The weed that doesn't die

9 years ago

We have this weed in our flowerbed that refuses to die completely. They grow up to 18in or 2ft if left alone and their root system seems to go on forever, getting thicker down below. Multiple plants can be attached to one root. The only plants I have found similar are a Canada thistle, or prickly lettuce. These weeds don't flower.

I feel I have tried everything. Roundup, brush killer, weed + grass killer, bleach, vinegar, salt, GAS, etc. I can get the weeds to shrivel up and after daily treatments for a week they will die, but two days later they are back! Even more so, there is no preventative measure I have found

I've also tilled the ground 4 times this year and consistently hand weed. This isn't working. 2-3 days later I get 10-20 weeds per 2 * 2 ft area. This flowerbed is about 600sq ft.

Yesterday, I tried boiling water and POOF they turned black and shriveled up instantly in a small area. However, I couldn't imagine how I could gather THAT many pots of boiling water to cover the area all at once.

Completely destroying the area is not possible, I have a really expensive japanese maple looking bush thats worth a few thousand in the flower bed that I'm afraid I'll kill along with a tree. On top of that someone recently (last week) planted perennials all over the flowerbed after my last till. With the amount of chemicals I've already spread over the soil the perennials look like they're already going to die anyways, but I don't want to kill off the tree or the bush. I just need these weeds gone, I've never seen anything like it. They'll tear through plastic covering, newspaper, etc. There has to be something that will kill them at the root.

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Comments (6)

Acehigh0111
Original Author
9 years ago
Here's another picture of one fully grown under shade. Their leaves are kind of prickly. They won't really draw blood buy you should wear gloves when dealing with them. Not something I would squeeze in my hand, but it's not too bad.
IanW Zone 5 Ont. Can.
9 years ago
These thistles have a strong, deep root system that spreads out by "runner" roots....
My suggestion is to dig, dig, dig.......the only way to get rid of them......
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Kimmsr
9 years ago
Thistles are difficult to control, as you have seen. The most effective method I have found is to keep all above ground growth cut to deprive the roots of any nutrients so they eventually die. Repeat spraying with herbicides, by those not too concerned about the harm they do to our environment or the expense, is also an option.
nandina
9 years ago
One of my favorite books, now passed on to a horticultural library, concerned farming in MA during the Civil War. Several pages are devoted to eradicating this thistle which always has been a costly, troublesome weed. The 'solution' then was to mow grasslands in the fall to a height of about 6" which left the hollow centers of each thistle exposed to the winter elements which killed the plant. Based on this writing and years of experimenting when living in Yankee land, I dealt with the thistle by cutting each stalk back to about 3" in height during active late spring growth and placing 2 drops of clorox into the exposed hollow stem. Clorox keeps on working and will slowly kill the extensive root system. Patience! Hand pull the weed near your prized tree as even a single drop of clorox is effective for quite a radius around a treated plant.

And, if the decision is made to use no chemicals then remove each thistle, cutting below soil surface. Repeat until root system dies off. Try using a linoleum knife as a "down on the knees" weeding tool. Most effective weed controller I have in my gardening tool kit.
donna_in_sask
9 years ago
I have a notched dandelion digger that gets most of the taproot of thistles...never let them bloom and keep digging them out and you should get the upper hand.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
9 years ago
I'm pretty sure that is Cirsium arvense, aka Canada Thistle. It's called Creeping Thistle here on account of its spreading roots. I imagine it hasn't flowered because it is under constant attack. I think you will just have to bite the bullet and face up to a lot of very thorough digging.