Ground Elder yay or nay

Mark56

I'm saying yes, just need confirmation. It's between the privet and the Kerria.

fidgetbones

Oh yay.

Dovefromabove

Afraid I concur .........  but every cloud has a silver lining 

https://scottishforestgarden.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/growing-and-eating-ground-elder/ 

Cloggie

Yep that's her.  White fleshy roots reminiscent of bindweed if you've ever weeded that.

I tackled a bed with this in it and because yours is well established I think it's actually a bit easier to remove.  It gets tricky when you have other stuff in there like your hedge (I had a wire fence!!). 

I used a fork to loosen the soil down to a fork tine's depth (ish) then on my hands and knees crumbled the soil clods bit by bit.  I didn't worry about saving anything (except bulbs) and chucked it all in the green bin.  I had ivy roots in there too.

Try and attack it gently and methodically.  Don't just dig it over, it'll come back in smaller bits harder to remove.

Hope this helps.

Mark56

Oh the fun that will be had this weekend then  think I could feed the family for the rest of the year with the amount slowly creeping in. I guess I'll have to put the geraniums on the back burner for that spot for now. 

Thanks for the advice Cloggie, oh yes bindweed still manages to make an occassional appearance too, mainly thanks to the neighbours growing it like wildflowers. 

Could be worse, could be Japanese knotweed aye 

Cloggie

oof, yeah, get it out before geraniums go in.  Where mine was is now shrubs (but I see minute little bits of it coming back and try my best to keep on top of these remaining roots).  I left it a few months before planting (I had to show great reserve because I habitually fill empty soil as soon as poss).  I will never stop them coming through from next door but I will stop it being the congested mess that it was.

Dave Hedgehog

It's definitely Ground Elder.

Unfortunately, you may find it seriously difficult to eradicate if it's growing underneath hedges or shrubs as the rhizomes intertwine with roots from other plants. A very tricky one indeed, even on open ground.

You could dig out as much as possible and keep a constant eye on re-growth and hoe it down as soon as any appears, which is easier said than done if it's hiding under a hedge or bewteen the somewhat inpenetrable mass of stalks on a Kerria. 

Weed killer can be used if carefully applied with a brush rather than a spray but will take time to kill off the elusive rhizomes that cannot be dug out.

Mark56

Thanks folks  appreciate the advice.