Can any one help I have a large rockery with some lovely alpines and
heathers. I am forever pulling the couch grass out by hand and short
of digging out all my rockery I can not seem to find any chemical to
just kill grass at the shops. All the chemicals in the seem to just
kill anything green or weeds in the lawn. I am looking for something
to be selective just for grass. I dont like using chemicals if I can
help it but it seems the only option?

On 1 Jun, 22:07, platypusgra wrote:
Can any one help I have a large rockery with some lovely alpines and
heathers. I am forever pulling the couch grass out by hand and short
of digging out all my rockery I can not seem to find any chemical to
just kill grass at the shops. All the chemicals in the seem to just
kill anything green or weeds in the lawn. I am looking for something
to be selective just for grass. I dont like using chemicals if I can
help it but it seems the only option?

I'm no expert on rockery - but how did you managed to get couch grass
in there?! Didn't you lay some gravel then your rocks and soil? If it
came with the soil you'd seen it. Are you sure it's couch grass? Can
you send in a picture?

On 2 Jun, 03:29, Anne Jackson wrote:
If it's anything like my couch grass, it probably spread from
next-door's garden... Why would you spread gravel, then rocks
and soil? That doesn't constitute a 'rock garden...

Errr... yep. Gravel and shale is very much the environment for rock
plants. They like lil' crevices to grow in. How on earth the grass
gets in there? You start on your soil, preferably on a slop - at least
that's what I've heard. Then gravel, stones to make a good drainage.
Most rock gardens I've seen are like this. Unless you're my father in
law and on 5sqm you put 4 big rocks amongst some busy lizzy and a
couple of bellis for good measure and say 'that's a rock garden'.
Which it's not, innit ;o)

On 2 Jun, 10:19, Malcolm wrote:
Why do you doubt the identification?

Yeah.

It's not exactly difficult to identify. A common source of couch grass
in borders and rockeries is the
neighbouring lawn as the underground rhizomes can spread several feet.
And how would a layer of gravel under the rocks and soil stop couch
grass invading always assuming the poster actually constructed the
rockery themselves?

Easy tiger. Only a suggestion. Phew .... hot today isn't it?!

There used to be a grass-only weedkiller years ago, but I suspect it has
been withdrawn. Glysophate applied by hand would appear to be the only
method of poisoning it.

[...]

On 2 Jun, 19:04, Malcolm wrote:
On what basis? Why should you doubt the word of the poster?

I don't doubt nobody's word Malcolm. What has gone into you? I think
we ought to just leave it at this.

On 2 Jun, 19:47, Anne Jackson wrote:
I have a rock garden which runs the entire width of my front garden...
all 25' of it.

If I had the room I'd have one )

The only gravel I use is *on top* of the soil, to keep the plants
dry, and deter the slugs. There is nothing whatsoever to stop
couch grass from growing through the entire rock garden, and it DOES!

I didn't specified any order of material use to make a rock garden.
I've never made one. I did say I wasn't an expert. Please you and
Malcolm just say to platypusgra how you manage to get rid of your
couch grass through your respective rockeries and just ignore me.

Tonight it's so warm - we've got all the doors and windows open here!

On 2 Jun, 23:46, Anne Jackson wrote:
It has been 'comfortable' here today... just warm enough to be
pleasant, but not too much so, which was fine as I had to back-fill
my new wall, built where one shed used to be... it looks impressive,
with just the granite 'causies' showing.
Now all I have to do is await the delivery of my new shed, empty
another of the old sheds and demolish it in time for the delivery
of my new summer chalet at the end of the month.
Just to fill in the odd hour or two when I'm not 'taking care of'
the ten houses that I look after, I have to plan an advertising
campaign for my new business ventures... life is many things, but
never boring... Oh! I forgot to mention the 40 or so alpines
that I have to find room for, in the rock garden...which sort of
brings us back to where we started!

Indeedee. What are these '10 houses' you're looking after? Rockery
seems impressive. Any chance of photos? Where on earth are you?!

Then next month I have a third shed to demolish, another wall to build
(being on the side of hill has its disadvantages!) then I can make
a space to move the greenhouse to... I wonder if any of my grandsons
want to earn some extra pocket money...? g

God ... I'm tired just to read you!! It's wonderful though, innit ))
I wonder however if I will ever have *that* much space for my
grandsons. What kind of wall do you built - dry wall? What stones ...
bricks? Tell us more!!!

On Jun 1, 10:07 pm, platypusgra wrote:
Can any one help I have a large rockery with some lovely alpines and
heathers. I am forever pulling the couch grass out by hand and short
of digging out all my rockery I can not seem to find any chemical to
just kill grass at the shops. All the chemicals in the seem to just
kill anything green or weeds in the lawn. I am looking for something
to be selective just for grass. I dont like using chemicals if I can
help it but it seems the only option?

Sometimes, as with couch grass, only chemicals will get rid of it.
You can pull it out forever, but it will return. Let the couch grow
so that you can hold quite a bit in a gloved hand on which you have
smeared glycohwhasit.

Alternatively, still wearing plastic gloves or surgeons gloves, push
the couch grass into a sandwich bag in which you have poured just a
teaspoon of the glycho mixture, twist the bag and tie up with the
wires supplied. This will kill the counch grass right back to the
root, it will not come back although, of course, new growth can come
in from surrounding areas but I got rid of it from a rockery in just
one application. The entire rockery looked a bit daft for a couple of
weeks with all these bags, but it did the trick and it will also work
as well with bindweed and ground elder.

Judith

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jun 1, 10:07 pm, platypusgra wrote:
Can any one help I have a large rockery with some lovely alpines and
heathers. I am forever pulling the couch grass out by hand and short
of digging out all my rockery I can not seem to find any chemical to
just kill grass at the shops. All the chemicals in the seem to just
kill anything green or weeds in the lawn. I am looking for something
to be selective just for grass. I dont like using chemicals if I can
help it but it seems the only option?

Sometimes, as with couch grass, only chemicals will get rid of it.
You can pull it out forever, but it will return. Let the couch grow
so that you can hold quite a bit in a gloved hand on which you have
smeared glycohwhasit.

A similar method: wear disposible plastic/latex gloves *inside* a cheap
pair of cotton gloves soaked in glyphosate. That way you can grab lots more
weeds and smear them before having to "re-wet".
Graham

Only one way with a rockery I think and thats clear the whole patch of perennial weeds etc and lay down some landscape cloth over the area and cover with gravel, shale etc. When planting, cut a cross thro the matting and plant in the hole.

The spreading plants will root through the cloth and the large alpines will have room to expand due to the 'cross' cut.

This keeps any couch and dandi's from emerging and the annual weeds are easily removed as they have their feet only in the gravel. Rockery can then last for many years without that much attention.

In article XRH8i.263546$DE1.146722@pd7urf2no, graham
writes
A similar method: wear disposible plastic/latex gloves *inside* a cheap
pair of cotton gloves soaked in glyphosate. That way you can grab lots more
weeds and smear them before having to "re-wet".
Graham



That's even better than my patented method! It would also save drips.
Thanks Graham

On Jun 5, 1:15 pm, Judith Lea wrote:
In article XRH8i.263546$DE1.146722@pd7urf2no, graham
writes

A similar method: wear disposible plastic/latex gloves *inside* a cheap
pair of cotton gloves soaked in glyphosate. That way you can grab lots more
weeds and smear them before having to "re-wet".
Graham

That's even better than my patented method! It would also save drips.
Thanks Graham


I gather up the clump by twisting it then put an old loo roll or piece
of pipe over then give it a couple of squirts. then I either remove
or leave it in place depending on what's surrounding it.

"Judith Lea" wrote in message
...
In article XRH8i.263546$DE1.146722@pd7urf2no, graham
writes
A similar method: wear disposible plastic/latex gloves *inside* a cheap
pair of cotton gloves soaked in glyphosate. That way you can grab lots
more
weeds and smear them before having to "re-wet".
Graham



That's even better than my patented method! It would also save drips.
Thanks Graham

Now if only I could kill the crab grass that infests the lawn. There's just
too much of it to use the above method.
Graham

Hello,
Sethoxydim is a grass killer for use among shrubs etc, may be sprayed, not
readily available in UK.
N



"Judith Lea" wrote in message
...
In article XRH8i.263546$DE1.146722@pd7urf2no, graham
writes
A similar method: wear disposible plastic/latex gloves *inside* a cheap
pair of cotton gloves soaked in glyphosate. That way you can grab lots
more
weeds and smear them before having to "re-wet".
Graham



That's even better than my patented method! It would also save drips.
Thanks Graham

On Jun 7, 8:21 pm, "Neilng" wrote:
Hello,
Sethoxydim is a grass killer for use among shrubs etc, may be sprayed, not
readily available in UK.

I have heard something about this some time ago and I seem to recall
that it was considered carcinogenic??? I can't remember any more
about it and I think, not sure though, that it was withdrawn from
agricultural use? Perhaps you know more than me on this.

Judith