awful invasive matting creeper
 

hello,

we have some sort of poxy creeper, which mats underground & then comes up in
short clumps. i gather from its behaviour that the tiniest shred of root
left in the ground means it comes up again. it doesn't grow high nor spread
far, but my word, it is persistent.

i don't mind it existing in some places, however, it's in a bed where i've
tried to get it all out to no avail.

i've decided not to kill myself any further trying to dig it all out of this
bed, so, do we think that if i continue to pull out the shoots as they come,
it will eventually die from lack of photosynthesis? how long would this
take? (i did this with couch grass last year, but, i truly think this
creeper is much more resistant than couch, due to the big gobs of roots it
makes). i'm not sure to what extent it is "attached" to various clumps in
surrounding areas which might help keep it alive.

or do i have to resort to zero to kill this patch? in which case, i guess i
would let more of it come up & then blast it with zero. i haven't used zero
since i got here, so naturally this would sadden me. i think this damn
creeper saddens me more, though :-)

thanks if anyone has an idea. naturally i haven't the faintest idea what
this creeper is called. i'm pretty sure the last people (or someone) planted
it for its soil-holding properties on the slope. i must say, it's excellent
for that. which is why i'm happy to keep it on the slope, but don't want it
in a flat bed nearby.
ta!
kylie

awful invasive matting creeper
 

0tterbot wrote:
hello,

we have some sort of poxy creeper, which mats underground & then comes up in
short clumps.

We really need a photograph.

Sounds like bridal veil creeper. The rhizome is like a string of
sharpish 1/2"+ beads strung on one end and they can form enormous mats
under the ground. I've picked up 1 metre square ones in infested bushland,

If it is that, the above ground comes from a thinish green string size
shoot that breaks off easily. No point in spraying it as it doesn't take
enough poison back underground to kill it.

Long term careful digging of rhizome is the best way,

Caveat, in the bush, I've taken out multiple layers, 2" deep first year,
4" deep next year, 6" deep third year and a few deeper.

But as I said, lets see a photo if you can. Hopefully it is something else.

awful invasive matting creeper
 

"Terryc" wrote in message
...
0tterbot wrote:
hello,

we have some sort of poxy creeper, which mats underground & then comes up
in short clumps.

We really need a photograph.

well of course you do!!!!

Sounds like bridal veil creeper. The rhizome is like a string of sharpish
1/2"+ beads strung on one end and they can form enormous mats under the
ground. I've picked up 1 metre square ones in infested bushland,

If it is that, the above ground comes from a thinish green string size
shoot that breaks off easily. No point in spraying it as it doesn't take
enough poison back underground to kill it.

Long term careful digging of rhizome is the best way,

Caveat, in the bush, I've taken out multiple layers, 2" deep first year,
4" deep next year, 6" deep third year and a few deeper.

But as I said, lets see a photo if you can. Hopefully it is something
else.

it must be something else. hurrah!!! is bridal veil creeper aka tahitian
bridal veil? if so, it's definitely NOT that.

would a description help? it's nondescript all around, unfortunately. leaves
are slightly variegated mid-green & become darker as they get older. oval,
2-4cm long. the mats of root are perhaps 20-30cm round, and the clumps seem
to come 30-40cm apart, grow about 20cm high at most in the sun (but longer
in the shade), with numerous shoots in a clump. it's like a series of little
tiny bushes iyswim. the root mats are perhaps 10cm deep & DO come out nicely
as a lump unless one's husband has been stuffing about with the garden bed &
made a real mess & broken them up (sigh).

i feel the plant has enough structure that letting it grow & then zeroing
would work. but similarly, if i let it go again, digging the mats out might
work better this time too.

but i think i'd really rather pull shoots for a while if it sounds like
_that_ would work :-) i have unfortunately put some other plants in there
now & pulling out root mats would probably disturb them. if i could
anti-photosynthesise them to death it just sounds easier all around to me.
?
kylie