Weeds from you-know-where

How about a thread to cry about our weed nightmares? I have plenty of bad ones here. Number one on the list is horsetail. This stuff has absolutely ruined a major part of my garden. After removing dozens of plants ... I let a whole area lay idle this summer so I could let the horsetail grow and spray it with round up - SEVERAL times over the summer. I'm praying I'll be able to have this area back next summer. It certainly has been an eye soar this year. Other bad ones I have are wild raspberries, ground ivy, thistles (ouch), and oxalis....

What are your WORST weeds?? What do you do to control them?

Brambles, Buddleia, Fleabane, several Epilobium species several grass species, Ash, Stagshorn tree and a fast growing shrub which I've never been able to identify.

I just pull them up when they get out of hand. The roots dug out and hopefully all done before they reseed!

The other invaders are cowslips, periwinkle and violets but I like these so they stay or get moved around.

goldenrod, sheep sorrel, Japanese knotweed, foxtail, just plain grass, grass, grass! The wild raspberries are starting to surrender, but the goldenrod has convinced me that my surrender is the only answer. I am hacking off the seed heads this year, that might help some. And then, there are the dandelions and the mayweed from the barnyard - YIKES!

bermuda grass for me...the stuff is all over and has a mind of its own.

Bindweed and bermuda grass, and also hackberry trees. I smother the first two whenever possible and go on hackberry murdering excursions from time to time. (If Greenpeace caught me at it they would probably hang me.) I'm trying to expand my garden this year and tilled and planted with annual ryegrass which I plan to till under in the spring. I'm hoping it will help do the smother thing. I don't use chemicals so the challenge is much greater. But, I know when I am gone, they will win. Oh well....

creeping buttercup, even if you leave a little bit, it spreads with runners, arrggh! thistles, clover, spurge (which seems to sprout up everywhere) and during the summer lots of shepherds purse, groundsel and deadnettles. seems like my garden is a weed nature reserve!

lil

Our number 1 enemy here is pokeweek. The seeds are so long-lived that each time I till a new fresh crop poke seedlings emerge. We have to constantly keep after them. Our corn field was taken over by pokeweed this summer. At some point we just gave up, and it became a pokeweed field.

grass in my veggie beds i wish we were grazers we would have the best crop.

Hey Lilith, I see that you posted something about the "creeping buttercup" I had posted on the ID forum that I had a weed that looks very similar to that plant, and I think poppysue had thought it was a globe flower.
Do you think you could take a look at the pic and tell me if you think it is the same as your creeping buttercup?
As of right now I don't think my little yellow weed is a problem, but then again they are just now popping up. so I should be able to tell ya more next summer.
take a look see and let me know ok?

COMFREY its a herb I call it a weed.

I have a couple of plots in a community garden.
Someone planted some years ago and its taking over everything...

Its very hard to get rid of very long tap roots if you break off a piece it will come back..

I HATE THIS STUFF

Paul

Hey Paul, I love my comfrey but it is planted in a huge pot sunk in the ground. I am thinking of putting more in pots just because it is such a stately plant and great gap filler-but only in pots! LOL
Now, the knotweed, pokeweed, wild strawberries! Argh! Those are serious pains in my backside! They aren't too bad in any of the cultivated gardens, aside from the veggie garden, but the back lawn is just loaded full of them. I normally do not use any kind of chemical but have taken to using weed and feed on the lawn, because too many of my neighbors neglect theirs. The other thing is that my block is completely surrounded by woods. Another thing that makes me batty is thorny locust sprouting from the roots of trees that are long gone as well as the ones that are still here. LOL
A friend once told me "A weed is a plant that is growing anywhere you don't want it." Words of wisdom. :)

Bindweed, tumbleweed, kochia and buttonweed to name a few shall overtake the planet! DH thought he was helping me out by moving a lot of dirt into my flower beds to smooth them out. He just moved the seeds and roots of all these plants over to new ground!
I am going (next spring, to try the method that was suggested at Master Gardener classes this year, which was to take a paintbrush and paint Roundup on all the weed leaves sprouting in your established beds.) Hope that method will work to solve some of the problem. Lani

Paulgrow & Badseed... i wonder if u or anyone here is aware that COMFREY is the best addition u could have on ur garden and compost bin!!! comfrey is the #1 ingredients that aid in making compost. http://www.organicdownunder.com/Fertilizer.htm in fact, if not mistaken --- it is the main ingredient on those sold as compost maker. my 2 cents... ma vie

SAVE ur COMFREY folks!!! add it to ur compost, u'd be surprise how quicker ur compost will form. anyone willing to share some for postage????? i sure could use some ;).

edited to add more links: http://www.organicmattersmag.com/features/what2do_folierfeeds.htm http://www.hiway16.com/garden/pages/2001jun25.htm http://www.permaculture.dhs.org/DesignCourse/DesignText/building_soiltxt.htm

This message was edited Monday, Nov 12th 3:17 PM

Comfrey is not a good addition when it takes over everything.

Invasive plants should be planted with care in containers.

The comfrey foliage is what you want for compost. I planted comfrey in my herb bed years ago not realizing how hard it would be to remove. I have no trouble with it spreading out <-> ... I just can't dig deep enough to get the whole root out so it always comes back. MaVie I can get a root for you if you can't find any. The frost killed the foliage back but planting a couple of roots should give you plenty to add your compost pile next year. Just choose a planting spot wisely. I moved it out to the ditch behind my yard - it stays put there but I'd imagine the roots go down to China. I can see where tilling an area that had a few plants would make a mess in a garden.

This message was edited Monday, Nov 12th 4:27 PM

poppysue... i used to grow them in 15 gal. pot, in my old garden. fertilize with high nitrogen fertilizer to get all the leaves for compost... which is the reason why i knew about it. when roots get any bigger, i cut some to dry. when thoroughly dried, i pulverized in an old blender used only for garden stuff. spread the powder around the yard to improve soil condition. the leaves, i spread on the cement, dries quick too. then add to compost - no problem there.

i do research to get acquainted with plants --- that way i can use common sense on how to use them appropriately, if not grow them right!

thank you! deeply appreciate that... i sure could use one, as i do not have any. pls. send me an email when u're ready so i can send priority postage. thanks again... ma vie

I forgot to add that we also have elm tree seedlings all over the place as well as a tree called Tree of Heaven which I have now dubbed the Tree from Hell since it is filled with thousands upon thousands of seeds that put in a deep taproot almost immediately. Even deep compost doesn't foil these tree seeds. Lani

You could have real problems! Here on my limestone ridge, I am plagued by blueberry juniper, called cedar by the locals, hackberry and a nasty little varmint of a weed called straggler daisy. Oh, and stinging nettle, Johnson grass and ragweeds of every description. Situated high on a ridge between two arms of a river, I hesitate to use chemicals because I know within a month they end up in the river. I tried the Roundup paint technique on straggler daisy, and I do think it helped, if I wanted to make the surrounding grass die and the straggler get healthier. Did I mention acres of prickly pear and mesquite? Bindweed isn't so bad when you compare it with stinking gourd, which threatens to take over the pasture now that I don't have animals. The poverty weed wouldn't be so bad if it didn't sneak in and grow overnight to the size of a small tree. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a little touched to even try to garden. And don't get me started on the fireants and grasshoppers and grubs and locusts.

My worst weeds are bindweed and pigweed. I think it's pigweed anyway. That stuff that grows in a circle flat to the ground and even grows in the sidewalks, driveways. I think that the real name is purslane? Nasty stuff. The bindweed is worse though. It has roots that I swear are 50 feet deep, and every little piece that gets chopped up with a hoe grows a new plant. Ugghh!!!

mollybee, looks like it may be creeping buttercup, if it is, you have my sympathies!

lil

Oh my ...

After reading all these ...'heart aches'...I am COMPLETELY SURE I'm NOT the average gardener !!

Alot of the 'weeds' mentioned are Herbs I have seeded in my gardens !! I have taken caution with most.I plant in large containers.And many 'weeds' grow wild here,I allow them and even encourage them to grow !!

I NEVER USE Chemicals , such as Roundup !!

This is what I have found that works on the VERY FEW wilds,I've found NO GOOD in allowing to spread.

#1 NEVER allow it to reseed.Collect and burn all seeds IN a burn can.

#2 Dig up the roots,remove as much as you can get your hands/hoe on.Burn those too.

#3 depending on the surrounding plants you can apply loads of common,NON toxics to the area to DISCOURAGE return growth.I've used table salt , melted bee's wax ,removed soil...applied black plastic sheeting...new soil on top then replant with annuals (next year or later at some point i will recheck the area ...then replant if I want.

NOWeedSZ

Bindweed, I finally rid myself of it on one side of my yard and now it's spreading into the veggie garden from a neighbors yard on the other side(clip the seed pods, dig the roots, repeat URGH). And grass in the 2 in gap between the chain-link fence and RR tie boarder of the veggie garden, I'm going to attempt to smother it with plastic and mulch. I also have some kind of strange weed in the river rock boarder, I think it's called broomstick, I've never seen it till I put those rocks down, I think the seeds came with the rocks. Does any body have a good link for weed identification? I'm totally organic and have learned to appreciate the rest. Dandy Lions we eat in salads or put the leash on the Iguana, Kermit, and take him out to the front lawn to graze, they are his favorite.


My Father lives in the south and is constantly battling Kudzu vine, I've seen him wandering around muttering Thank you Mr Rosavelt.

This message was edited Saturday, Nov 17th 12:35 PM

Pink evening primrose. It's all over my back yard! I pull bags of it out every spring. Just can't seem to keep ahead of it. The blooms are really pretty,but to me it's still a weed. The more you mow the lower to the ground it seems to grow.

MicheleN I didn't know I had a daughter. Poppy with all the beautiful photos that you post I can't believe you have weeds. My wife isn't able to do a whole lot but when you post photos she does manage to get to the computer to see your post. She always says 'Now that woman knows how to grow flowers' She tells me to always show her your posting. I guess I can tell her you know how to grow weeds as well.

Jim, I just want to say I so admire you for the way you share with your wife, and for bringing you both here. I hope if I'm ever unable to "man" my own puter, there will be someone as considerate to show me the good stuff. Happy holidays to you both, and I know you are thankful for each other.

Thanks Aimee, I'll be thinking of all our friends here at Dave's and hopeing that all have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
My wife did make it out yesterday and we went to see our grandkids that live here. The third time she has been out of the house since August 29th. Only stayed a few minutes long enough for me to plant some shrubs that tiG had given me for my DIL. She will be on medication until July of next year. When that day gets here I'll be having a big blow out here and all is invited. Just bring a plant no weeds. LOL

I used to have Japanese Bamboo at our NY place,talk about invasive, but my BIL who worked for a tree expert company in Fl gave me some Garlon 4 and Voila DEAD bamboo roots and all. Dead everything else for a couple years also. I use the Garlon VERY judiciously as a defoliant for walkways.
When we arrived in FL (2 days ago) I found huge multi-branched weeds wherever I had mulched with mulch from the county landfill recycling operation. Don't know what it is but the little sticklike seeds stick to your clothes like crazy. The weeds pull out readily though.

I use the county's free mulch too you do get some suprises in it but hey its free

Last spring I knew I was going to be gone for a couple of weeks, and dreaded the thought of all the weeds I would have when I got home. Since I was not going to be planting seeds in the area, I used Preen, and was very happy with the results. Anyway, in August, hundreds of little "trees" started coming up. I think they are from a neighbor's Chinese Elm, but they are going to be wrestled out next spring, and am not looking forward to that. I don't ususally use chemicals, so this was a first for me.

Ahh Hah!!! Thanks to MaVieRose and one of her wonderful links, I now know that the weed is called, Horsetail or Bottlebrush. I'll just keep clipping the shoots off, and eventually the roots will get stressed-out and die. At least that's the plan. LOL

My Weed from Hell is locally known as Buttonweed. It is not the same as the Buttonweed I saw that is common in Virginia. This resembles a geranium, has small white flowers with square ends on the petals tinged with pink, makes a seed capsule that looks round and flattened about 1/4 inch in diameter looking like a button. I counted 15 seeds in the one I opened. The root system is a taproot with branches. Every piece of it will sprout and it seems to be a perennial. The leaves are round and ruffled, stems are tough and plentiful. The blooms form all along the branches and thus produce a lot of seed pods so one plant can have a thousand seeds. The cotyledon leaves look like cute little 1/4 inch hearts, very innocent and cute. It sprouts all during the growing season. I dug and pulled about a pickup load of it last year and put it on a burn pile. It hardly made a dent in the weed population because every time I pulled one up the side branches of the roots break off and they all sprout. Grrrr!

Goosegrass for me. It always comes back. I pull a lump of it and it sticks all over my tights and skirt. Never get rid off it.

dandelions, 'grass', and many others....

I know some of you "don't use chemical herbicides" and for the most part neither do I. I have on to many occaisions "OVER SPRAYED" something unintended and lost it.
BUT, sometimes its the only thing that will work. So here is an idea that has worked for me. One thing I have learned is when tackling a really tough vine or woody plant is to contain the herbicid. Use a plastic bag....(baggies work great, careful not to puncture the bag) bucket, or can. Mix the herbicide and then roll up the vine,limb or whatever you can and place it in the mixture. Secure the container and sit back and wait. This has worked great for me on some unwanted plants that have a intensive root system and not much leaves. Mustang grape was a real back breaker to get rid of until I started using this technique. On some of the much larger vines ( real tree breakers) I have used a wick technique that worked really well but took awhile. After a year(could have done it sooner) I was able to remove the dead dry vines and save a beautiful pecan tree with no damage to the tree.

Willow, I owe you big time!! This is the perfect solution for me, I have a huge hedge which is being overgrown with blackberries. They are growing through and over it from my neighbor's completely neglected yard, I have been wondering how to get rid of them without cutting down the whole hedge (it's about 12 feet high and wide and 40 feet long!) I've tried injecting roundup right into the canes with very limited success, I can't spray without killing the hedge and everything planted in front of it, tried painting roundup on just the leaves, nothing has worked, I can almost hear the vine laughing at me!

Glad I could help Carena. Remember when you are dealing with something that large it can take awhile( maybe several weeks) to see any results. Also don't forget to check your container and refill it when needed, this will tell you if the plant is soaking it up. You may have to refill it a few times to kill of the root completly. Also you may have to cut the end of the cane that goes in the bucket to get it to soak up the mixture in a suppeciant quantity to do the job. So far I haven,t had to get rid of blackberries, other than shredding them down in the pasture or along an old fence line, so I don't know how long it should take (took about 2 weeks for the grapes to show real distress then it was all down hill and they never came back). Thank goodness they can be really mean to mess with. ....:o) Let me know how it worked for you..

I will let you know! I'm going to wait until after I've gobbled up all the yummy berries, then I'll have to rig up some containers up above doggy level. Aren't I a meanie to take advantage of the fruit then kill the plants? That's not a very nice thank you is it?
Ma Vie, thanks for the info on comfrey, I need all the compost help I can get!