‘Weeds and how to understand them! - Identification is it the key to con...

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‘Weeds and how to understand them! – Identification is it the key to control?
‘One year’s seeding makes seven years weeding’ or so the saying goes! We all have weeds which are often referred to as ‘a plant in the wrong place’.
A lot of weeds are left over from the Middle ages when they were used as food and medicines Ground elder was once a vegetable served at the table and also used to help relieve Gout.
Ground elder, Lesser celandine, Mare’s tail and Ivy are my real problems. I control what I can but I have also learned to live with bits of them as I dislike using chemicals and if I can do it another way I will.
I banned all chemicals from my garden for 15 years while my children were growing up and I did not find the weed problem any worse than I do now when I do use some.
I find aerating the soil/lawn, mowing regularly, hoeing, with the odd bit of hand weeding mostly keeps them manageable. I am also very careful about what I introduce into the garden a plant from a neighbour or garden centre can introduce a new pest along with the plant. But the wind and wildlife will mostly bring fresh weeds.
Finally accepting that I cannot be ‘Weed free’ no longer stresses me out.
The May edition of GW magazine have done a good article on 8 root types of perennial weeds and how to deal with them. For those of us who ask about weeds I have condensed the article to help toidentify/manage our weeds. While this article does not cover all weedy problems it goes a long way to helping us understand the problem of a specific weeds and how to control them.
1) Taproots: Types includes Dandelion, Dock and Thistle which have thick deep roots to get moisture and to survive winter. They can be dug out with a daisy grubber or spot treated with a glyphosate weedkiller to get down to the root.
2) Dense mats: Types include Grasses, nettles and Yarrow. Which spread under the surface of the soil to make thick dense firmly rooted clumps. They can be dug up but any left behind will quickly regrow so you might want to treat the centre clump with glyphosate weedkiller first.
3) Large rootstock: Types include black and white Briony and Pokeweed. A rapid spread corky root can be 20cm under the soil. Dig up whole root and treat any new Spring growth with glyphosate weedkiller.
4) Woody scrub: Types include Brambles, Sycamore and Ivy. Spreads by seed to quickly form tough roots, brambles and Ivy also by shoot tips. Dig out when young but for woody shrub like growth cut to ground level and keep it that way to starve the roots and treat any new growth with brushwood killer.
5) Brittle roots: Types include Bindweed, Ground elder, Willow herb and Creeping thistle. Wide spreading roots which break up easily and produce new shoots. Cutting off the tops weakens them, but you need to sieve the soil if digging them up and use a glyphosate weedkiller to spot treat new shoots.
6) Bulbi-type roots: Types include Lesser celandine, Oxalis, Spanish bluebells and Three-cornered leek. Small bulbs which quickly spread. Hoe off the leaves before flowering and repeat when seen, in larger problem areas a ‘ light suppressant’ covering from March to June will also help.
7) Deep rooted: Include Horsetail and Japanese knotweed: Roots can go down a meter and spread widely close to the surface. Weedkillers are not effective. The ground needs to be cleared and a light suppressant membranefor 2 years even a Copper one in some case, some roots can come through concrete so you may need to seek expert advice.
8) Creeping roots: Types include Chickweed, Clover, Couch, Creeping Buttercup, Daisy, Selfheal and Speedwell. These tend to be most troublesome in lawns which can be controlled by Weed and feed, regular mowing to weaken them, good idea to scarify to lift the creepers before mowing. Spot weed treatment for stubborn ones

• 24 Apr, 2011
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