Problem Ground Elder Invasion

Hello everyone

My house stands in a large corner plot. About four years ago the scrappy lawns were removed in the front and side gardens where there were (still are) mature trees and bushes, the grass being replaced with a variety of ground cover plants.
The front garden has developed nicely to date, however the side garden where pachysandra was planted has fallen foul to ground elder - I take it the rootlets of the elder were already in the ground and now have taken over.
True, the area is completely "covered in green" but not with pachysandra as the elder grows higher and obliterates them. In Autumn the elder dies back revealing the pachysandra.
Is there any way of getting rid of the ground elder - any suggestions please?

Thanks
Von Igelfeld :cnfs:

 

Ground elder is a thug and a very hard plant to eradicate. Try digging up most of the roots this summer, it doesn't matter how hard you try to get all the roots out, any tiny piece will throw up a new plant. They have the habit of twining their roots round other plants so that you have to dig up the other plant and tease out the offenders. When new growth sprouts, treat with glyphosate. You will probably have to treat them two or three times to get rid of them but remember any small piece left will come back so be prepared to have to treat them for a few seasons. Thank your lucky stars you don't have wild garlic cos it is even worse.
G.Man

 

Thanks gingernutsman - I had a horrible feeling that would be the solution - but practically impossible as it´s quite a large area and as you said any minuscule of root left will create a new plant - is it really worth it? We live opposite a forest where there is plenty of wild garlic so maybe if i did eradicate the elder that would invade instead!!
Thanks
Von Igelfeld

 

Hi. Spray it with SBK. :wink: Don't bother trying to dig it out. Every little bit you leave grows into another plant. If it's entangled with other plants, put your spray on "jet" and just hit the bit you want to kill:wink:

 

Hi cajary - what exactly is SBK? They are really strict here in Germany about weed killers - stuff you can buy on the shelves at UK garden centres are mostly kept under lock and key here!

 

I have used round up or any of the glyphosate weed killers. It needs to kill down to the root. I have been plagued with ground elder as I am surrounded by fields. I have it pretty well under control. I go round the borders pull the leaves down into flattened piles and drench them. You need to keep at it though. Don't even go near it with a spade. A millimetre of root grows and all you will do is spread it around into lots more plants.

 

We had a garden infested with ground elder when we moved in. Got it totally under control by using small hand sprayers with Glyphosate over the period of a couple of years. Lost a couple of plants too (it was a large area, so we weren't as patient as we might have been!) but it did work for us. We still got a few reoccurring outbreaks, but a quick spray and they were gone for that season, at least.

 

Thanks for all the advice - sounds as if I´m going to have Greenpeace on my back!
We get a lot of wildlife in our garden - especially red squirrels from the forest across the road, woodpeckers etc. so I´m caught between a rock and a hard place about the glyphosphate treatment. The area is isolated from the rest of the garden so spreading isn´t too much of an issue - yet!
Much appreciated all!
VI :thmb:

 

Glyphosate shouldn't give the birds or Squirrels any grief, but is known to upset aquatic life

 

I have huge amounts of birds and wildlife in my garden. No problems. It's neutralised once it hits the soil

 

Thanks that has put my mind at rest!
VI

 

The other alternative Von Igelfeld, is to cover the area completely, if possible, with a weed-supressing membrane. I did that in a client's garden and we planted Rhododendrons through slits in the fabric. It's not perfect as the ground elder pokes its head up through the holes but there's not much of it so it's easy to pull up round the plants. It also comes up around the edges of the membrane but you zap it there. This is important to do regularly because once a section of it can breath and get light, the rest wil survive. Hopefully, in time it will give up the ghost and die.

I know the membrane is not the prettiest of surfaces but we've covered it with bark, so it's not too bad.

Good luck :gnthb:, Chris

 

You know boghopper that thought had just occured to me this morning whilst out walking the dog...I passed a house nearby who are landscaping at the moment and there I saw the sloping surface covered in membrane being planted up the way you described! Drat!
I have over a hundred pachysandra in this space plus mature trees, rhodos and shrubs...I think this calls for a major overhall. Yet another refurbishing project to look forward to!
Thanks for this alternative solution
VI :gnthb: