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Essex, United Kingdom

For the last few years I've been over-run with bluebells, they spread into my perennials including paeonys and Agapanthus and they seem to reduce these plants vigour, and it's even worse this year. I have been trying to pull them out and especially before they can flower and seed, although I don't understand really because they are a bulb. Can anyone give me any advice, as they are really getting beyond me, they're in all my raised beds, even pots. Many thanks




Answers

 

I have the same problem with wild garlic (not the Ransoms). I call them that although they are actually called ------- Leek.
They too are bulbs but self-seed all over the place and I have to dig them out. Pulling them up doesn't work and even when I think I've dug them all up, up they pop again the following year.
I think you will need to dig up the ones you don't want but I don't know what you can do about the ones in amongst other perennials. Apart from digging up the plants as well and pulling the bulbs out that is.
I'm sure someone on here will be able to advise you.

8 Apr, 2019

 

Bluebells spread by increasing at the bulb end, often by runners, (which is why you find long narrow 'bulbs' as well as rounded ones and everything in between when you dig them out) but also by seed from the spent flowers - removing the flowers before they set seed is important, but it sounds like its a bit late now. I'm afraid your only pesticide free option is to dig them out wherever you find them, not pull them, and that means getting underneath them, loosening the soil all round with a garden fork, then getting in there with your hands and lifting out clumps and any stray bulbs. Even so, there will inevitably be some left behind that will pop up next year, and then you just have to do the same thing again I'm afraid. I've spent years digging them up in various gardens - the owners nearly always say oh, but I really like bluebells... and I always said, yea,don't worry, there'll still be some next year - because there will be. But any I ever came across when not in growth I whipped out without a second thought, so any 'bulb'' that looked white and not particularly well shaped as well as properly shaped - bluebell woods are beautiful, but they're a right pain in ordinary gardens....

In your case, with raised beds, they might be pretty deep in the soil, and it might mean removing plants, keeping them in something temporarily out of the sun and keeping them moist,, making sure you've extracted any bulbs in their roots, digging the rest out, then replanting the plants you want to keep. As for any in pots, well, you'd need to unpot and then locate the bulbs in there amongst the other roots.

8 Apr, 2019

 

Like others, I have tried to pull them but found that the best is to paint them with a mixture of Glyphosate and wallpaper gel. You might have to repeat but it did the trick for me.

8 Apr, 2019

 

Thank you all for your replies, and I will have to try to lift my precious plants and pull the bulbs out and replant. They are very pretty but they are no longer welcome in my garden!

8 Apr, 2019

 

Yes the only sure way is to dig them out whilst in the green, some of your perennials you can still lift now even though they have a few inches of growth, deep dig these clumps so that once lifted you see the bluebells bulbs then take the bulbs away, the peonys though should by now have longer growth which can easily be snapped off so best to leave these until the autumn and do the same but remember when replacing them not to put them in too deep, given time you will get on top of it, try and do as much as you can now and next year do the same and done properly you should have it under control, the effort you put in will yield results.

8 Apr, 2019

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