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what are these ?
craig mitchell
Posts: 12
hi there, i wish that i had taken these photos before i gave the garden a quick dig to get rid of them but hopefully you can still make out what these are, this is the second year i have come across these, whatever they are they spread very quicky and want to get rid of asap before its time for summer bedding plants, they were a right paint last year...mind you i was digging them out just before planting the marigolds! any suggestions and how to exterminate wuld be good...i think they are just some sort of spreading weed ?! take a look...
http://s1351.photobucket.com/user/mcd1149/library/weeds?sort=3&page=1
thanks !
0
Posts
? Celandine ? If so, yes they do multiply like mad. Pretty bright yellow flowers in early spring and very attractive shiny leaves, but a pest.
hi, just looked up celandine and the yellow flowers do ring a bell to last year ! they did spread like mad last year and when raking them out there was a hell of a lot of seeds underneath them amongst the roots !
is it normal for them to be popping up around now ? (no flowers yet)
weed killer do the trick ?
Celandine is an early spring flower, and it is mild, so not unusual. I haven't looked at the photo, too hard to do on an ipad.
Couldn't see that photo, laptop told me it doesn't exist.
yup, it's celandine. A nasty invasive weed IMHO
Craig, those little 'seeds' are tubers ready to produce the next invasion! They will all sprout for you. Weedkiller should get rid of them, but they need to be in good leaf to absorb the poison, so you'll have to wait a bit. I do like to see them all shining in the spring sunshine, so bright and cheerful, but I don't like their wandering ways.
Here's a photo for you to compare.
This photo was taken before I realised the problems they would bring me! Now I am not so keen on them.
Thanks for all replys! It would seem then that last year I made the issue worse by digging them out and the seeds going everywhere ! Oh well you learn dont you. Thing is if I put weed killer down is that going to cause me issues when it comes to my summer bedding plants ? I did read about "burning" them with a blow torch.
Craig, use roundup during their short growing season. You'll have to do it next year too, and probably the next. It leaves no residues in soil so your bedding will be unaffected.
I don't know why people don't use more of these celendines, like winter aconites they provide a useful splash of colour when many gardens are devoid of colour. They die down eventually and disappear they may be a pest in more formal gardens but they thrive in ground often neglected and of little use for other plants. They also are very useful to many invertebrates at this time of year.
I agree Dave, especially as there are now cultivated varieties - over 50 I believe. I have a small patch of the wild form and because I remember where it is and don't dig close to the the area, it hasn't spread and become a nuisance.