Hi

A couple of newbie questions re Ground Elder which is taking over my
shrub beds.

Am I right in assuming that this is self-seeding from the substantial
elder trees in my garden? Like it's not a seperate plant or anything?

To kill it off is it enough to break it off at ground level or is the
root system the type that will keep send up new leaves the way
dandelions do? If this is the case I take it spraying it with
weedkiller (carefully to avoid nuking my shrubs) would be a reasonable
solution?

TIA for any advice.

MA

On 02/07/2010 14:44, louisxiv wrote:
Hi

A couple of newbie questions re Ground Elder which is taking over my
shrub beds.

Entirely different plant introduced by the Romans as a cure for gout.

Am I right in assuming that this is self-seeding from the substantial
elder trees in my garden? Like it's not a seperate plant or anything?

Completely different. Ground elder has vaguely similar leaves but seldom
gets more than a foot high.

To kill it off is it enough to break it off at ground level or is the
root system the type that will keep send up new leaves the way
dandelions do? If this is the case I take it spraying it with weedkiller
(carefully to avoid nuking my shrubs) would be a reasonable solution?

Best bet is use glyphosate slightly over diluted to give it time to act
deeper underground. Just be careful not to hit green plant material of
shrubs you like. And if you do then cut off the affected bit(s).

If you can dig out the brittle white roots as well then that speeds
things up. I generally hit it whenever I have any kind of weedkiller
going (except pathclear which can damage herbacious perennials).

It regrows from the smallest pieces so be thorough!

TIA for any advice.

Never allow its new leaves to see the light without spraying them. A
combined chemical and physical attack is the fastest solution.

Regular close mowing will remove it from a lawn. Although a broadleaf
herbicide will speed things up.

Regards,
Martin Brown

On Fri, 2 Jul 2010 14:44:22 +0100, louisxiv wrote:

To kill it off is it enough to break it off at ground level or is the
root system the type that will keep send up new leaves the way
dandelions do?

It will regrow from any bit of root left in the ground, so digging it
out isn't normally succesful, neither is just removing the greenery
unless you are really persistent about removal of all new growth.

Weedkiller will get it, eventually. We have a some in one bed that is
sprayed every year, from being the dominant plant in the bed a couple
of years ago it's now just a few leaves in a much smaller area.

Pretty sure ground elder is not related to the elder tree family.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Ground elder is a plant in the same family as carrots, parsnips and parsley. Elder (the tree) is in a totally different family. Think of it as like dog and dogfish.

Elder trees do seed, but if you have a dense carpet, it's more likely to be ground elder. If the dense carpet is flowering, then it's certainly ground elder, as eldeer seedling won't flower until they have reached bush size.

Ground elder grows from a mass of creeping roots a few inches below the surface. It is possible to get rid of ground elder by digging out all the roots, then for the next couple of years digging up all the bits that you have missed.

Alternatively, you can use weedkiller, but it may take more than one application and, since the ground elder is growing among shrubs, you will have to apply it carefully in a way that doesn't get any weedkiller on the shrubs.

"Martin Brown" wrote in message
...

Best bet is use glyphosate slightly over diluted to give it time to act
deeper underground. Just be careful not to hit green plant material of
shrubs you like. And if you do then cut off the affected bit(s).

It is usually not necessary to cut off a piece of the plant that has been
sprayed by mistake. Without delay the affected bit should be washed with
plenty of water.

--

Jeff

In message o.uk, Dave
Liquorice writes
On Fri, 2 Jul 2010 14:44:22 +0100, louisxiv wrote:

To kill it off is it enough to break it off at ground level or is the
root system the type that will keep send up new leaves the way
dandelions do?

It will regrow from any bit of root left in the ground, so digging it
out isn't normally succesful, neither is just removing the greenery
unless you are really persistent about removal of all new growth.

Weedkiller will get it, eventually. We have a some in one bed that is
sprayed every year, from being the dominant plant in the bed a couple
of years ago it's now just a few leaves in a much smaller area.

Pretty sure ground elder is not related to the elder tree family.


Ground elder is an umbellifer (that is related to cow parsley, hogweed
and hemlock, inter alia). Nowadays elder is in Adoxaceae (with moschatel
and viburnum). Both are campanulids, but that's a pretty large group of
plants (also includes holly, ivy, bellflowers, teasel and daisies, inter
alia).
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

[quote='louisxiv[_3_];892892']Hi

A couple of newbie questions re Ground Elder which is taking over my
shrub beds.

----
Ground elder, well described above is a pernicious weed the roots of which travel into my garden from next door (under a wall). It is easy enough to prevent flowers forming but it is the roots that cause the main spread. Where it is easy to do so I use weed-killer but generally a hoeing reduces its strength and it can be overcome by other fast-growing, ground cover plants. I burn all the parts of the plant that I clear out.

In my woodland garden it has competition from wild garlic and from Tuberous Comfrey - Symphytum tuberosum (though that plant also is very invasive).

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
[...]

Ground elder is an umbellifer (that is related to cow parsley, hogweed
and hemlock, inter alia). Nowadays elder is in Adoxaceae (with
moschatel and viburnum). Both are campanulids, but that's a pretty
large group of plants (also includes holly, ivy, bellflowers, teasel
and daisies, inter alia).

Startlingly, there's actually a cultivated variety: it's variegated, and
not far from here there's a small border full of it...and I do mean
/full/, which shouldn't surprise anybody. Annoyingly, I have to admit it
looks rather nice. There's also a front garden in which the owner has
clearly given up the unequal struggle and allowed the plain type to take
over: the only surviving competitors are a few wispy grasses.

--
Mike.

In message , Mike Lyle
writes
Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:
[...]

Ground elder is an umbellifer (that is related to cow parsley, hogweed
and hemlock, inter alia). Nowadays elder is in Adoxaceae (with
moschatel and viburnum). Both are campanulids, but that's a pretty
large group of plants (also includes holly, ivy, bellflowers, teasel
and daisies, inter alia).

Startlingly, there's actually a cultivated variety: it's variegated, and
not far from here there's a small border full of it...and I do mean
/full/, which shouldn't surprise anybody. Annoyingly, I have to admit it
looks rather nice. There's also a front garden in which the owner has
clearly given up the unequal struggle and allowed the plain type to take
over: the only surviving competitors are a few wispy grasses.


Supposedly the variegated form is much less aggressive than the wild
type, presumably due to lower rate of photosynthesis.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

[quote='Dave Liquorice[_2_];892911']
It will regrow from any bit of root left in the ground, so digging it
out isn't normally succesful,QUOTE]
I've been very successful at substantially reducing the quantity of ground elder in my garden to nearly nothing just by digging it out wherever I find it. Just so long as you go for it as soon as it appears.

On 2010-07-02 14:44:22 +0100, louisxiv said:

Hi

A couple of newbie questions re Ground Elder which is taking over my
shrub beds.

Am I right in assuming that this is self-seeding from the substantial
elder trees in my garden? Like it's not a seperate plant or anything?

To kill it off is it enough to break it off at ground level or is the
root system the type that will keep send up new leaves the way
dandelions do? If this is the case I take it spraying it with
weedkiller (carefully to avoid nuking my shrubs) would be a reasonable
solution?

TIA for any advice.

MA

Thanks everyone.

In article , lid
writes
Hi

A couple of newbie questions re Ground Elder which is taking over my
shrub beds.

Am I right in assuming that this is self-seeding from the substantial
elder trees in my garden? Like it's not a seperate plant or anything?

No you are wrong. Ground elder is not the same as bush elder, which can
also be a pest.

I have a lot of ground elder in my garden and I was told that it was
grown in Victorian times as a herb. This is confirmed at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-elder. I have not tried using it
for this purpose.

To kill it off is it enough to break it off at ground level or is the
root system the type that will keep send up new leaves the way
dandelions do? If this is the case I take it spraying it with
weedkiller (carefully to avoid nuking my shrubs) would be a reasonable
solution?

You will have to dig out the roots to really get rid of it. Perhaps you
would like to try the herb experiment first!

Roy.
--
Roy Bailey
West Berkshire.