Any suggestions on getting rid of chickweed in flower beds?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

If you're familiar with this stuff, it's pretty voracious. It's starting to really go crazy in parts of my lawn (time for weed n' feed!) but has invaded within several patches of perennials. What a pain to try and get in there by hand and rip it out without also tearing out the as yet still emerging plants such as chrysanthemum and rudbeckia. Most time consuming. It really spreads, so typically I've just carefully grabbed by hand and usually large spreading patches of the chickweed come out and that's pretty much it, but upon looking closer I see there is a lot of additional smaller chickweed just coming up. Any suggestions other than to just keep plugging away at it? This has been a rather unusual spring so far with the cooler temps and so limited growth compared to what is usually up by now - plus loads of rain.

Featured Answer

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

3 years ago

Keep pulling then mulch.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

gawdinfever Z6
3 years ago
I had two seasons where I just pulled. It's finally gone (for now).
Related Discussions
front yard help - getting rid of large bed - pics
Q
Comments (25)
@ woody, my main complaint about the wedge beds is not how they affect or don't affect maintenance, but that they look bad. To have the arrowhead shape bed greeting you as you arrive into its space is not friendly and welcoming. It's not attractive in ground hugging 2-d design. If it's a 3-d shape, it's attractiveness lessens with every inch of height it gains. The shape is in contradiction to the growth patterns of almost any plant. Usually these beds are planted in contradiction to their true shape which helps lessen the mistake of their existence. How about offering a picture of any pointed bed that proves me wrong? @ growsveges, overall, I like the shape of the beds/lawn in your last picture. It's remarkably similar to my first suggestion with a couple of detail differences. The only part of it with which I take exception is completely confining the walkway to the front entrance with a planting bed. If what was planted in the bed in front of the entrance was very low, I don't think it would be horrible. If it was very low, colorful flowers that added a lot of cheer, it could even be good. Other than that, it seems to some degree a contradiction to have an expanse of green velvet carpet that leads to the front entrance and then as visitors actually get there, tell them to go elsewhere and enter a different way. Even if people won't actually access the entrance via the front lawn, the appearance that they could completes a thought process that seems logical and sensible. Being confined by foliage along a walk is not necessarily a pleasant experience.
...See More
Any ideas for getting rid of crickets in the garden?
Q
Comments (19)
I have about 45 raised beds in the kitchen garden. Many are covered with multi layers of paper and topped with lots of spoiled hay as mulch. Crickets are every where, and then some. Never have i seen evidence of them eating into peppers or any other vegies here. I would also guess that they hide out in peppers, thru holes made by others. They feed on all kinds of organic matter, but as to plants - seems limited to seedlings. I would like to identify a pest that makes holes in my peppers - about 1/2 to 3/4" long larvae - black with orangeish markings up and down the body.. Those DO make holes. They crawl quite fast on my cutting board when i cut the peppers to process them. Any ideas? Glad
...See More
getting rid of grass in flower beds
Q
Comments (7)
You need to identify the grass, but if it is quackgrass, it can be tough to kill without killing your flowers. I have had good luck using Round-up, but that was when I was planning to redo the entire bed anyway. You must use edging or some kind of barrier to prevent roots from the surrounding area from moving back in as they will do that fairly quickly. I have also had good luck using the active ingredient in Grass-B-Gone. However, it is fairly slow to kill the grass--it just stops growing, then slowly dries up. Usually takes a couple applications when the grass eventually starts to regrow, but it is easy to apply. It is safe for many of your common yard flowers, but not for all. If your beds have flowers that it affects, then I think Round-up will be the better choice. Pulling the grass from damp soil, getting as much of the roots as possible is probably one of the better treatments. Just remember to keep after it everytime more grass appears--you have to get all the roots, any that break off and remain in the soil will start a new plant, so you have to keep going back after these, and again you have to prevent roots from outside the flower bed from moving back in. If the grass is an annual grass, then pulling by hand is very effective. Round-up and Grass-B-Gone will also do a good job, but could damage your flowers as noted above, and with annuals, there is probably more seed in the soil so new sprouts of grass will come up again later and the herbicides won't stop this unless you also put down a product containing trifluralin (Preen) to stop the germinating weeds for a longer period.
...See More
Getting rid of Bermuda in lawn/garden beds
Q
Comments (4)
A thick layer of mulch will not stop bermuda grass! I tried to make a flower bed (about 5x15')and my husband used the weed eater to grind the BG down to bare earth. I placed a thick layer of cardboard over that and a thick layer of bark mulch over that. Within a years time the BG was growing through it. I then killed large areas with Round-up and sodded the area. Since my neighbors have BG also, I planted shrubs and trees along the property line and mulched heavily. On the semi-shady side of the lot, the BG hasn't really a problem but on the sunny side I have to manually remove the runners 2-3 x's a year. Generally it grows OVER the mulch, which makes it easy to pull out, but some of the runners grow under the mulch and "pop up" in the garden bed. On those I have to use RU. You really have to stay on top of it. One thing I was concerned about...I was afraid the seeds would blow in from other areas but it's been 4 years and thus far, hasn't been a problem. I don't think a fence will solve your problem however. One thing I've learned about bermuda...it doesn't like shade. By shade I mean trees or shrubs. But mulching alone will not stop it. Concerning weeds...my neighbors make no effort to treat them, as in using a pre-emergent. I don't expect them to, that's their perogative. But you can use a pre-emergent to control most of the weeds in your lawn if applied properly. Also, make sure you overseed your St Augustine yearly. Weed seeds are very opportunistic and will invade areas that are thin or bare. A thick lawn will prevent many of them from taking hold. Good luck!
...See More
Skip1909
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Anyone use a stirrup hoe (aka hula hoe, push pull hoe, or action hoe) or dutch hoe in this situation? For example: hoe, mulch, hoe any resprouts; or is the hoeing going to perpetuate new germination?
three4rd47
Original Author
3 years ago
I'll keep at it, but also should add weed n' feed to the lawn. Thanks.
erasmus_gw
3 years ago
I've complained about chickweed in the past and some people offer counter arguments such as that it's edible, and fixes nitrogen in the soil, and insulates against late freezes, and I'm starting to think maybe it acts like mulch and helps soil stay moister, despite how it hogs some of the moisture. So I'm not as upset about it as I used to be...I think maybe it's not so bad. It's very green. It's not really an ugly weed. It does pull up easily. I find that if I weed- eater it it usually doesn't come back. As you're finding, it likes the cool , moist spring. It goes away in high heat. I have not tried eating it yet. Sure would make a low maintenance veggie!
donna_in_sask
3 years ago
For me, it's an indicator weed, like clover in lawns that are nitrogen deficient...chickweed grows in moist, damp areas. Correcting those conditions might help, in addition to making sure they don't go to seed. They pull up easily enough, but I suspect it is like other noxious weeds where, if the entire root mass isn't removed, the plant will come back stronger than ever. Use a weeding tool to loosen up the root and get that too rather than just yanking out the foliage. Keep up the good fight!
linaria_gw
3 years ago
if we are talking Stellaria media

it loves rich soils IME,

and is annual in cold climate, I think,

at least it withers in hot spring weather around here,

new seeds sprout with every rain

so, competition will make it go away: larger plants, shade, less fertilizer.

I only find it in rich spots like veggie plots, not my perennial bed (with tough resilient species)

if you use a hoe you disturb the soil and give it perfect conditions for germination,

I would go for hoeing before applying some mulch
laceyvail 6A, WV
3 years ago
It sets prodigious amounts of seed. A real menace.
dchall_san_antonio
3 years ago
but also should add weed n' feed to the lawn

NO! No, no, no!! First of all, wnf products almost never do what you think they will do. These products come under the old adage of "too good to be true". You should have spot sprayed Weed-b-Gon Chickweed, Clover, and Oxalis Killer 2 weeks ago to kill the weeds in the lawn. Not sure what to use in the flower beds. And you should be getting ready to fertilize (not with wnf) for the first time this spring in 2 weeks.

Any suggestions on getting rid of chickweed in flower beds?

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

Comments (9)

gawdinfever Z6

Related Discussions

Skip1909

three4rd47
Original Author

erasmus_gw

donna_in_sask

linaria_gw

laceyvail 6A, WV

dchall_san_antonio

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Any suggestions on getting rid of chickweed in flower beds?

Comments (9)

Related Discussions

three4rd47Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

three4rd47
Original Author