Celandines!
 

Any tips on getting rid of celandines? (Lesser, Ficaria verna, thank
you Wikipedia)

There's nothing nicer than seeing the first celandines giving a splash
of bright yellow here and there in early Spring, _in the right place_.

However for the last 2-3 years in our garden they have become so
proliferous that they are a real pest: right now, the sad, flat, heavy
winter-worn soil is *carpeted* with celandine plants, in every part of
the garden.

I've (even) thought of weedkiller, but that would hit all the incipient
plants that have temporarily been thrust aside by the celandines.

I've also thought of just leaving them, because they disappear without
trace [above soil] as Spring gets under way. But I'm concerned that
these uncouth little bruisers might be denaturing the soil, in their
profusion.

Any words of advice, or sympathy, welcomed.

Cheers
John
(Tynedale, Northumberland)

Celandines!
 

On 26/02/2021 17:16, Another John wrote:
Any tips on getting rid of celandines? (Lesser, Ficaria verna, thank
you Wikipedia)

There's nothing nicer than seeing the first celandines giving a splash
of bright yellow here and there in early Spring, _in the right place_.

However for the last 2-3 years in our garden they have become so
proliferous that they are a real pest: right now, the sad, flat, heavy
winter-worn soil is *carpeted* with celandine plants, in every part of
the garden.

I've (even) thought of weedkiller, but that would hit all the incipient
plants that have temporarily been thrust aside by the celandines.


Not if you use glyphosate
That ONLY hits stuff that has green leaf on it. Anything dormant will
not be affected




--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

Celandines!
 

In article ,
Chris Hogg wrote:


Any tips on getting rid of celandines? (Lesser, Ficaria verna, thank
you Wikipedia)
....

I've also thought of just leaving them, because they disappear without
trace [above soil] as Spring gets under way. But I'm concerned that
these uncouth little bruisers might be denaturing the soil, in their
profusion.
....

Like you said, just leave them and enjoy them, and they do disappear
quite quickly. I used to worry about them, but now I just leave them.
They won't 'denature the soil', whatever you mean by that.

Yeah sorry, I just threw in the first word that came into my head. What
I mean is that the soil is now livening up - as the temperatures rise,
the sun comes out, the animal life starts to move through it, the damp
drains away ... but a celandine is more soggy bulb than aerated root, so
thousands of them (and their leaves covering the surface), might hamper
that natural rejuvenation.

But yeah: your endorsement is very attractive Chris :-)

John

Celandines!
 

In message
, Another
John writes

There's nothing nicer than seeing the first celandines giving a splash
of bright yellow here and there in early Spring, _in the right place_.

Thank you! I have them in my garden, and didn't know what they were
until Googling celandines. Plenty flowering well, now that the recent
snow has finally gone, and always the first flowers of spring, at least
in my garden. Snowdrops are out nearby, and croci on the cusp of
flowering.

(Aberdeenshire)
--
Graeme

Celandines!
 

On 26/02/2021 17:16, Another John wrote:
Any tips on getting rid of celandines? (Lesser, Ficaria verna, thank
you Wikipedia)

There's nothing nicer than seeing the first celandines giving a splash
of bright yellow here and there in early Spring, _in the right place_.

However for the last 2-3 years in our garden they have become so
proliferous that they are a real pest: right now, the sad, flat, heavy
winter-worn soil is *carpeted* with celandine plants, in every part of
the garden.

I've (even) thought of weedkiller, but that would hit all the incipient
plants that have temporarily been thrust aside by the celandines.

I've also thought of just leaving them, because they disappear without
trace [above soil] as Spring gets under way. But I'm concerned that
these uncouth little bruisers might be denaturing the soil, in their
profusion.

Any words of advice, or sympathy, welcomed.

Cheers
John
(Tynedale, Northumberland)


Had to smile, they are the bane of our lives here, my wife declares war
and weeds them out after wet weather at this time of year as the tubers
stay attached however I am then required to get rid of them by burning!
I prefer to use a small hand sprayer and glysophate. But those that
escape the onslaught do look nice.

I think the main problem is that when I see them in the local woodlands
they are cute little plants, here they are massive easily making a foot
in height and they do tend to outcompete all other small plants

--
Charlie Pridham
Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk

Celandines!
 

In article ,
Charlie Pridham wrote:

Had to smile, they are the bane of our lives here, my wife declares war
and weeds them out after wet weather at this time of year as the tubers
stay attached however I am then required to get rid of them by burning!
I prefer to use a small hand sprayer and glysophate. But those that
escape the onslaught do look nice.

I think the main problem is that when I see them in the local woodlands
they are cute little plants, here they are massive easily making a foot
in height and they do tend to outcompete all other small plants

Here, they rarely get above 6" and are usually less, but Cambridge has
a different climate. They are easy enough to reduce by hand digging,
but almost impossible to eliminate.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Celandines!
 

On 26/02/2021 17:16, Another John wrote:
Any tips on getting rid of celandines? (Lesser, Ficaria verna, thank
you Wikipedia)

There's nothing nicer than seeing the first celandines giving a splash
of bright yellow here and there in early Spring, _in the right place_.

However for the last 2-3 years in our garden they have become so
proliferous that they are a real pest: right now, the sad, flat, heavy
winter-worn soil is *carpeted* with celandine plants, in every part of
the garden.

They like clay. Good news is if they grow well for you then so will
snowdrops, bluebells and aconites.

I've (even) thought of weedkiller, but that would hit all the incipient
plants that have temporarily been thrust aside by the celandines.

I have never known them be a problem. I allow some to survive as wild
flowers in my grassy bank and they are easily controlled by mowing. They
get a free run right to grow now since the daffodils are out.

Bittercress and stickyjack are the annual weeds that most easily runs
away this time of year. Nettles and brambles close behind.

I've also thought of just leaving them, because they disappear without
trace [above soil] as Spring gets under way. But I'm concerned that
these uncouth little bruisers might be denaturing the soil, in their
profusion.

They don't grow all that vigorously and have shallow roots. Nettle and
ground elder are both massively more invasive as is Lily of the Valley.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Celandines!
 

On 28/02/2021 10:20, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sun, 28 Feb 2021 10:18:28 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 28 Feb 2021 09:38:35 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote:
Nettle and ground elder are both massively more invasive as is Lily of the Valley.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Invasive? In my garden? I wish! I love it, but it struggles to stay
alive with me, on heavy loam.

That's not come out right! I was referring to LotV, not nettles or GE!

I'm sure you can have them if you want. :-)

Lily of the Valley is a strange plant that either loves you or hates
you. If the latter, there's nothing you can do to get them established.
If the former, you'll have lots of plants to give to friends! I grow
'Vic Pawlowski's Gold' in a 80 x 80 x30cm container, and it slowly
spreads. Every 2 - 3 years I can dig out a dozen or so plants to pot up
and pass on.

--

Jeff

Celandines!
 

In article ,
Martin Brown wrote:

On 26/02/2021 17:16, Another John wrote:
Any tips on getting rid of celandines? (Lesser, Ficaria verna, thank
you Wikipedia)

There's nothing nicer than seeing the first celandines giving a splash
of bright yellow here and there in early Spring, _in the right place_.

However for the last 2-3 years in our garden they have become so
proliferous that they are a real pest: right now, the sad, flat, heavy
winter-worn soil is *carpeted* with celandine plants, in every part of
the garden.

They like clay. Good news is if they grow well for you then so will
snowdrops, bluebells and aconites.

I've (even) thought of weedkiller, but that would hit all the incipient
plants that have temporarily been thrust aside by the celandines.

I have never known them be a problem. I allow some to survive as wild
flowers in my grassy bank and they are easily controlled by mowing. They
get a free run right to grow now since the daffodils are out.

Bittercress and stickyjack are the annual weeds that most easily runs
away this time of year. Nettles and brambles close behind.

I've also thought of just leaving them, because they disappear without
trace [above soil] as Spring gets under way. But I'm concerned that
these uncouth little bruisers might be denaturing the soil, in their
profusion.

They don't grow all that vigorously and have shallow roots. Nettle and
ground elder are both massively more invasive as is Lily of the Valley.

OP here - thanks Martin, and thanks again to the previous posters: We're
going to leave them be. And we'll be looking with extra vigilance for
the creepers (nettles etc that you mention), which did indeed get away
from us last year, due to insufficient vigilance in these days of Spring.

John

Celandines!
 

On 28/02/2021 21:35, Another John wrote:
And we'll be looking with extra vigilance for
the creepers (nettles etc that you mention), which did indeed get away
from us last year, due to insufficient vigilance in these days of Spring.

Nettles die on mowing, so one method of control is to take scissors or
shears and simply keep cutting them down to ground level.

It is less injurious than pulling the root system up, though that works
as well.

I wish I could get lily of the valley to be a weed. It dies on me :(


--
"And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch".

Gospel of St. Mathew 15:14

Celandines!
 

On 28/02/2021 10:20, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sun, 28 Feb 2021 10:18:28 +0000, Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sun, 28 Feb 2021 09:38:35 +0000, Martin Brown
wrote:
Nettle and ground elder are both massively more invasive as is Lily of the Valley.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Invasive? In my garden? I wish! I love it, but it struggles to stay
alive with me, on heavy loam.

That's not come out right! I was referring to LotV, not nettles or GE!

I confess to being confused. But the only reason I can think of that you
are not having it survive is that the ground dries out completely in
midsummer. I have a variegated form that is less of a brute and it still
grows pretty well in partial shade damp conditions but isn't invasive.

It is one of those plants that either likes your conditions and thrives
or doesn't.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Celandines!
 

On 01/03/2021 08:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/02/2021 21:35, Another John wrote:
Â* And we'll be looking with extra vigilance for
the creepers (nettles etc that you mention), which did indeed get away
from us last year, due to insufficient vigilance in these days of Spring.

Nettles die on mowing, so one method of control is to take scissors or
shears and simply keep cutting them down to ground level.

It is less injurious than pulling the root system up, though that works
as well.

More satisfying though. It is one of those jobs I have broken a fork
doing - snapped off two of the tines. Nettle roots are surprisingly
strong. I prefer a hit of glyphosate first when clearing rough ground.
It makes any small bits of ground elder you miss less likely to regrow.

I leave some nettles for the butterflies on the wild edges of my garden.

I wish I could get lily of the valley to be a weed. It dies on me :(

Find somewhere damp and in moderate shade and try again.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

Celandines!
 

On 03/03/2021 09:24, Martin Brown wrote:
On 01/03/2021 08:10, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 28/02/2021 21:35, Another John wrote:
Â* And we'll be looking with extra vigilance for
the creepers (nettles etc that you mention), which did indeed get away
from us last year, due to insufficient vigilance in these days of
Spring.

Nettles die on mowing, so one method of control is to take scissors or
shears and simply keep cutting them down to ground level.

It is less injurious than pulling the root system up, though that
works as well.

More satisfying though. It is one of those jobs I have broken a fork
doing - snapped off two of the tines. Nettle roots are surprisingly
strong. I prefer a hit of glyphosate first when clearing rough ground.
It makes any small bits of ground elder you miss less likely to regrow.

I leave some nettles for the butterflies on the wild edges of my garden.

I wish I could get lily of the valley to be a weed. It dies on me :(

Find somewhere damp and in moderate shade and try again.

You know, I think I will. Tried in very dry hot part of garden but have
plenty of damp shady parts

Will it go native and spread itself OK?


--
"Corbyn talks about equality, justice, opportunity, health care, peace,
community, compassion, investment, security, housing...."
"What kind of person is not interested in those things?"

"Jeremy Corbyn?"

Celandines!
 

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 03/03/2021 09:24, Martin Brown wrote:

I wish I could get lily of the valley to be a weed. It dies on me :(

Find somewhere damp and in moderate shade and try again.

You know, I think I will. Tried in very dry hot part of garden but have
plenty of damp shady parts

Will it go native and spread itself OK?

If it likes the conditions, it will run its roots under paving, into
lawns, into established shrubs and herbaceous plants, and make a
thorough nuisance of itself.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Celandines!
 

On 03/03/2021 12:03, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 03/03/2021 09:24, Martin Brown wrote:

I wish I could get lily of the valley to be a weed. It dies on me :(

Find somewhere damp and in moderate shade and try again.

You know, I think I will. Tried in very dry hot part of garden but have
plenty of damp shady parts

Will it go native and spread itself OK?

If it likes the conditions, it will run its roots under paving, into
lawns, into established shrubs and herbaceous plants, and make a
thorough nuisance of itself.


So no different from my cowslips...

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.



--
When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over
the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that
authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.

Frédéric Bastiat