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Renovating a rockery

Super gardenerSuper gardener Posts: 106
in Plants
Does anyone have any advice re renovating a rockery. Lots of ground elder etc. Not keen to remove all stones, though I know this may be preferable. Am wondering about dosing with Roundup, then covering it for this year with weed membrane, and planting up next year?

Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    without moving all the stones, you have no option but to spray. ( or live with ground elder )
    Devon.
  • dappledshadedappledshade Posts: 1,017
    I’m afraid Hostafan is right.
    Ground elder is a pig to remove, as it has a huge network of creamy, rather thick roots underground that can extend far beyond the plants you see on the surface.
    Also, when removing it, if you miss even a small bit of root or stem, or you let the b*gger seed, it will keep coming back.
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    How big is the rockery? Hand weeding is an option on a small scale as long as you keep on top of it but I would use the paint-on type weed killer on the worst weeds first to give youself a head start. Blanket spraying the lot might be ok if you are starting again but probably not ideal if you want to keep any established plants in there.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • Super gardenerSuper gardener Posts: 106
    Only a few  stablished bulbs which I can move.   Am reluctant to start digging, as I think unless incredibly rigorous I'll just nicely pruning the roots by chopping them.  Is it the right time to use glyphosate and membrane? And how long would the membrane be left for? Not in any hurry (it's waited 12 yrs!)
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    If the ground elder has ever set seed then even if you remove all the root it will still come back for years.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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