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I hate ground elder (never had it before)
Cloggie
Posts: 1,457
I am working my way through a border of long standing ground elder infestation by taking a brick of soil at a time and throwing away the white roots.
I know that I will miss some bits, I've already done another area alongside and can see bits I missed growing back.
Anyone else tackled a similar project and have tips?
My biggest worry is that I have a hedge line just beyond the wire fencing that I'm not going to be able to clear so there's a possibility that it'll creep back.
I'm planning shrubs in the cleared border so if they creep back in and I don't see them under the shrub canopy then why do I care right?
Grateful of suggestions/advice from people who've seen this before.
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hi cloggie, i don't have ground elder but my mum does & so do her neighbours. 2 or 3 years ago as a surprise for her i decided to give her garden a makeover while she was on holiday why oh why did i start
i discovered she had ground elder everywhere, i didn't know much al all about it then, so set about removing it, i lifted every single plant and untagled all the ground elder from their roots, i removed it all like you from every patch of soil. little did i know that both her neighbours had it too and i should have dug down and used a strong barrier between both neighbours ( i didn't) and she had a cherry tree which was the only thing i couldn't dig up, now 2 years later it is as if it had never been cleared in the first place, i'd say she had one year without it. just try not to let it flower if you can and set seed 
p.s i wash my shoes after doing gardening at hers because i'm so paranoid i'll carry a tiny bit of root to my house hahaha
Last edited: 23 May 2016 00:12:25
Treat it as a vegetable, cook and eat it (that's why the Romans brought it here, apparently). Use the flowers in flower arrangements and learn to love it ........ my experience is that if you actually want something to grow it may well feel inclined to turn up its toes and die ......
otherwise it's a continue hard slog - you'll be able to control it, but if its roots are in the hedge, you'll never get rid of it ..... sorry
Have a look here https://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com/2014/06/16/in-a-vase-on-monday-wild-romance/
Last edited: 23 May 2016 08:38:32
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
It makes jolly good ground cover and it's not all that ugly...
I have it and have resigned myself to the fact.
Dare I suggest a careful programme of Roundup?
I've noticed since my return that some of the more....zealous... members have gone. Suggest away. I mentioned Kurtail the other day and not only did the sky not fall down but the thread didn't have to be removed because it got so abusive that the mods stepped in!
I call that progress.
I've noticed that too pp.
All these " I never use chemicals" brigade seem to have calmed down.
They seem to forget the usefulness of the chemicals H2O and O2.
Everything in moderation....eh skinny?
wise words pp.
All I ask is that folk are given all the information , good and bad ,and the implications of both, on all the alternatives. Treat people like intelligent adults and let them decide.
I don't dictate that my garden philosophy is right and I resent folk trying to impose theirs upon me.
I know I've given this example before , but here goes again.
I once took over a garden with a mature yew hedge which was full of bindweed. It took 2 seasons to get rid of the bindweed. The yew, and all its neighbours were unaffected by this and we all moved on.
What would the " I never use chemicals" folk have done and what would have been the outcome in the short, and long term?
Is correct HF. I dig and trail and swear with the best of them at my ground elder and Mares Tail but I find that a little squit (yes squit) of n'e'rdowell helps things along.