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Killing Comfrey
Anella Bennett
Posts: 4
First of all, I have plenty and plenty of Comfrey in the garden, I love it as it attracts the bees. However, I have one HUGE patch of it which I need to get rid of.. it's in the corner of one of the gardens, where I plan to put some decking, just a small sunbathing spot and the last thing I want is the comfrey growing underneath and taking over once again! I've uploaded the only picture I have to try and show how big the patch IS. Don't judge the rest of the garden, we are renovating the house inside and haven't even started on the garden! Hence why I'm here begging for advice!
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Posts
Try and dig out as much as you can. The roots go extremely deep and you won't be able to remove them all though. When it grows back, you can either keep pulling it up, or spray with glyphosate which will eventually kill it. It isn't as bad as you might think - I've moved clumps from one part of my garden to others and it does eventually give in.
Thank you for the reply! I'm afraid of digging too deep in that area, I forgot to mention that deep down in there somewhere is an old pet (!) It was a long time ago he was buried - 2006-ish?
I just don't want to come across anything gruesome haha! I'll try my best though to dig up as much as I can and I'll make sure I keep pulling it up. I'm leaving it as long as I can before the colder months for the bees.. but I'll get cracking soon! Thank You!
Instead of digging you could strim or otherwise cut off all the current foliage as far and wide as the entire clump you wish to remove. When the comfrey regrows - and it will - cut all the lovely new foliage and dump it in a large old dustbin with a lid. Cover with water and leave for 2 weeks. Stir well - at this point you'll understand the need for a lid. Dilute the resulting mix and use to to feed flowering and fruiting plants next spring and summer.
When it regrows again, spray carefully with a glyphosate solution which will kill the new foliage and the leaves. It takes 2 weeks so be patient and be prepared to repeat a couple of times as comfrey roots go deep and take a while to die and the smallest piece can regrow.
Once it's all dead you can just fork over the bed without going too deep then layer on some good garden or bought compost and plant your new treasures.