Weed wack them to ground level. Do it again and again as they try to grow back, every week or so. They will weaken by degrees. A plant needs its leaves to live. Leaves are their mouths, so to say...you're starving them to death.

In time, they will die out. You don't have to stoop, squat, bend over, kneel down, crawl about.....just walk along leisurely wacking them.

It will take time, but it will work.

Those growing up close to and in among your valuable plants must be done by hand, but don't pull them, just cut them to the ground. As they send up new, weaker growth, cut it down too. Keep after them, don't slack off, and in time....all gone.

Moses

Thanks Moses! These things are crazy invasive and will not stop! They're a few even cracking the driveway and growing between the cracks!! (Those I'll get with boiling water as to not ruin the driveway)

It took me four years to completely eradicate horse tails, Equisetum, from my roses, but after the second year one would come up here and there only, no longer plague proportions.

The fact that there is light at the end of your tunnel will encourage your heart. They will be gone in time, no doubt about it. Actually, the battle is over after the first wacking session. The following sessions are skirmishes with a mortally wounded enemy, dying by degrees.

Moses

Good to know! I'll get my weed whacker out tomorrow (I'll look forward to mowing them down!)

Instead of weed barrier fabric, place cardboard under your mulch when you mulch this fall. If I don't have enough cardboard, I use brown paper grocery sacks.

What Moses said,whack and whack again! Then you'll only need to pull immediately around and under the existing plants. Unfortunately when you tilled you cut up their creeping roots, multiplying the number of plants you have to deal with.

I started a native plant bed and all was well for about two years. Then the black-eyed Susans started to overwhelm everything else EVEN the coneflowers. I removed almost all of them (and won't hesitate to remove the rest).

Now I have a balance, and the Joe Pye Weed, David phlox, Fireworks goldenrod, and others will have a chance. I might try liatris or thread leaf coreopsis in place of the black eyed Susans.

Hmm, I'm glad I read this thread. I will rethink planting Black Eyed Susan...

Barbarag oh no! I was naive and thought the tiller would rip up the roots so bad they couldn't possible be viable. Ah! Live and learn I suppose. At least it seems there's about 50% less, it was crazy how many there were!! They were spreading out of the garden, onto the neighbors yard, up my lawn and also a few in the driveway!! At least now they are contained to the garden and driveway haha

There is a wildflower Black Eyed Susan--that re-seeds everywhere! and there is a perennial Black Eyed Susan that is much more restrained in growth and good-looking leaves--but it will spread by roots, just doesn't try to take over the entire garden!

However, the perennial Black Eyed Susan is a bit stiffly vertical, whereas the wildflower Black Eyed Susan has graceful movement in the breeze. The perennial tends to bloom a bit later than the wildflower version .

I keep some of both on hand since both have some pluses and minuses. However, one does have to keep up on pulling out the excess wildflower Susan like it was a noxious weed. That still leaves a few others to bloom and charm.

Kate

I grow both the the annual black eyed susan, Rudbeckia fulgida, Indian Summer, and the perennial, Rudbeckia hirta, Goldsturm. i much prefer the annual kind and allow it to reseed some. I've even transplanted seedlings at times. They are enthusiastic growers, but I don't find them truly invasive. They are easy to pull up. Goldsturm doesn't bloom for as long as Indian Summer, and I don't like it as well. To sum it up, I love the rudbeckia and echinacea, purple coneflowers. Diane

Thanks for the clarification dublinbay! I didn't know that :)

nanadoll, oh you're so lucky, for some reason they are super hard to get rid of in massachusetts (maybe our super sense clay soil?) and the roots are EXTREMELY deep in this garden, when I do pull then I have to use a garden claw and pull hard! Yours look lovely, mine looked like a jungle! Haha I think the previous owner of my house let them go wild for many years because he traveled a lot

Nanadoll,

Beautiful planting of summer beauties! Great photos, thanks for sharing them!

Rudbeckia hirta (Gloriosa Daisy), is the ideal daisy, much beloved. It's a short lived perennial at best, an asset, not a liability...essentially an annual...and oh, how beautiful and easy to grow and manage it is. It gives so much in return for so little effort.

There's a huge flowered double yellow, green petal centered Gloriosa Daisy that blooms its head off from seed the first year. Bushy and not a leggy grower. The flowers look like exhibition, show Chrysanthemums. Out of 10 plants, only one will come back next year, but that's OK. Easy, easy to grow from seed. It does not self sow or come true from seeds, if I can remember correctly. I may be wrong. I grew it years ago and it exceeded my greatest expectation.

Nothing says summertime like a bed of:

Gloriosa Daisy, any and all Echinaceas, Phlox paniculata (any varieties, especially David....not to forget the common garden Phlox), Liatris, Malva alcea fastigiata, and/or Malva moschata alba, and last but not least, Heliopsis 'Summer Sun'.

Grow Rudbeckia 'Goldstrum,' at your own risk. Should be outlawed! It invades everything, and chokes itself to the point of producing junk flowers.

I'm tempted to rip up the roses in favor of a bed of the above beauties. It sure would be a lot less work!

Moses

Yep, cardboard works well under mulch

Diane how lovely!! Such a beautiful arrangement :)

yes unfortunately mine appear to be some sort of tricky variety. But I took Moses' advice and weed whacked them all down to the dirt, and pulled the ones that were close to other plants. Maybe our fierce winters will help keep them down

Wow Diane! That picture looks like a postcard! What a lovely view and I love how your garden just brings it out!

Diane

That's a magnificent Heliopsis! Mine never looked so nice, but still much loved. Heliopsis is one of the most underused perennials. Usually needs no support and blooms its head off. It's a wonder why the plant breeders haven't worked with it much.

Everything grows so well for you. If you stick your hand into the ground I bet it comes out with little roots growing on it. Thanks for the photo treats.

Moses

Hey everyone,

so ive taken the advice and been ripping up the buggers by hands as quickly as I can (about once every ten days- just big enough to pull but not too big).

currently the dirt is unmulched and completely bare. At this point do I even bother putting down anti-weed fabric and mulching? Or let it be bare? I did like to cardboard suggestion just don't know how much of it I'll be able to get (and I already have fabric in the basement) My concern is the fabric/cardboard and mulch won't work and I'll have wasted the time and money