This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Pernicious Weed!
We have had a year trying to bring some order to a neglected garden but now have a weed coming up everywhere - in paths, beds and the lawn.
It seems to propagate by numerous little bulblets and (I think) has yellow flowers as well. The leaves are dark green and the stem bright white.
I would be grateful for some advice as how to get rid of it before it takes over completely!
0
Posts
Looks like it could be Lesser Celandine. Dig it out, including the bulbs is what I try and do as we have it here in the lawn. Many of the weedkillers developed for lawns will work on this plant when it's in the growing season.
I like it and it will disappear after a few weeks in any case.
Looks to me like Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) its sunny flowers are one of the first signs of spring
http://wildflowerfinder.org.uk/Flowers/C/Celandine(Lesser)/Celandine(Lesser).htm
It can be quite invasive, but the leaves die down by midsummer and that's the last you see of them until they appear again about now. They are very difficult to get rid of as the roots have little ;'nodules' which get left behind, when you try to dig them up, and every nodule grows into a new plant. If they're in grass it's often thought better to leave them to do their thing and just mow after flowering to keep them under control.
I'm afraid I love their sunny smiling faces on the banks in spring
... I grow the less invasive form 'Brazen Hussy' http://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/plant-finder/ficaria-verna-brazen-hussy/
Last edited: 10 January 2018 16:19:41
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thank you everyone...nice to know it is a favourite wildflower for some people....
Most of the "garden" was docks and nettles when we arrived, we are winning that battle at least!
Just keep mowing the areas where you don't want them, and don't mow as much where they'd be welcome to smile at you
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
There are actually a rather large number of named forms with flower colour from pure white to deep orange, doubles, green flowered and lots of different leaf colouration too. Sadly there does not seem to be a good source of all these forms any more.
Some lovely ones here http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=11563.0
Don't know whether that forum knows of any suppliers
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Bali
Celandines,Spanish bluebells - they come, they delight/annoy - they disappear.
In a few months time you'll probably have forgotten about them.