What are these shoots and how can I get rid of them?

Hi folks,

Horror of horrors, I'm finding little grass-like shoots poking through my new(ish) gravel garden. See image. I have three of these sprouting up in different areas. Does anyone know what it is and how to get rid of it?

There is a membrane and I suppose no membrane provides 100% protection, and the rest is holding up very well, but I would like to get on top of this before it becomes too established. (The garden was a complete jungle beforehand.)

To counter this blight, last week I snipped the shoots and sprayed glyphosate down the shoots, but I see that since then they have only grown. If they can survive glyphosate I shudder to think what I'll have on my hands soon.

What would you do/try?

As ever, I appreciate your help.

Update: To clarify, they're annoyingly brittle shoots so they snap when pulled. Given the resistance, I suspect the roots lie beneath the membrane. I can't get to the roots.

 

Well ... possibly I have low standards of neatness, but I would not call that an invasion. Just pluck 'em out by hand. Poison is overkill.

 

Hello, the principle of glyphosate is that it works on green top growth and travels down to kill the roots, so the more leaf area there is the better it works. It's not instant, though.
A bit 'overkill' really, if it's just annual grass Have you tried pulling it out? If it resists strongly, then it could be couch grass in which case two or three doses of glypho will do the trick eventually.

 

Thanks for these early replies. To clarify, they're annoyingly brittle shoots so they snap when pulled. Given the resistance, I suspect the roots lie beneath the membrane. I can't get to the roots unfortunately.

(I might add this to the original thread, for others wondering likewise.)

 

They look like bulbs of some kind which are emerging at around this time. They have brittle stems because the bulb anchors them pretty well, especially if it has a membrane to push against.

If you keep pulling them they will give up eventually but they will only be an issue for you for part of the year.

 

Did you have bluebells or muscari there? Looks lie one of those to me.

 

Leave to grow until next spring and then hit with glyphosate around April.

 

That looks like Equisetum to me. The stems are brittle because they contain silica. It is invasive and can become difficult to eradicate. You need to crush the stems before applying a systemic weedkiller so that it can enter the internal tissue and travel down to the rhizomes underground. The outside of the stem is impermeable and won’t allow chemicals to pass through. The plant needs to be actively growing for systemic weed killers to work and it could take several applications, although success depends on how extensive the rhizomes are. If you prefer not to use weedkillers, regularly removing the top growth, either by hand or mechanically can weaken the plant. If you try to dig up the rhizomes, be thorough as small sections left behind can regrow.

 

If the green shoots are still actively growing and you are impatient, you could try using a systemic weedkiller now. October is not ideal timing but unseasonally warm temperatures can extend the growth period of many plants, including weeds, so you may have some success.

 

I agree we'd need a proper close up when it grows more.
What was growing in the site before you cleared and covered it though? That may helps to ID it.

Weedkillers only work when there's something to work on, as @noisette47 and others have said, but it isn't really the right time of year for treating it.

If it's Equisetum - as in horse tail, good luck with getting shot of that permanently! It travels underground for miles and pops up along the way. Any tiny bits left will grow.

 

If you can remember anything like this growing in the area before it was covered @tommyrot, it may help with ID as it is quite unique. I’m hoping that this will help you rule out the dreaded Equisetum!

 

There is the chance the seeds were in the grit surrounding the gravel you have put down so the seedlings have not pushed through the weed membrane but grown in the silt which the rain will have washed down on top of the membrane. You could try hoeing the gravel as cutting off the heads of any plant will eventually kill it.

 

If it is equisetum it will be highly resistant to weedkillers of any kind, even if you can crush it before spraying. The root system is very deep and extensive - metres, not inches - so will survive.

On the other hand you can harvest the above ground stems to soak in water for a couple of weeks then strain to make a great natural fungicide that doesn't harm insects or other critters but can prevent and cure mildew, peach leaf curl, black spot and so on.

 

If only that were so.....Couch, Bindweed, Field Thistle, Equisetum....there are a fair few nasties that just keep bouncing back!