Thorny viney weed

Hi all,

Was hoping one or more of you can ID this very invasive weed I have growing in my garden. It's very thorny (thorns go through my gardening gloves!) and it snakes through my garden, popping up everywhere!

I thought I got rid of it last year, but it's come back with a vengeance!! Anybody know what it is, and more importantly, how do I get rid of it??!

Thanks peepz

 

Looks like blackberry (brambles). As the flowers/berries form on stems from the previous year, if you kept cutting them down you wouldn't have got any.

If they appear in the garden ('sown' by birds) they're normally easy to dig up before they get established, but yours sound as if they may be more vigorous. Did they just appear last year, or have you moved into somewhere with an existing problem? Also check if they're coming through from next door.

I've cleared large patches by cutting then down with a brushcutter, then either mowing them out or rotavating deeply though them several times and hooking out the roots, but neither of these methods might be appropropriate for your garden.

 

I would agree that its a bramble, I've just dug one out and have the scratches to prove it! To get rid, I would dig it out, the roots go down a looooong way though. Iff you don't get it all, it will keep coming back.

My non-chemical using father in law has been having a 3-year battle with one on his allotment. The root extends under his compost bin which makes it difficult to get to. He is now moving the compost bin to get at 'the little blighter', he's a very determined man my father in law!

 

Hello bc, I agree with Scrungee, it's blackberry.
Only two ways to get rid of it really.

You could try the chemical option; have a look in your local garden centre or hardware store and go for a good 'brushwood killer' if you can find it.
This can be sprayed on to the leaves of the brambles, but this not an option if it's growing in amongst other plants which you want to keep.
Brushwood killer can also be a very effective shrub killer if you get it on any of the leaves!

If spraying is not an option, you can still apply the brushwood killer by using a small paintbrush to dab some directly on to the leaves, or better still, by cutting off the bramble stems at ground level and applying it directly to the cut stump. This is the most effective option as you need to kill the root to prevent the bramble from re-growing.

The other choice is to simply dig them out, roots and all.
Use a large spade (the larger the better) to get right down beside the roots where the stem emerges from the ground and remove as much root as possible.
Unless they are really large, brambles are not particularly deep rooted, so it should be possible to remove all the roots each time.
If you do decide to try digging them out and you have lots of brambles, it's probably best to tackle them a few at a time (unless you're super-fit) as it's fairly hard work!
You may find a few more shoots will emerge from time to time after you've dug the roots out, but keep digging them out where they appear and you will eventually succeed.

 

Thanks for this people! Didn't think they were brambles as I have one growing from the neighbours conifers (which tends to bend over onto my garden, until I cut it) and the ones that snake through my garden don't flower or grow fruit, but I see now that's because I cut them before they get a chance!

I will try to spray them with a brushwood killer as there's just grass around where it grows.. Any ideas on what the best one is for this task?

 

I've always avoided the chemical option with blackberries.

Brushwood killer (SBK) is a fearsome stuff and I admit having some for woody growth plants in difficult to dig out the root situations (consider 'copper nailing') and not for spraying around where growing edible crops.

I've just looked at my bottle of the stuff and don't see anything about mixing it with engine oil, applying with a paint brush and covering it up with polythene any more. Maybe that was on the box the bottle was in?



Not used much in the last 10 years have I?

 

Yes also agree it is Blackberry