When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

On Jan 28, 3:47*pm, "Jo" wrote:
When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. *They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. *The area was cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in the
corner. *I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to one
area? *It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

Blue bells are an increasingly rare wild flower. You should welcome
them.

On 28/01/2011 18:31, harry wrote:
On Jan 28, 3:47 pm, wrote:
When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

Blue bells are an increasingly rare wild flower. You should welcome
them.

That's if they are our bluebells, and not the Spanish ones or a hybrid.

--

Jeff

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-28 15:47:16 +0000, "Jo" said:

When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space
and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was
cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and
have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in
the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to
one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

If they're English bluebells, dig them up and sell them.
--
Sacha

They are not likely to be, though, are they?

Tina

On Sat, 29 Jan 2011 18:34:15 -0000, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-28 15:47:16 +0000, "Jo" said:

When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space
and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was
cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and
have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in
the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to
one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

If they're English bluebells, dig them up and sell them.
--
Sacha

They are not likely to be, though, are they?

Tina

On the face of it, they are more likely to be the dreaded Spanish
variety but, on the other hand, if soil was shifted around as part of
a redesign then the smallest of bulbils, not to mention seed, could
have been spread around the place. Have you noticed, by the way, how
some new editions of books seem to have given up the fight in the
battle between the native and invader and simply talk about the "most
common variety" ...?

But from the OP's perspective, if they are the Spanish type, if a
small clump is left then that clump will quickly expand. If that's the
case I would look to kill them off completely and then plant some
properly sourced native stock. Chop the leaves down to ground level -
that's *really* ground level, not half an inch above - quickly to
deprive the bulbs of food or, if there's a decent clump, dig it up as
soon as the leaves appear. I found, when killing an invading patch
from next door a few years ago, that it was better to pull the leaves
(which sometimes pulled the bulb as well) as they would break off
below soil level.

Jake

"Jake" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 Jan 2011 18:34:15 -0000, "Christina Websell"
wrote:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-28 15:47:16 +0000, "Jo" said:

When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space
and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was
cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and
have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in
the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to
one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a
garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

If they're English bluebells, dig them up and sell them.
--
Sacha

They are not likely to be, though, are they?

Tina

On the face of it, they are more likely to be the dreaded Spanish
variety but, on the other hand, if soil was shifted around as part of
a redesign then the smallest of bulbils, not to mention seed, could
have been spread around the place. Have you noticed, by the way, how
some new editions of books seem to have given up the fight in the
battle between the native and invader and simply talk about the "most
common variety" ...?

But from the OP's perspective, if they are the Spanish type, if a
small clump is left then that clump will quickly expand. If that's the
case I would look to kill them off completely and then plant some
properly sourced native stock. Chop the leaves down to ground level -
that's *really* ground level, not half an inch above - quickly to
deprive the bulbs of food or, if there's a decent clump, dig it up as
soon as the leaves appear. I found, when killing an invading patch
from next door a few years ago, that it was better to pull the leaves
(which sometimes pulled the bulb as well) as they would break off
below soil level.

Jake

and don't chuck then in the compost heap :-((

They survive from up to 5/6 feet down :-((

Mike


--

....................................
Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out alive
....................................

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-29 18:34:15 +0000, "Christina Websell"
said:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-28 15:47:16 +0000, "Jo" said:

When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space
and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was
cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and
have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in
the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to
one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a
garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

If they're English bluebells, dig them up and sell them.
--
Sacha

They are not likely to be, though, are they?

Tina

Why not? I'm puzzled.
--
Because most bluebells in gardens are of the Spanish variety - my garden is
infested with them.

I have this spinney at the bottom of my garden that I call my "wood" It's
only 30/40 metres but I've been planting it with native woodland plants for
many years and I cannot get "real " bluebells in there until I have no
Spanish that were planted by a previous occupant.

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-29 23:52:48 +0000, "Christina Websell"
said:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-29 18:34:15 +0000, "Christina Websell"
said:


"Sacha" wrote in message

Why not? I'm puzzled.
--
Because most bluebells in gardens are of the Spanish variety - my garden
is
infested with them.

I have this spinney at the bottom of my garden that I call my "wood"
It's
only 30/40 metres but I've been planting it with native woodland plants
for
many years and I cannot get "real " bluebells in there until I have no
Spanish that were planted by a previous occupant.

I see. We have both, which is why I asked. We hoick out the Spanish kind
and leave the English ones alone.

I hoick them out but cannot seem to get rid of them and until I do I won't
put the proper ones in.

secret my foreign friend insisted on digging up some bluebells in the wild
while I sat on a log telling her not to and how illegal it was and sweating
in case the bluebell police came..
She took them home, but they did not survive their winter. Dammit - it
would have been worth it if they had.
Tina

harry wrote:
On Jan 28, 3:47 pm, "Jo" wrote:
When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!

Blue bells are an increasingly rare wild flower. You should welcome
them.

And they won't mind if you plant things with them. I can't see the
problem, unless - well - I can't see the problem.

Tell you what, if you're not too far away I'll com and dig them up for
you - and plant them on my plot...

--
Rusty

Christina Websell wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-29 18:34:15 +0000, "Christina Websell"
said:

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-01-28 15:47:16 +0000, "Jo" said:

When I moved house last year one corner of my new garden was awash with
bluebells. They looked very pretty but took up a huge amount of space
and
seemed to be marching up the garden as time went on. The area was
cleared
as part of a garden redesign but they have now reappeared in force and
have
spread all over the beds I cleared last year as well as reappearing in
the
corner. I had dug deep and removed as many of the bulbs as I could.
How else can I rid my garden of these plants or at least limit them to
one
area? It's a shame to have to remove them all, but I can't have a
garden
full of bluebells and nothing else!
If they're English bluebells, dig them up and sell them.
--
Sacha
They are not likely to be, though, are they?

Tina
Why not? I'm puzzled.
--
Because most bluebells in gardens are of the Spanish variety - my garden is
infested with them.

I have this spinney at the bottom of my garden that I call my "wood" It's
only 30/40 metres but I've been planting it with native woodland plants for
many years and I cannot get "real " bluebells in there until I have no
Spanish that were planted by a previous occupant.

Sorry to suggest it, but glyphosate...

And Sainsbury's may still have some boxes of non-scripta if you hurry -
oh, and snakeshead lilies (fritillaries)

--
Rusty

In article ,
Mike Lyle wrote:

English bluebells are a big responsibility: the Brit Isles have most
of the world population, and they are vulnerable to hybridisation.

Well, yes and no. They are merely a subspecies, with only 11,000
years of difference from the Spanish. In terms of importance,
that is negligible on a global scale - it's primarily a concern to
parochial English botanists.

The same applies to several other endemic British species, like
the red grouse. I agree that we should avoid destroying them, but
we shouldn't start confusing molehills with mountains.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:19:31 +0000, Sacha wrote:

On 2011-01-30 00:45:45 +0000, "Christina Websell"
said:
[...]

secret my foreign friend insisted on digging up some bluebells in the wild
while I sat on a log telling her not to and how illegal it was and sweating
in case the bluebell police came..
She took them home, but they did not survive their winter. Dammit - it
would have been worth it if they had.
Tina

It's extraordinary to me to think of bluebells as being tender but of
course, why not?! I hope our 'good' ones have survived our winter
here.

I wonder where the failed introduction took place. They're fully hardy
in our terms, and an American site even claims they withstand Zone 4
temps, in the minus thirties C. They do detest being out of the
ground, though, as the "bulbs" have no protective tunic: I wonder if
these ones were badly weakened by being out of the soil, or some other
factor didn't suit them.

English bluebells are a big responsibility: the Brit Isles have most
of the world population, and they are vulnerable to hybridisation.

--
Mike.

In article ,
Jake wrote:

Perhaps the issue is that the spanish bluebell is aggressive and could
probably satisfy the definition of invasive before too long. Foreign
introductions usually turn out to be a mistake, not just in the UK of
course - Australia's battling cane toads and even camels! Here the
grey squirrel's killing off the red, well at least the virus it
carries is.

Er, no. It isn't significantly more invasive than the native one.
It is a bit, but not enough to get excited about.

Let's not forget that gardeners introduced Japanese Knotweed,
Hilalayan Balsam, the so-called "Oxford Ragwort" and others. OK, maybe
the last was introduced by botanists not gardeners.

Only the first is a serious problem. Himalayan balsam is very
invasive, but does not form monocultures by excluding all other
plants. And Oxford ragwort isn't a problem at all.

The point is that almost all of our ecology is new - 11,000 years.
We probably have the ecology that is most resistant to alien
species of anywhere on earth.

I'm worried about the "being" that's being released to combat
knotweed. If the experiment succeeds knotweed will presumably cease to
be a problem but then a horde of "beings" will look for an alternative
food source. It's called evolution I think.

They have been and are testing for that. Species-specific parasites
very rarely behave as you say.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:41:12 +0000 (GMT), wrote:

In article ,
Mike Lyle wrote:

English bluebells are a big responsibility: the Brit Isles have most
of the world population, and they are vulnerable to hybridisation.

Well, yes and no. They are merely a subspecies, with only 11,000
years of difference from the Spanish. In terms of importance,
that is negligible on a global scale - it's primarily a concern to
parochial English botanists.

The same applies to several other endemic British species, like
the red grouse. I agree that we should avoid destroying them, but
we shouldn't start confusing molehills with mountains.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Perhaps the issue is that the spanish bluebell is aggressive and could
probably satisfy the definition of invasive before too long. Foreign
introductions usually turn out to be a mistake, not just in the UK of
course - Australia's battling cane toads and even camels! Here the
grey squirrel's killing off the red, well at least the virus it
carries is.

Let's not forget that gardeners introduced Japanese Knotweed,
Hilalayan Balsam, the so-called "Oxford Ragwort" and others. OK, maybe
the last was introduced by botanists not gardeners.

I'm worried about the "being" that's being released to combat
knotweed. If the experiment succeeds knotweed will presumably cease to
be a problem but then a horde of "beings" will look for an alternative
food source. It's called evolution I think.

Cheers
Jake

wrote in message ...
we shouldn't start confusing molehills with mountains.


You haven't seen the molehills around here :-}

--
Kathy