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Ground elder thriving
MrMustard
Posts: 25
I am new to gardening and am somewhat dismayed to find significant amounts of ground elder growing in most borders and thriving amongst plants I enjoy. I cannot be certain but suspect the ground elder is creeping in from under the hedge which divides my garden from my neighbour's driveway, as the weed is most prevalent along that side. Either that, or it has always been here and my ignorance on the subject allowed it to spread with gay abandon until I recognised its picture online last week! Until now I had never really noticed it. Anyway I would very much like to reduce its presence in my garden, it is beginning to produce flower heads so I gather now is an opportune time to apply weed killer as its roots transfer strength to its flower. I realise eradication is impossible without digging up the entire bed, which I can't do for fear of losing all my plants. I understand some week killers will assist in controlling ground elder. However because my plants are all close together in a cottage planting style, the ground elder is in amongst, underneath and inbetween all my favourite plants. I'm very worried that even a careful application of weed killer will damage the surrounding planting. Applying the killer with precision is the correct approach but how? I've read very poor reviews of roll-on gel killers, with people apparently preferring the spray. But surely spraying means certain death for neighbouring plants, especially as the site is quite breezy. I would really appreciate any tried-and-tested solutions (albeit temporary) from the experienced ground elder police!
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Hi Mr Mustard
Large sheets of cardboard to shield your plants, and even rolling card to make a cone to enclose the ground elder, then use the spray carefully. It won't transfer to other plants when it's dry.
Good luck
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If ite coming through the fence you can dig down about 10 inches and lay a barrier there.
I find the only way to get rid of it is to dig it out. When I started this garden from scratch 4 years ago, the whole place was covered with ground elder, i just spend time, a bed at a time digging it out, make sure you dont break the roots, so trail them along until they come out.
I tried glyphosate, marvelous in the first year, back again the next. The only way is to be vigilant with digging.
I only have odd bits here and there now.
If it's bad and you want to be thorough, you have to dig up your plants, tease out the ground elder roots from the plants roots and replant. (After getting rid of all the weed's roots in the soil of course!) Most perennials and shrubs will recover, especially if you cut their foliage back to compensate for the root damage. Easier to keep the plants happy if you do this in Autumn though.
I had it in a rockery - I dug out the rocks and removed them, along with a lot of root-ridden soil, then basically built a raised bed which I lined with weed membrane before filling up with clean topsoil from another garden. (To about 2ft depth). I then planted it up from scratch.
I guess anything that weakens the ground elder is good, but if I was planning a through job later in the year, I'd probably just hand pull the stuff until that time. I have to be honest, elsewhere in the garden I tolerate a bit of ground elder as I'm just not willing to put in such a major effort, and large shrubs make it impractical. I just give it the odd spray or pull it up in clumps if it's starting to dominate a bit too much. You could try that approach first and see how effective it is, but you'll probably never be totally free from it that way.
If you do the thorough job though, remember to put in a root barrier around your 'clean area' as Lyn says. It would be gutting to go to all that effort only for it to spread back from next door.
Regarding the root barrier. It sounds very sensible. How do I exactly go about making and installing one?
I am very new to gardening and I have not even considered root barriers before. Is it something sold at garden centres? Or do you fashion it from a particular type of material - and if so, where should I buy it?
And then (sorry for boring everyone) how do I insert it - just by digging a trench (how deep?) and inserting directly into the soil - so that it pokes above the soil?
I agree, a concerted effort in the autumn will be good. You'll probably never beat it totally, but you'll be able to keep it under control... and yes, take the flowers off - the last thing you want is for it to set seeds!!!!!!!!!
Don't forget, you can cook and eat ground elder - revenge is sweet - but don't eat it if you've sprayed it!!!
https://scottishforestgarden.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/growing-and-eating-ground-elder/
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
i dug up a bed at my mums last week as it had loads of ground elder, i was just going to weed it but it was easier to dig all the plants out and get all the elder out of them and the bed and then replant them all, i gave them a thourogh soaking afterwards and they are all fine. she has no chance though it comes in from both sides of neighbours and the front garden on one side is just all ground elder
i defumigate when i leave by cleaning off my boots and hosing them off in case one tiny root is hiding in the tread, i don't want it