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What plant is this?

Cathy44Cathy44 Posts: 6
in Problem solving
A friend has this growing up in his lawn.  Does anyone know what it is please?

Posts

  • muckyhandsmikemuckyhandsmike Posts: 239
    Looks a bit like Russian vine . I hope I’m wrong as it spreads at a rate of knots - very invasive ! It produces small white flowers and is great at getting amongst hedges which make it difficult to eliminate.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    it's absolutely NOT Russian Vine, thankfully.
    Looks like ground elder to me, 
    Devon.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I agree - looks like ground elder to me too

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Ground elder, I’m dealing with the same thing,  I’m going to wait until spring and carefully paint weed killer just on the leaves.
    Almost impossible to dig out of the lawn without making a mess as you need to get every bit of root out and they spread underground.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Cathy44Cathy44 Posts: 6
    Many thanks everyone.  I didn't know where to start looking, but I agree, it is Ground Elder.  
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    This should get rid of it and being a gel means you can just dab it on the leaves so the lawn isn't damaged, but it may take several applications over a couple of months.
    Roundup Gel

    It does take a few weeks before you notice any change at all while it works its way through the plant but it will slowly kill it.
    It also only works when plants are actively growing, so only use it once it starts growing again in the Spring. It'll have no effect over winter.


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Cathy44Cathy44 Posts: 6
    Many thanks Pete.  I have passed the info on to our friend.
  • borgadrborgadr Posts: 718
    While I'm no expert, the RHS says this of ground elder in lawns: "In new lawns, ground elder will usually be starved by repeated mowing, and should not persist for long."
    https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/ground-elder
  • Cathy44Cathy44 Posts: 6
    Brilliant information borgadr!  I have passed this on.  Thank you.
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