How do I protect perennials from invasive tree roots?
rochesterroseman
last year
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
rochesterroseman
last yearlast modified: last yearRelated Discussions
How do you kill invasive weeds with underground root feeders?
Comments (4)Thankyou... I actually care for my neighbors home too...And because I don't always have the time like my yard, God these vines are every where. They are choking their bushes, crawling up their foundation, overtaking their grass, crawling up the fence, and now spreading into my gardens. If you pull up a baby, no roots come up..I will take a pic of them. They grow these weird looking bean pods and they tangle and choke everything they climb on. Now they are mixing in with my honeysuckel vines..ARG...See MoreProtecting perennials from groundcovers
Comments (19)I'm sure a lot of it has to do with location - that's pretty much SOP for any potentially invasive or aggressively spreading plant. The more suited it is to the planting situation, the happier it will be and the more it will spread. I've attached a link for those of you who can't imagine this plant being overly aggressive :-) Lots of times, until you see it in person, it IS hard to imagine that seemingly well-behaved plant in your garden can be a horrible pest in another! I still like groundcovers and find them remarkably useful in all sorts of gardening situations. But like any other plant, it's a matter of selecting the right one for your specific location and situation. IME, most sedums make a very good groundcover, growing upto the base of other plants but never taking over. I grow a lot of trees and shrubs in containers and I often use sedums to fill in at the base. I also support flora's thoughts about groundcovers versus perennials - a good many perennials have low, spreading habits that make them excellent groundcovering plants in a mixed perennial/shrub border. 'Groundcover' is just a habit of growth, not a specific plant classification. Here is a link that might be useful: sweet woodruff taking over...See MoreHow do you protect trees from verticillium wilt??
Comments (12)Not sure about the assumption of "clean" sites. As rhizo states, Verticillium is ubiquitous - it is present in most temperate soils worldwide and can remain dormant or inactive in the soil for many years. It can also be vectored in by weeds and other plants - it has many, many host plants. It can also be transmitted by mechanical means (contaminated pruners or other garden tools, grafting and cuttings), through insect damage and even by irrigation, as well as by imported soil/amendments or infected nursery stock. But the chances of a woody plant contracting VW are greatly reduced if a) the land was not previously used for agricultural purposes; b) there has been no prior indication of the disease; c) you avoid cultivation or disturbance in the root zone that could lead to root damage; d) the plant is kept free of stressors (poor drainage, drought, excessive heat/cold) and has adequate available nutrient levels (avoid high nitrogen fertilizers) and e) you practice good garden sanitation (routinely clean/sterilize garden tools and pruners and control host weeds that act as inoculum resevoirs, like ground cherries/nightshade, lamb's quarters, horse nettles, pigweed, shepards purse and velvet leaf). I have not yet seen any documentation to prove the efficacy of Actinovate in controlling the pathogen once diagnosed but it may very well assist in prevention as it has a biological mode of action (it is a bacterium) that may prevent the fungal pathogens from invading root tissues. And a biologically diverse and healthy soil should do the same. Compost is well-documented in its disease suppressing capabilities and mulching with compost would go far in maintaining high levels of soil biology. FWIW, I have had a couple of woody plants succumb to VW over the years and while I did not replant with known susceptible species, there were other VW susceptible species growing in close proximity that were totally unaffected....See MoreHow to protect roots from voles
Comments (18)Kit- the problem with poisons is they don't discriminate. Since the voles don't die instantly any natural predator risks being poisoned too plus household pets. Jim from PA used poison that his dog got ahold of through ingesting the dying vole and his dog almost died. My daughter has issues with either mice or voles getting in her car. Peppermint has been a great deterrent. I have also read that people spray peppermint oil around the foundations of their summer homes in the fall to keep rodents out throughout he winter. I'm not sure if this would work or not. The voles only seem to bother my plants in the winter so i'll be drenching their roots come late fall and periodically throughout the winter until the snow falls. I'm planting my roses in inverted nursery pots with the bottoms removed and 1/2 inch holes drilled on the sides for the feeder roots to grow through. I put a layer of crushed oyster shell at the bottom of the planting hole, fill the pot with soil, form about a 1-1/2inch moat around the sides of the pot and a 2 inch layer of crushed shell across the top of the rose. I was going to make hardware cloth cages but they eventually rust. In the fall I want to put a hardware cloth collar around the canes with the top edge flared out so they can't climb over it. I won't know if my methods will work until next spring but they're worth a try. Good luck with your battle! Sharon...See Moregardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last yearrochesterroseman
last yearlast modified: last yearThanks Ken. Here is a picture. I don't expect a perfect solution, I only want to give my plants a bit of an edge that they don't have now. I would only try to protect some of the more vulnerable plants and let the others fend for themselves. The hostas actually are doing very well. They don't seem bothered at all. Maybe pots are the way to go for the astilbe and a few others. BTW, this is my entire front lawn! It's a very small area and there is no place to move anything to. Growing grass here was much worse. So, at any rate I am ahead of the game.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last yearrochesterroseman
last year
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