I have some areas of thymus vulargis, vinca minor, and a campanula being
invaded by long, very fine grass - in quantity. I've tried pulling it
out but it comes back. Digging it out would mean digging out the wanted
plants, removing all the grass roots and putting them back :-(

Is there an easier way? Or should I glyphosate the whole area in spring
and start afresh?

Thanks!

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

In article , Steve
Harris writes
I have some areas of thymus vulargis, vinca minor, and a campanula being
invaded by long, very fine grass - in quantity. I've tried pulling it
out but it comes back. Digging it out would mean digging out the wanted
plants, removing all the grass roots and putting them back :-(

Is there an easier way? Or should I glyphosate the whole area in spring
and start afresh?

Well, if you're thinking of glyphosate and starting afresh, you might as
well dig up the wanted plants, in which case you might as well dig.

I think I know the grass you mean, and it's a pest. Dense mats of fine
roots which don't come up when you pull. Fescue?

The campanula is the real problem - the vinca and thyme you should be
able to pull back and get at the soil to dig at the grass.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Steve
Harris writes
I have some areas of thymus vulargis, vinca minor, and a campanula being
invaded by long, very fine grass - in quantity. I've tried pulling it
out but it comes back. Digging it out would mean digging out the wanted
plants, removing all the grass roots and putting them back :-(

Is there an easier way? Or should I glyphosate the whole area in spring
and start afresh?

Well, if you're thinking of glyphosate and starting afresh, you might as
well dig up the wanted plants, in which case you might as well dig.

I think I know the grass you mean, and it's a pest. Dense mats of fine
roots which don't come up when you pull. Fescue?

the dreaded couch grass, pronounced cooch. Bloody dreadful stuff it is.Do a
search. one tiny bit of root left in the soil will start the whole thing
growing again.

I have a similar problem sp perhaps I could 'piggyback' Steve's
question. I have an area of lawn (under a tree) that I want to turn
into a bed for spring bulbs and the like. Problem is that along with
teh grass there is lots of Cyclamen hederyfolium which I would like to
keep. Is there a way of getting rid of the grass but keeping the
cyclamen?

thanks

P



Steve Harris wrote:
I have some areas of thymus vulargis, vinca minor, and a campanula being
invaded by long, very fine grass - in quantity. I've tried pulling it
out but it comes back. Digging it out would mean digging out the wanted
plants, removing all the grass roots and putting them back :-(

Is there an easier way? Or should I glyphosate the whole area in spring
and start afresh?

Thanks!

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

In article , ex WGS Hamm
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Steve
Harris writes
I have some areas of thymus vulargis, vinca minor, and a campanula being
invaded by long, very fine grass - in quantity. I've tried pulling it
out but it comes back. Digging it out would mean digging out the wanted
plants, removing all the grass roots and putting them back :-(

Is there an easier way? Or should I glyphosate the whole area in spring
and start afresh?

Well, if you're thinking of glyphosate and starting afresh, you might as
well dig up the wanted plants, in which case you might as well dig.

I think I know the grass you mean, and it's a pest. Dense mats of fine
roots which don't come up when you pull. Fescue?

the dreaded couch grass, pronounced cooch. Bloody dreadful stuff it is.Do a
search. one tiny bit of root left in the soil will start the whole thing
growing again.

No, it does not fit the description of couch. The OP's description was
'long, very fine grass in quantity'. Couch in no way can be described as
'very fine', and I don't think it would have been described as 'in
quantity' - couch tends to throw up individual plantlets about an inch
apart, not a quantity of leaves.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

On 17/1/05 17:20, in article , "Kay"
wrote:
snip

No, it does not fit the description of couch. The OP's description was
'long, very fine grass in quantity'. Couch in no way can be described as
'very fine', and I don't think it would have been described as 'in
quantity' - couch tends to throw up individual plantlets about an inch
apart, not a quantity of leaves.

It could just be lawn grass the seed of which has been washed into the bed
at some time. That's happened to me before now and it's a damned nuisance!
I imagine the OP could follow the Judith Lea method of dipping strong rubber
gloved hands into weedkiller and stroking it onto the offending plant, or
coating a poly bag with weedkiller and tying it over the plant very tightly.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

"Steve Harris" wrote in message
...
I have some areas of thymus vulargis, vinca minor, and a campanula being
invaded by long, very fine grass - in quantity. I've tried pulling it
out but it comes back. Digging it out would mean digging out the wanted
plants, removing all the grass roots and putting them back :-(

Is there an easier way? Or should I glyphosate the whole area in spring
and start afresh?

Thanks!



There used to be something called Dalapon which killed couch grass and other
grasses, but was harmless to most other plants. I have been looking for more for
seversl years, but have not seen it on sale - does anyone know if it is still
available ?

Glyphosate will kill grass, but repeated treatments are often necessary, and one
misdirected splash can kill your favourite plant.

Bevan

"Bevan Price" wrote in
message ...


Glyphosate will kill grass, but repeated treatments
are often necessary,

Are you following the instructions? I've used glyphosate on a mixture of
grass and weeds numerous times, and I've never seen any grass regrowth.

and one
misdirected splash can kill your favourite plant.

- though a quick rinse-off can probably save it.

--
Anton

In article , Sacha
writes
It could just be lawn grass the seed of which has been washed into the bed
at some time. That's happened to me before now and it's a damned nuisance!
I imagine the OP could follow the Judith Lea method of dipping strong rubber
gloved hands into weedkiller and stroking it onto the offending plant, or
coating a poly bag with weedkiller and tying it over the plant very tightly.
It's nice to see that you remember my method, it's still the best for
getting rid of weeds growing amongst other plants where spraying would
be detrimental but remember to wear either thick household gloves or 2
pairs of the thin ones. Another useful tip for coating leaves that need
more drastic action, is to mix wallpaper paste into the mixture, this
will stick to the plant and there will not be any run off, I found this
worked on ivy.
--
Judith Lea