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Any ideas to remedy a patch of dock-infested ground under a beech tree?

sophiacsophiac Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hi all, 
quite new to gardening and garden owning, and gradually trying to resolve all the problem areas in our garden! We've just had a very large beech reduced (don't know what the correct terms are - a lot of trimming all around, and lower branches trimmed so a bit of light can get in, but it's still a v large tree), so it's time to think what to do about the shady (previously totally shaded all through summer) area beneath.  There are some wildflowers, red campion, birdsfoot trefoil, ox-eye daisies, but mainly there are docks. Many, many docks. The ground is mainly bare throughout winter. 
I'm trying to create a wildlife garden, so I'm really reluctant to use any herbicides. 
Does anyone have ideas what I can do? 
If I'm persistent, will the fiskar weed puller do the job eventually? 
Is there anything I can sow that will survive in the relative shade and outcompete the docks? 
Any suggestions gratefully received!
Thank you. 

Posts

  • SueAtooSueAtoo Posts: 380
    Anything weedy that's growing in amongst plants I want to keep (like docks), I mix up some systemic weedkiller and add a little wallpaper paste to make it sticky then with rubber glove on other hand, "paint" it on leaves I don't want. Also works on brambles and things with stems but cut them down to about 1" then paint on the stump. Takes some time if you've got a lot but beats spraying indiscriminately. Lots of advice on here and other sites about shady plants when you've got some clear space. Good luck.
    East Dorset, new (to me) rather neglected garden.
  • Butterfly66Butterfly66 Posts: 970
    We inherited lots of docks when we moved in. Our garden was very neglected and full of weeds. It was April when we moved in so all we’re in active growth. I spent a few days just digging them out - I didn’t worry about doing a thorough weed just targeted the docks. I then did a regular “dock” hunt and pulled or dug out any new ones as they popped up. If I found one I had missed when I didn’t have time to dig it out I would just pinch out the flower heads so it couldn’t set seed.

    The second summer we just had very small seedling docks appearing presumably from previous years seeds and missed seedlings already in the ground but very few in subsequent years.

    Don’t worry too much about disturbing plants you do want to keep. If they do get dug up whilst removing the docks just promptly replant them once the docks are out and give them a water.

    I just used a normal garden spade to remove ours and an old trowel where I had less room to manoeuvre. If mature they have quite a substantial tap root so a small spade might work better but I haven’t used a fiskar weed tool so can’t speak from experience.


     If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero
    East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
  • sophiacsophiac Posts: 4
    Thank you! I will start digging....they are poking their heads up already! 
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