pots. Those that seed easily have outwitted me. After reading what growers of this subject have to say, I think I will look elsewhere for something to plant in the ruts careless drivers leave around the edges of our corner lot. |
| Idaho | May 22, 2012 | Do not plant, will takeover garden and is impossible to get rid of. Not sure why it is being sold in stores especially if it causes allergic reactions. It should have a warning label with it like cigarettes. It is pretty and is the first thing to come back in spring and last thing to die back in fall it grows into all your plants and and afraid of killing nice shrubs or trees if I use roundup or 24D. Any advice to get rid of this would be appreciated.
I've successfully eradicated it from the original areas where it was planted in our garden. It took persistence and a good bit of time. Careful application of Roundup (not with a spray) should work where it is growing in close proximity to desirable plants. |
| Mrs J | Jul 13, 2014 | I recently moved into a new house and it came with a lot of ground covering. Well this plant is very beautiful to look at, but it is dying. Does anyone know what could be the cause of it dying? What do I need to do in order for it to continue to grow and turn back to it original color. |
| Ingebelle | Aug 09, 2015 | This is a great ground cover plant. Best if it's contained. Mine grows between side of house and cement sidewalk to back-yard. Takes care of itself. One of those plants that I can leave on vacation and know it'll be there when I'm back. Seeds are not easy to buy. |
| Ruth Wickert | Jul 05, 2019 | I do love this plant and I am sorry so many hate it, but it is not as bad as ground ivy, which not even roundup will kill. For those who want the seed for this Amazon has several listings for it. |
| E. Dryden | Jun 04, 2022 | I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get rid of this plant for 15 years. It is relentless and destroys all other plants in its path. I would never buy a house where I knew it was growing. |
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