This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.
Help !
Marina1
Posts: 16
I have an abundance of this plant growing in my front garden. It's even gone into the pavement and is growing through the tarmac.
Please can anybody tell me what it is and how to get rid of it.
i sowed wild flower seed last yrpear and sadly this is the result.
thanks for any helpful advice.
0
Posts
It's marestail, it's a nightmare, and you're stuck with it . Almost impossible to destroy. Sorry
Oh dear. I will be popular with the neighbours . It looks a nightmare. Why oh why do they include thus in the packs of wild flower seed? I can't see any flowers forming just a total wipeout of this monster
thanks for your help
Just to reassure you Marina, that will not have been in the seed that you sowed. Marestail gets mentioned regularly on the forum. Its an ancient plant that spreads easily. Just keep pulling it up and digging it out when you see it. I have been trying to get rid of mine for over 30 years (unsuccessfully) and now on my drive I use an old hoe and just hoe off all the top growth. You learn to live with it. Don't despair you are not alone
don't be hard on yourself. I'm 99% sure it didn't arrive in your seed packet. The roots have been recorded 300m deep and it survived the last ice age. If it's coming up through tarmac, it wasn't from your seed mix.
ThankYou. That does make me feela bit better. I have noticed it further up the road encroaching on the footpath. I only moved her 3 years ago but have only noticed in my garden this year. I truely thought I must be yo blame. Thanks again for your kind advice.
I almost said " if you have it, your neighbours will undoubtedly have it too."
I see. I had better start digging it out best I can although I take on board your statement that I will never get rid of it all together. What a shame. Still at least it's not Japanese knot weed which I was fearful of yo start with
it has a coating of silica, and I've read if you bash it , by standing on it or silimar, it can absorb weedkiller better .
Try something based on glyphosate. You'll weaken it, but I don't think you'll ever get rid of it.
Otherwise, hoe it off whenever you see it.
ThankYou again for your support. I truely appreciate it
Thankfully this is one weed I have never had to tackle personally. You could try this trick that works on other tough weeds. Get some lawn weedkiller or glyphosate based one, put it in an old jar or bottle. Nip off the top tips of the plant to expose stem tissue crush or bruise the plant as described above. Stuff as much of the weed in to the jar/ bottle as you can. Leave it as long as you can & the weed killer should translocate down to the roots. Make sure the jar/bottle can't be touched by Children or pets or wildlife wear heavy rubber gloves yourself when working with this. Dispose of carefully.
As mentioned above marestail is an ancient plant that is not as susceptible to modern weedkillers as normal.