I have a large number of these things in my vegetable patch, and most are in
the middle of the strawberry bed, so I cannot dig them out at the moment.

If I just cut off the flowers will that put a stop to new ones appearing?

Alan

In message , Alan Holmes
writes

I have a large number of these things in my vegetable patch, and most are in
the middle of the strawberry bed, so I cannot dig them out at the moment.

If I just cut off the flowers will that put a stop to new ones appearing?

Alan


1) The commoner buttercup species are perennial, so cutting off the
flowers still leaves you with the old one.

2) The creeping buttercup, Ranunculus repens, also spreads by stolons.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

I have a large number of these things in my vegetable patch, and most are
in the middle of the strawberry bed, so I cannot dig them out at the
moment.

If I just cut off the flowers will that put a stop to new ones appearing?

Alan

Fraid not. They spread by underground runners.

Steve

Alan Holmes writes

I have a large number of these things in my vegetable patch, and most are in
the middle of the strawberry bed, so I cannot dig them out at the moment.

If I just cut off the flowers will that put a stop to new ones appearing?

Depends. At least one species spreads mainly by creeping stems, and it's
most likely that's what you've got. I wouldn't bother to cut off the
flowers, I don't think it'll make any difference.

As they grow tall keep pulling off the tops so they're not giving too
much competition to the strawberries. Once the strawberries are over,
dig up the whole patch, separate the strawberries from the buttercups,
and just replant the strawberries.
--
Kay

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

I have a large number of these things in my vegetable patch, and
most are in
the middle of the strawberry bed, so I cannot dig them out at the
moment.

If I just cut off the flowers will that put a stop to new ones
appearing?

Alan

Are they 'Creeping buttercup',
'Bulbous buttercup',
or 'Meadow buttercup' ?

When you find out, the treatment for all three is the same.
Weed them out.

Why can't you weed them out of the strawberry bed?
If the strawberry plants are so close together that you can't put a
foot in there, then the strawberry plants are too close together.
Why, suddenly, have the buttercups got to come out now?
Can't it wait till the strawberries have been harvested?
True, the Creeping buttercups will have sent out runners by then but
they are not the most difficult things in the world to sort out.
If you can cut off flowers you can pull out the plants.

--
ned

"K" wrote in message
...
Alan Holmes writes

I have a large number of these things in my vegetable patch, and most are
in
the middle of the strawberry bed, so I cannot dig them out at the moment.

If I just cut off the flowers will that put a stop to new ones appearing?

Depends. At least one species spreads mainly by creeping stems, and it's
most likely that's what you've got. I wouldn't bother to cut off the
flowers, I don't think it'll make any difference.

As they grow tall keep pulling off the tops so they're not giving too much
competition to the strawberries. Once the strawberries are over, dig up
the whole patch, separate the strawberries from the buttercups, and just
replant the strawberries.

Thanks to all for your help.

I'll wait until the strawberries have finished and dig the whole patch.

Alan

--
Kay

Perennial buttercups have a similar root system to strawberries and can be
difficult to separate.
A screw type cultivator rather than a fork helps when you are trying to
separate valuable plants and weeds, especially when the roots-as in the case
of the strawberry are in a clump under the plant.
regards
David T
"ned" wrote in message
...

"Alan Holmes" wrote in message
...

I have a large number of these things in my vegetable patch, and
most are in
the middle of the strawberry bed, so I cannot dig them out at the
moment.

If I just cut off the flowers will that put a stop to new ones
appearing?

Alan

Are they 'Creeping buttercup',
'Bulbous buttercup',
or 'Meadow buttercup' ?

When you find out, the treatment for all three is the same.
Weed them out.

Why can't you weed them out of the strawberry bed?
If the strawberry plants are so close together that you can't put a
foot in there, then the strawberry plants are too close together.
Why, suddenly, have the buttercups got to come out now?
Can't it wait till the strawberries have been harvested?
True, the Creeping buttercups will have sent out runners by then but
they are not the most difficult things in the world to sort out.
If you can cut off flowers you can pull out the plants.

--
ned