Bramble invasion
ceris hughes
Posts: 23
Can anyone give me some advice on how to get rid of some huge bramble that are growing in the gap between my fence and my neighbors fence. Thier ground is a few feet higher than mine so their fence is about 8ft, mine 6ft. they have now flopped over the top of my fence to follow direction of sun. I will harvest berries this year but then it's war! I hate to use weed killers but i suppose it will come to this as i cant get to it to digg it out. I cant see where the roots are either, I have this horrible vision of myself flinging round up all over it and wondering what havoc I'll cause and I want to avoid 'neighbor disputes' at all costs.
I'd really appreciate some practical advice and methods to use in a safe and dignified manner - please
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I have similar problems with my neighbours' brambles and bindweed spiling through and over the boundary. Their entire garden needs an ASBO. If you can get in to do it, strim off the top growth to a foot or so from the ground. Wait a bit til new growth starts to show, then spray with bramble killer. When the leaves start to go brown, spray again. That should do it. If you can't get in to chop back, just spray what you can reach. You may have to do it a few times and keep watch for new growth, but you'll get there. If its any consolation, you'd have to poison even if you could get in - you'd never dig out really estalished brambles anyway. BTW, if you'r worried about poiso ending up all over, you can make a cardboard or plastic cone (narrow) and tape it to the nozzle of your gun to 'focus the beam'! x
Is there a real need for there to be two fences? You're always going to have problems with weeds growing up in that No Man's Land between them as birds will sit on there and drop seeds into the gap.
What are the neighbours like? Can you approach them and warn them that you're going to take action against the brambles in both your interests?
If you removed your fence is their fence in good enough condition to be the boundary - or is yours the proper fence and theirs has just been erected as they wanted more privacy?
What else have you got growing around there? If you need to spray I would suggest that Brushwood Killer is the stuff to use, but it will kill everything that it touches!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If the bramble is embedded in other hedging, then you would need to be very careful to avoid spraying anything else. If the bramble is simply supported by wooden fencing, then that may not be a problem.
If the plant is embedded with other plants then Roundup gel carefully applied to individual leaves is effective. It's slow to act, but does work and will kill bramble.
About this time of year bramble are throwing out new shoots to try to claim new land. These can easily be 3 metres long or more. The long ends are best snipped off and removed. Be very carful when handling. Normal gardening gloves are not thorn proof.
Which fence is the legal boundary between the gardens?
Wickedly, I was going to suggest you threaded the bramble shoots back through the fence, and hope your neighbour deals with it.
Aunt Betty, I find digging out is the only efficient method of clearing brambles. And the cheapest, and safest. Weak little bramble plants will grow from any big roots left behind, but they are easily dealt with. I once cleared a large-ish garden of 8ft high brambles that way. When dried out the roots burn well.
Pharmacy or vets. I think you use hyperdermic for Japanese Knotweed rather than bindweed. Though if you cut the Knotweed just below a node you can inject weedkiller into the stem with a syringe without a needle
You can get disposable syringes also from pharmacy or vets.