Purple cranesbill is taking over the garden!
rambling rosemary
Posts: 2
I have inherited the family home and the garden that was my late father's pride and joy. Some purple cranesbill that started from seeds dropped by birds or blown on the wind has, over the years, taken over the garden. This originally happened when my father was ill and unable to tend to the garden to the same degree as he would have liked.
The plant has taken hold, is choking all the other flowers and appears to have a root system that is deep and extensive - all attempts at digging it up have failed. Can anyone suggest how we might get rid of it and save other plants? Someone suggested that we would have to remove the other plants we want to keep and then put lime down to kill the cranesbill once and for all - which sounds a bit drastic. Any advice gratefully received. Thank you.
Posts
I have never had a cranesbill I couldn't dig out - although some of them are a bit thuggish with tougher root systems....
If you really can't get it out you could try using the Round Up gel which tends to be marketed towards spot treating large leaves in the lawn. This allows for controlled application of weedkiller just to the foliage of the plants you want to remove.
Apply fairly liberally to the leaves making sure that none can contact plants you want to keep.
Leave for 4 weeks and then reapply if the plant isn't dead.
If applied carefully Round Up gel will only kill the plants you want to remove and will have no untoward effect on the soil etc
Thank you! Perhaps we haven't been persistent enough with the digging! Thanks for the tip about Round Up gel.
Seems a shame it's a nice plant and other people may want one. Can you advertise it for free and say come and dig it up?
Is it the one with a small magenta sort of colour flower? Seeds itself everywhere here, if it's the same thing. I quite like it, I just pull it up in handfuls once it's gone over in the wild corners of the garden and as soon as I see that distinctive leaf in places I don't want it. I can't say I've found it overly difficult, although I doubt I'll ever be rid of it.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”