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Help !!! they wont go away !
Me and my girlfriend do not know much about gardening. We have been
trying to keep our flower beds at the front of the house tidy but every few weeks we keep on getting green fern like plants/weeds growning everywhere. We pull them up but the just grow back again here a couple of pictures of them http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture4.jpg http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture7.jpg can anyone identify these or give me tips to get rid of them for good ? TIA |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On 18 Aug 2003 07:22:15 -0700, Phil A wrote:
Me and my girlfriend do not know much about gardening. We have been trying to keep our flower beds at the front of the house tidy but every few weeks we keep on getting green fern like plants/weeds growning everywhere. We pull them up but the just grow back again here a couple of pictures of them http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture4.jpg http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture7.jpg can anyone identify these or give me tips to get rid of them for good ? TIA Horsetails. The bane of many a gardener. Three solutions: 1) Keep pulling them up, as soon as you can - try and get them while they're small, try your best to get as much of th eunderground stem/root as you can -it's pretty tough and any little bit left will grow a new plant. if possible - dig over the patch and carefully remove as much root as you can. They'll gradually weaken and die out -but very gradually. 2) If you want to use chemicals, some people use Roundup or similar, but the horsetails are pretty tough and the chemical doesn't get absorbed easily. This can be improved by damaging the outer tissue a little by, say rubbing them roughly with a gloved hand, then spraying. Others will surely have better tips. 3) Move home. Tim |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 14:34:11 GMT, Tim Challenger
"timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at" wrote: Horsetails. The bane of many a gardener. Three solutions: 1) Keep pulling them up, as soon as you can - try and get them while they're small, try your best to get as much of th eunderground stem/root as you can -it's pretty tough and any little bit left will grow a new plant. if possible - dig over the patch and carefully remove as much root as you can. They'll gradually weaken and die out -but very gradually. 2) If you want to use chemicals, some people use Roundup or similar, but the horsetails are pretty tough and the chemical doesn't get absorbed easily. This can be improved by damaging the outer tissue a little by, say rubbing them roughly with a gloved hand, then spraying. Others will surely have better tips. 3) Move home. 4] Plant Ground Elder, and see which one wins ;) THEN move home! Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 14:34:11 GMT, Tim Challenger
"timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at" wrote: On 18 Aug 2003 07:22:15 -0700, Phil A wrote: Me and my girlfriend do not know much about gardening. We have been trying to keep our flower beds at the front of the house tidy but every few weeks we keep on getting green fern like plants/weeds growning everywhere. We pull them up but the just grow back again here a couple of pictures of them http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture4.jpg http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture7.jpg can anyone identify these or give me tips to get rid of them for good ? TIA Horsetails. The bane of many a gardener. Three solutions: 1) Keep pulling them up, as soon as you can - try and get them while they're small, try your best to get as much of th eunderground stem/root as you can -it's pretty tough and any little bit left will grow a new plant. if possible - dig over the patch and carefully remove as much root as you can. They'll gradually weaken and die out -but very gradually. 2) If you want to use chemicals, some people use Roundup or similar, but the horsetails are pretty tough and the chemical doesn't get absorbed easily. This can be improved by damaging the outer tissue a little by, say rubbing them roughly with a gloved hand, then spraying. Others will surely have better tips. 3) Move home. Tim No. 3, in my experience with this stuff! In limine sapientiae |
Help !!! they wont go away !
In article , Stephen Howard writes: | | 4] Plant Ground Elder, and see which one wins ;) | THEN move home! No contest. Ground elder is horribly invasive, but easy to get rid of if you can dig the ground over (and do so a few times). Horsetails are the only UK plants that make bindweed look shallow rooted. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 14:34:11 GMT, Tim Challenger
"timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at" wrote: On 18 Aug 2003 07:22:15 -0700, Phil A wrote: Me and my girlfriend do not know much about gardening. We have been trying to keep our flower beds at the front of the house tidy but every few weeks we keep on getting green fern like plants/weeds growning everywhere. We pull them up but the just grow back again here a couple of pictures of them http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture4.jpg http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture7.jpg can anyone identify these or give me tips to get rid of them for good ? TIA Horsetails. The bane of many a gardener. Three solutions: 1) Keep pulling them up, as soon as you can - try and get them while they're small, try your best to get as much of th eunderground stem/root as you can -it's pretty tough and any little bit left will grow a new plant. if possible - dig over the patch and carefully remove as much root as you can. They'll gradually weaken and die out -but very gradually. 2) If you want to use chemicals, some people use Roundup or similar, but the horsetails are pretty tough and the chemical doesn't get absorbed easily. This can be improved by damaging the outer tissue a little by, say rubbing them roughly with a gloved hand, then spraying. Others will surely have better tips. 3) Move home. Tim No. 3, in my experience with this stuff! In limine sapientiae |
Help !!! they wont go away !
In article , Stephen Howard writes: | | 4] Plant Ground Elder, and see which one wins ;) | THEN move home! No contest. Ground elder is horribly invasive, but easy to get rid of if you can dig the ground over (and do so a few times). Horsetails are the only UK plants that make bindweed look shallow rooted. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 14:34:11 GMT, Tim Challenger
"timothy(dot)challenger(at)apk(dot)at" wrote: On 18 Aug 2003 07:22:15 -0700, Phil A wrote: Me and my girlfriend do not know much about gardening. We have been trying to keep our flower beds at the front of the house tidy but every few weeks we keep on getting green fern like plants/weeds growning everywhere. We pull them up but the just grow back again here a couple of pictures of them http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture4.jpg http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture7.jpg can anyone identify these or give me tips to get rid of them for good ? TIA Horsetails. The bane of many a gardener. Three solutions: 1) Keep pulling them up, as soon as you can - try and get them while they're small, try your best to get as much of th eunderground stem/root as you can -it's pretty tough and any little bit left will grow a new plant. if possible - dig over the patch and carefully remove as much root as you can. They'll gradually weaken and die out -but very gradually. 2) If you want to use chemicals, some people use Roundup or similar, but the horsetails are pretty tough and the chemical doesn't get absorbed easily. This can be improved by damaging the outer tissue a little by, say rubbing them roughly with a gloved hand, then spraying. Others will surely have better tips. 3) Move home. Tim No. 3, in my experience with this stuff! In limine sapientiae |
Help !!! they wont go away !
In article , Stephen Howard writes: | | 4] Plant Ground Elder, and see which one wins ;) | THEN move home! No contest. Ground elder is horribly invasive, but easy to get rid of if you can dig the ground over (and do so a few times). Horsetails are the only UK plants that make bindweed look shallow rooted. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On 18 Aug 2003 14:51:18 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article , Stephen Howard writes: | | 4] Plant Ground Elder, and see which one wins ;) | THEN move home! No contest. Ground elder is horribly invasive, but easy to get rid of if you can dig the ground over (and do so a few times). Horsetails are the only UK plants that make bindweed look shallow rooted. For the first time in more years than I can remember I've had to resort to herbicides in my battle with GE. To put the matter in perspective, my garden is bordered on one side by a copse in which the stuff grows freely ( and in which context it looks just fine ). On another side its bordered by a garden belonging to a hermit-like chap who does absolutely nothing with his property - which is also covered in GE ( and Hogweed, and Bindweed etc ). I suppose I could at least have a word with the chap - but unfortunately he's one of those people whom when asked a question will respond with "Well, now, yes, you see, umm, that takes me back to the year of our Lord, 1956 - which, incidentally, was the year I bought my first car. Of course, back in those days petrol was only two groats a gallon, and every chicken came with giblets.....". By the time he gets to point I might just as well have dug up all the GE myself, with a cardboard spoon. Not only that, but he's the sort of chap that you sometimes see profiled on documentaries entitled 'The axe-man next door' - only in his case you wouldn't so much say " Well, I'd never have guessed" rather than "I always knew there was something odd about that bloke". So - I'm stuck with the GE, and in an effort to control it I've resorted to marking out a no-man's land between his land and mine ( I even tried eating the stuff, but it's really not that agreeable ). Not much I can do about the copse... I'm banking on the 'lawn' holding back the ingress of GE and bracken... So I set about trying to dig the GE out of the small bed at the front of the house - but pretty soon realised that the root system was heavily intertwined with the existing shrubs ( roses, a crab apple and an apple tree ), but I tried, nonetheless. My efforts were rewarded with not much at all really, so I purchased a small bottle of weedkiller and resorted to the 'little but often' advice gleaned form this very NG. Two months down the line and the GE is being slowly knocked back ( along with the grass that borders the bed... but I suspect this will grow back with time ). Once I can get the root system 'orf moi larnd' I can dig out a trench and lay in a hefty polythene barrier...and all I'll have to worry about then is the rest of the GE setting seed each year.... The project for next year is to rid a plot of 20 plus plum trees of the stuff! This plot borders on my veg patch - and I absolutely refuse to use chemicals there. Ground Elder tea, anyone? Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On 18 Aug 2003 14:51:18 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:
In article , Stephen Howard writes: | | 4] Plant Ground Elder, and see which one wins ;) | THEN move home! No contest. Ground elder is horribly invasive, but easy to get rid of if you can dig the ground over (and do so a few times). Horsetails are the only UK plants that make bindweed look shallow rooted. For the first time in more years than I can remember I've had to resort to herbicides in my battle with GE. To put the matter in perspective, my garden is bordered on one side by a copse in which the stuff grows freely ( and in which context it looks just fine ). On another side its bordered by a garden belonging to a hermit-like chap who does absolutely nothing with his property - which is also covered in GE ( and Hogweed, and Bindweed etc ). I suppose I could at least have a word with the chap - but unfortunately he's one of those people whom when asked a question will respond with "Well, now, yes, you see, umm, that takes me back to the year of our Lord, 1956 - which, incidentally, was the year I bought my first car. Of course, back in those days petrol was only two groats a gallon, and every chicken came with giblets.....". By the time he gets to point I might just as well have dug up all the GE myself, with a cardboard spoon. Not only that, but he's the sort of chap that you sometimes see profiled on documentaries entitled 'The axe-man next door' - only in his case you wouldn't so much say " Well, I'd never have guessed" rather than "I always knew there was something odd about that bloke". So - I'm stuck with the GE, and in an effort to control it I've resorted to marking out a no-man's land between his land and mine ( I even tried eating the stuff, but it's really not that agreeable ). Not much I can do about the copse... I'm banking on the 'lawn' holding back the ingress of GE and bracken... So I set about trying to dig the GE out of the small bed at the front of the house - but pretty soon realised that the root system was heavily intertwined with the existing shrubs ( roses, a crab apple and an apple tree ), but I tried, nonetheless. My efforts were rewarded with not much at all really, so I purchased a small bottle of weedkiller and resorted to the 'little but often' advice gleaned form this very NG. Two months down the line and the GE is being slowly knocked back ( along with the grass that borders the bed... but I suspect this will grow back with time ). Once I can get the root system 'orf moi larnd' I can dig out a trench and lay in a hefty polythene barrier...and all I'll have to worry about then is the rest of the GE setting seed each year.... The project for next year is to rid a plot of 20 plus plum trees of the stuff! This plot borders on my veg patch - and I absolutely refuse to use chemicals there. Ground Elder tea, anyone? Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
Help !!! they wont go away !
In article , Stephen Howard
writes 1956 - which, incidentally, was the year I bought my first car. Of course, back in those days petrol was only two groats a gallon, 1956 Petrol 2/6 a gallon up to the November and the Suez crisis when it doubled to 5/0 a gallon and I think you will find that petrol is cheaper now than it was then £ for £ Time for Time:-)) In the Spring and Summer I had a 150cc Lambretta and in the November when petrol rationing started I had already bought a Matchless 500cc G9 :-(( Mike -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- British Pacific Fleet Hayling Island Sept 5th - 8th Castle Class Corvettes Assn. Isle of Wight. Oct 3rd - 6th. R.N. Trafalgar Weekend Leamington Spa. Oct 10th - 13th. Plus many more National Service (RAF) Association Scarborough. Nov 7th - 10th (Nearly Full) |
Help !!! they wont go away !
So you have mare's tail (also called horse tail). It has been around since
dinosaurs roamed the land! I have found the weedkiller "SBK" to be very effective in getting fid of it and if it's among other plants use a paintbrush very carefully - it comes up my asparagus bed sometimes so I have to be careful. The roots of mare's tail go very very deep so unless you're a miner . . . ..!! Regards Ron |
Help !!! they wont go away !
In article , Stephen Howard
writes Two months down the line and the GE is being slowly knocked back ( along with the grass that borders the bed... but I suspect this will grow back with time ). An interesting thought here is that ground elder is not generally known as a lawn weed. IMHO that is because the plant will not survive regular cutting. That is the way we have eliminated it from parts of our garden where it would do harm, e.g. the vegetable plot, herbaceous borders, flower beds etc. It takes two or three years to really clear it, and it can return if it is allowed to. By that method ground elder is no longer a problem to us without any use of chemical herbicides. -- Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs. |
Help !!! they wont go away !
In article , Stephen Howard
writes Two months down the line and the GE is being slowly knocked back ( along with the grass that borders the bed... but I suspect this will grow back with time ). An interesting thought here is that ground elder is not generally known as a lawn weed. IMHO that is because the plant will not survive regular cutting. That is the way we have eliminated it from parts of our garden where it would do harm, e.g. the vegetable plot, herbaceous borders, flower beds etc. It takes two or three years to really clear it, and it can return if it is allowed to. By that method ground elder is no longer a problem to us without any use of chemical herbicides. -- Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs. |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 20:17:34 +0100, Alan Gould
wrote: In article , Stephen Howard writes Two months down the line and the GE is being slowly knocked back ( along with the grass that borders the bed... but I suspect this will grow back with time ). An interesting thought here is that ground elder is not generally known as a lawn weed. IMHO that is because the plant will not survive regular cutting. snip Please come round and sternly lecture the GE in my lawn! Ahh, wait a mo.. you said 'regular cutting'. I'm guessing once every three weeks just isn't going to cut the mustard ( or the grass, come to think of it ). Well, it's er, a wildlife garden innit ( guv ). Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
Help !!! they wont go away !
On Mon, 18 Aug 2003 16:54:55 +0100, Mike
wrote: In article , Stephen Howard writes 1956 - which, incidentally, was the year I bought my first car. Of course, back in those days petrol was only two groats a gallon, 1956 Petrol 2/6 a gallon up to the November and the Suez crisis when it doubled to 5/0 a gallon and I think you will find that petrol is cheaper now than it was then £ for £ Time for Time:-)) In the Spring and Summer I had a 150cc Lambretta and in the November when petrol rationing started I had already bought a Matchless 500cc G9 Do you have a neighbour called Stephen? -- Stuart Baldwin news\at/boxatrix\dot/co\dot/uk |
Help !!! they wont go away !
In article , Stephen Howard
writes Ahh, wait a mo.. you said 'regular cutting'. I'm guessing once every three weeks just isn't going to cut the mustard ( or the grass, come to think of it ). Well, it's er, a wildlife garden innit ( guv ). Something not often discussed in this group are the choices of herbage in a grassed area available from judicial use of cutting height and the frequency at which it is done. Long ago, we used to keep our main lawn at 'croquet' standard because we had a croquet set and regular visitors who liked to play croquet. More recently we like to encourage some wildflowers and wildlife while still keeping a recreational lawn. By selecting a cutting height and sticking to it, also by keeping herbage near to that height by regular cutting, it is possible to opt for a given range of naturally self-set wildflowers. The variety of non- grass plants will vary according to the chosen height of cut, but it will stay fairly constant if the height of herbage is constant. At present I am cutting at approx. 3-4 cm. and that gives us a cheerful and wholly self-set display of daisies, buttercups, clovers, self-heal, celandines, mosses and others according to season and climate. Commonly unwelcome (in lawns) plants like nettles, thistles, comfrey, cow parsley, cow parsnip, hogweed, ground elder, brambles, horse/mare's tail, bindweed, knot-weed et al. are not seen in our lawn, though there are some of most of them not too far away in other even wilder areas. -- Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs. |
Help !!! they wont go away !
|
Help !!! they wont go away !
On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 19:15:37 +0100, Alan Gould
wrote: Something not often discussed in this group are the choices of herbage in a grassed area available from judicial use of cutting height and the frequency at which it is done. Long ago, we used to keep our main lawn at 'croquet' standard because we had a croquet set and regular visitors who liked to play croquet. More recently we like to encourage some wildflowers and wildlife while still keeping a recreational lawn. By selecting a cutting height and sticking to it, also by keeping herbage near to that height by regular cutting, it is possible to opt for a given range of naturally self-set wildflowers. The variety of non- grass plants will vary according to the chosen height of cut, but it will stay fairly constant if the height of herbage is constant. At present I am cutting at approx. 3-4 cm. and that gives us a cheerful and wholly self-set display of daisies, buttercups, clovers, self-heal, celandines, mosses and others according to season and climate. Commonly unwelcome (in lawns) plants like nettles, thistles, comfrey, cow parsley, cow parsnip, hogweed, ground elder, brambles, horse/mare's tail, bindweed, knot-weed et al. are not seen in our lawn, though there are some of most of them not too far away in other even wilder areas. I have to admit to cutting at about 8 inches - which leads, it has to be said, to some pretty interesting vistas at ground level. Not only is there a wide variety of wild flowers and herbs, but a noticeable increase in the wildlife that inhabit said 'lawn'. I find the odd giant thistle popping up - and these can be a bit nasty when you have bare-footed kids running about - and as they start off as a rosette they tend not to be much worried by a cut that's anything less than a couple of inches. If they find themselves in the right spot I like to let them grow - it's a spectacular plant. Likewise the Burdock. To be honest, I get to stand on some of the most ornate lawns in the country and quite enjoy gazing across acres of regimented turf ( probably because I don't have to mow it! ) - but I still prefer to sit on a log in my garden, cuppa in hand, and watch the insects scurrying through the unkempt collection of Vetches, Scarlet Pimpernel, Speedwell, Clover, Crane's Bill etc... Not sure that you could call the collection a 'choice of herbage' as such - more a case of leave it and see what turns up. Regards, -- Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations http://www.shwoodwind.co.uk Emails to: showard{who is at}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk |
Help !!! they wont go away !
"Phil A" wrote in message om... Me and my girlfriend do not know much about gardening. We have been trying to keep our flower beds at the front of the house tidy but every few weeks we keep on getting green fern like plants/weeds growning everywhere. We pull them up but the just grow back again here a couple of pictures of them http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture4.jpg http://www.khronix.co.uk/images/Picture7.jpg can anyone identify these or give me tips to get rid of them for good Regrettably you have Mare's Tails, which is the most ineradicable weed next to Japanese Knotweed and Grouuund Elder. Do not try to dig them up, as you will leave behind fragments of broken root, all of which will regrow. I know. I had the stuff. Nothing other than painting the green parts with glyphosate will kill them. (Roundup or Murphy's tumbleweed) Franz |
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