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Montbretia (crocosmia?) gone mad!
Anyone got any tried and tested methods to rid an area off these plants and corms please? All around tree and shrub/hedging too. Lovely orange flowers but now just a jungle and invasive. My idea was to do the 'just dig them all out' method. Can there be any other way? Prob not. Just wanna be sure they don't return cos I know how persistent these wee fellas can be!! Thanks anybody.
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Montbretia (crocosmia?) gone mad!
Terry Deans wrote:
Anyone got any tried and tested methods to rid an area off these plants and corms please? All around tree and shrub/hedging too. Lovely orange flowers but now just a jungle and invasive. My idea was to do the 'just dig them all out' method. Can there be any other way? Prob not. Just wanna be sure they don't return cos I know how persistent these wee fellas can be!! Thanks anybody. keep chopping the stalks off as they appear (mow them if it is a big enough area). they'll give up eventually. songbird |
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Montbretia (crocosmia?) gone mad!
On 06/01/2012 18:42, Terry Deans wrote:
Anyone got any tried and tested methods to rid an area off these plants and corms please? All around tree and shrub/hedging too. Lovely orange flowers but now just a jungle and invasive. My idea was to do the 'just dig them all out' method. Can there be any other way? Prob not. Just wanna be sure they don't return cos I know how persistent these wee fellas can be!! Thanks anybody. Although it looks attractive, crocosmia is an invasive weed once it gets going. It spreads by its corms underground and by the cormlets above ground There are some cultivars which are better behaved, I am led to believe (but I am staying clear of crocosmia!). You cannot dig them out. The corms break up underground and you may end up with an even worse problem (muscari are similar)! Spray the plants with glyphosate at the recommended strength. Wait two weeks and spray them again. After another week they should be showing signs of yellowing. If any aren't, spray them again. Whenever new green growth appears respray. After 6 months or so you should be free of the plants, but there may be some hangers on, so treat these as soon as you see them. Once the glyphosate has done its thing, there is no need to dig what's left out. -- Jeff |
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Great answer. I knew it would be a challenge.I know from experience that they are stubborn survivors if you want to clear them. A friend wants me to clear them out of a shrub and tree/hedged border in order to refresh with new plants. It's a area totaling about 70m2. I was a little fearful of the poisoning approach due to the proximity of the other remaining shrubs etc.They may just have to come out too, and temporarily re-located, to make the 'killing' effective as the crocosmia are growing in and amongst them. Could be a long term project if they are serious and determined enough to go through with it. So i'll suggest Plan B now! regards Terry |
Montbretia (crocosmia?) gone mad!
On 12/01/2012 02:09, Terry Deans wrote:
'Jeff Layman[_2_ Wrote: ;946967']On 06/01/2012 18:42, Terry Deans wrote:- Anyone got any tried and tested methods to rid an area off these plants and corms please? All around tree and shrub/hedging too. Lovely orange flowers but now just a jungle and invasive. My idea was to do the 'just dig them all out' method. Can there be any other way? Prob not. Just wanna be sure they don't return cos I know how persistent these wee fellas can be!! Thanks anybody.- Although it looks attractive, crocosmia is an invasive weed once it gets going. It spreads by its corms underground and by the cormlets above ground There are some cultivars which are better behaved, I am led to believe (but I am staying clear of crocosmia!). You cannot dig them out. The corms break up underground and you may end up with an even worse problem (muscari are similar)! Spray the plants with glyphosate at the recommended strength. Wait two weeks and spray them again. After another week they should be showing signs of yellowing. If any aren't, spray them again. Whenever new green growth appears respray. After 6 months or so you should be free of the plants, but there may be some hangers on, so treat these as soon as you see them. Once the glyphosate has done its thing, there is no need to dig what's left out. -- Jeff Thanks Jeff, Great answer. I knew it would be a challenge.I know from experience that they are stubborn survivors if you want to clear them. A friend wants me to clear them out of a shrub and tree/hedged border in order to refresh with new plants. It's a area totaling about 70m2. I was a little fearful of the poisoning approach due to the proximity of the other remaining shrubs etc.They may just have to come out too, and temporarily re-located, to make the 'killing' effective as the crocosmia are growing in and amongst them. That /is/ a large area! Would it be possible to wrap the lower parts of any evergreen shrubs in polythene (or even clingfilm) to protect them when you spray? Or, failing that - and although it might look unsightly - prune the lower 50cm or so of the shrubs so that the bottom part is bare. Either should be enough to allow you to spray the crocosmia without fear of damaging the shrubs through glyphosate absorption via the leaves. The trouble with temporary relocation is that you are quite likely to carry bits of crocosmia root over to the new site, which will just get transferred back when you replant the shrubs! And you might have introduced it to the relocation site! Not good... Could be a long term project if they are serious and determined enough to go through with it. So i'll suggest Plan B now! Good luck. You are going to need it. -- Jeff |
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I was also interested in which part of the country you were from. I work in garden maintenance in Cornwall, and these pesky plants are the bane of my life, everybody here hates them with a passion and they are referred to as Cornish Weed. I have had little or no no success with poisons as this inly kills off the leaf and the first couple of corms in the rhyzome string. Unfortunately short of complete soil removal you will never completely get rid of these little blighters. What we tend to do is remove as many corms from the ground as possible, and believe me they can go deep, 2-3 weeks later do the same thing again, this will be your task for life!!!!. Do not put the waste on your compost heap for obvious reasons. LOL. Either allow them to dry out on an impervious mat, and then burn them or put them in a black bin bag to go with your normal rubbish. Sorry to sound so gloomy but you can not believe how much I hate this plant. Rob. |
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