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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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)

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

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.