Speaking of invasive - anyone have luck removing Creeping Charlie
linlily
17 years ago
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Comments (23)
shadeyplace
17 years agoironbelly1
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Creeping charlie
Comments (25)Very interesting post, everyone ~ Thank You. We've come to the same conclusion in Ontario, Canada. The back yard is luscious and green in any drought condition. We also like the smell. The entire back yard is surrounded by patio or garden. The creeper will grow in runners over top the stone and mulch. Two or three times a year, we simply pull it out, from the perimiter of the lawn, to maintain the edge and prevent spreading. Grass still grows around the creeper, throughout the yard, so the lawn is beautiful. We've slowly come to the conclusion that dandelions aren't growning in the back yard... No other weeds, but creeper and grass. The front yard, on the other hand, is a different story. We live beside a park, and the city maintenance crews and snow plows make a mess of the first 8 feet in... Plus, the city maintained park does not use herbicides, so the dandelions, and other weeds we can't even identify, are rampant. Not to mention people walking their dogs that think it's acceptable to let their pets use the lawn as a toilet. This morning, we thought of the brilliant idea to transplant creeper along the edge of the front yard, and let it go.... "Can't be any worse than what we're already looking at..." So, after searching the web, and finding hundreds of sites detailing how to control it (instead of enjoy it), we finally found you! (Now we know we're not crazy.) So, the plan is to pull out some runners, and simply place them on fresh, black earth, raked into the ruts at the edge of the lawn... We'll try a couple of shallow shovel fulls of creeper, too... We'll keep you posted....See Moreanyone have an invasive species in yard?
Comments (49)Minibim, you are correct that many exotic plants are fine for wildlife in your yard. I agree with that, which is why I added the caveat above about whether or not you can contain the plant in question. Butterflies love many plants that we would not want to see taking over our natural areas, for instance. The point I'm trying to make is that when these plants escape into the wild and begin to eliminate native plants, in the wild, they become a problem. Our native plants are home to hundreds of animal, avian, and insect species, and we can't lose large areas of those plants without suffering damage to our native wildlife. I don't care HOW widely something spreads in a garden. That's up to the person gardening. What I worry about is anything planted in a yard that can easily become an invasive plant in the wild. If you can contain your wedelia and you like it, I don't see anything wrong with that. Species like Chinese tallow and golden raintrees can NOT be contained, and those are deadly to our wild areas. Felix, your wedelia is contained by the nature of your property. You live in an area that was once pastureland, and you have a huge border around you. I don't think your wedelia is going anywhere else. (Unless it spreads by seed, which I suspect is not really the problem.) Minibim, if you have yours contained and controlled, I don't see it as a problem, either. And I agree that our official list of "invasive" species should contain more info on how and why they are a problem. I'm guessing my long absence from here has gotten me out of the practice of expressing myself things clearly. Sorry about that. Marcia...See MoreBattle of the Invasive Groundcovers
Comments (15)"I don't want to use a brush killer because when I tried that at another house, it took 3 years to grow anything in that area. " You most likely used too much brush killer, or some stuff that lingers too long in the soil. Most brush killers (triclopr esp.) only last in the soil for up to 30 days with most of it bound to the soil by 10 days. If you cover with black plastic and rocks, I don't think that anything will happen. Actually you will most likely insulate the weeds over the winter and they will be stronger than ever in the spring. That or they will spread underground until they are beyond your plastic. For this technique to really be effective, it must be done in full sun and in the height of summer, and I'm not convinced that it will kill these groundcovers because of their vitality. One problem with mowing everything is that you can actually spread propagules and cause the groundcover to spread faster. Try Garlon 3A at a rate of 2-3% in a backpack sprayer on the new growth. You should also read my thoughts above pertaining to instant control. It really does not work and usually causes more problems. good luck t...See MoreHow to get rid of Creeping Charlie
Comments (107)18 months after converting my patchwork lawn to just about 100% Tall Fescue (cheap/tough K31 at that). I have so few spots of CC I just hand pull it occasionally while mowing my lawn and at that it just seems like finesse. The seed is inexpensive and has gotten the job done with several overseedings after a scorching cutting. My strategy was to think "below ground." Kentucky Bluegrass, for example, has a shallow weak root system. One selling feature is the vigorous surface roots that enable it to spread in to bare spots. This behavior is essential identical to CC at the macro-level. Cheap K-31 grass operates in a different manner. The roots are very deep and the plant prefers to be a bit tall (usually 4" mowings for me) not creepy. I ammended soil pretty deep in areas of poor topsoil. It germinates quickly and establishs to a "bigger" potential much later. But once established -- it is harder to kill then CC. Thats how I eliminated CC. I let the K31 get strong then beat up my lawn pretty badly but with just a few moments of consideration just prior. Mowing it short in heat, mowing at varying heights that "didn't make sense", letting it get tall for some periods. K-31 if you want cheap, extremely durable, weed-free turf --consensus is just overseed it every other year. KGB if you aim to have a prettier but very high maintance lawn requiring extra water, chemicals/organics, and attention with less need to overseed for thick turf. My only question for some of the posts is what kind of grass and what kind of conditions exist and shooting for. Best of luck with whatever grass species!...See Morechazparas
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