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Is there an easy way to get rid of BlackBerry bramble

granmagranma Posts: 1,933
in Problem solving
Apart from the back aching job of digging the brambles out ? If I cut hard back to ground level and spray with gypsophalate  would this work ,has anyone a tried and tested  method please?

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  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Unfortunately I don't think there is Granma. You could try cutting it down to the ground, waiting till the new growth comes through, then spraying with a strong gypsophate. Alternatively, would it be worth paying somebody to dig it out?  We have bramble at intervals growing right through our hedges, so impossible to dig out so I just continually cut the stems as far as I can reach.  
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Yes - I had a completely overgrown area (about 30ft x 40ft) with brambles, ivy and nettles. I used Rosate36 (available from Amazon) which is glyphosphate, but much stronger than Roundup, and still degrades the same way on contact with soil.
    I sprayed first in early April then again 2 weeks later and again 2 weeks after that.
    Within a few weeks everything was dead - amazingly even the ivy! and 3 years on, none has grown back.

    If you choose this method, don't cut it all back - glyphosphate is taken up via the leaves, so if you cut it all back to the ground it won't work. Just spray when they're starting active growth and there are lots of new leaves sprouting

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    If it is not too big a patch there is another way which I have mentioned on this site before. Get an old Plastic bottle with a wide neck (there is a brand of fruit juice that has the perfect dimensions). Make sure it is clearly labelled put the weed killer of you choice in it (lawn weed killer works very well) get the end of the bramble nip the end off so you have some cut stem at the end & push it in to the liquid in the bottle. You will need to find a way of supporting the bottle & make sure the bramble can't "ping" out either. Keep children & pets well away. After about a week with Heavy duty gloves on you can remove the stem make sure it does not touch anything you want to keep. If there are more stems you can repeat with those. The plant will absorb the weed killer & it will translocate right down to the roots. It is a slow process & you have to take some care but it does work it is especially effective if the bramble is in the middle of another plant you want to keep. This method works for bindweed as well. 
    AB Still learning

  • granmagranma Posts: 1,933
    Thank you very much Allotment boy,Pete    I shall try both of these methods and at a last resort I shall take lizzies advice and pay someone to have the backache!!!!!!! :/
  • granmagranma Posts: 1,933
    I have some of that weedkiller Pete if it still works 
    Thanks again.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I believe glyphosphate has a shelf-life of around 8 years, then slowly starts to loose its effectiveness.
    I'd rather not use chemicals and rarely do, but sometimes it's the only realistic answer.
    The instructions that come with Rosate36 are aimed at farmers, the correct dilution rate is 30ml Rosate36 per litre of water.
    I used a sprayer on a very calm day

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • DampGardenManDampGardenMan Posts: 1,054
    islander said:
    No way will I use chemicals. When I cleared a  totally jungled bramble patch here last year I simply cut down to the ground. There has been very little regrowth. I have another patch at the back with the refinement of nettles intermingled and will do the same there. It works.
    I'm fighting brambles as well, but, for me, cutting them down to the ground doesn't provide a permanent solution - they're sprouting again in a couple of months! What I'm doing now is attacking them with a mattock. Two or three swipes and you can usually pull the crown (the nobbly bit just below the surface) out and then they're in trouble!

    Of course there's years of bramble seeds just waiting to germinate, but that regrowth is easy to pull out as the root is minimal.
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