Rupert, Russel, Hayley, Martin, Glyn and finally Cath many many thanks for
the replies....

I'd seen the ground elder ( visions of a friendly wisened old man are
dispelled as soon as I see my garden ) on a few sites, but most show a
mature plant so did'nt recognise it. I've taken to ripping the heads of as
they appear and weeding the roots out best i can as I go. Luckily the soils
nice and loose so that makes my life easier.

I'll give the roundup a go I think on the areas I cant quite reach ( around
the back of the conifers ) and where the elder's ( heh ) made his home
around the conifer roots. I get the odd shoot appearing in the areas I've
done and missed that fraction of root. ( 2 brown council compost bins to
date ). anyway..

Once again .. a huge thankyou , it's greatly appreciated.

With our thanks.. be well guys.

Andy


"Cat(h)" wrote in message
oups.com...

glyn wrote:
Yes It's ground elder. Have the same problem .Nasty little plant. Hard
work to get rid of without resorting to spraying. Suggest something
like "roundup" which only works on the green plant and de-acivates when
touching bare soil. May need two or three applicatiopns to eradicate.
Best of luck
Glyn

Agreed. I've had the same experience. YOu really need to forego any
planting for a couple of years, and keep applying round up every time
it shows up for that period. I now find the very odd few peeking up
among planted beds, but theyare easy enough to handle, provided you
take them out early, and provided you take every last little bit of
their roots!
Well worth doing, there *is* life after ground elder :-)

Cat(h)