Sat 28 Jan, 2006 07:01 am
I really hope not!
I'd really appreciate some input from you A2K gardening experts.
OK, here's the situation: I have this incredibly fast growing vine-type weed that's established itself on my back fence. And is now popping up all over the place (front & back yard)! As I said, it's a vine-creeper type plant, with rounded leaves that are pointed at the ends & has rather pretty creamy-white flowers. Around the end of spring it grows a sort of nobbly "fruit", about the size of a small apple, which is light green in colour. I have no idea of what the actual name of this plant is, but it's an incredible nuisance! I have seen few weeds spread so quickly. It pops up everywhere! I think it spread to my yard from one of the neighbouring properties.
So that's the problem, but what's the best solution?
I never use poisons for obvious reasons. Generally I'll find a safer solution for particular garden weeds or pests. Or else I'll just put up with the situation, rather than resort to such a drastic & dangerous solution.
But this plant is something else! I've removed great clumps of it by hand (the white, milky, sticky liquid from the stems & the fruit give me a rash & make my skin itch like crazy!) & then it grows straight back again. In almost no time.
So, how would you go about eradicating a weed like this? Would you resort to poison, as a few gardening folk here have suggested as the only solution?
I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas.
Thanks in advance,
Olga
Thanks, dys, I knew I could count on you!
hmmmm, i'd say try boiling water, but dunno if that will be enough in this case. probably not.
Boiling water, Dag? I'd need a powerful lot of the stuff! It's spread over a fair area around the back fence, especially. Nah, that's really not practical & I could end up in in the burns unit of the Royal Melbourne Hospital!
I think you are doomed to round up or some such.
Remember, it is only painted onto the plant you are trying to kill....not sprayed.
Does that help?
Round Up has been suggested, Deb. Thanks. I'm just checking to see what the other gardeners here would do. BTW, does anyone have any idea of what this weed could be, from my description?
I don't, no.
I used Round-up to help me get rid of poison ivy -- cut it, disposed of the top, and squirted a bit right on the cut. (This advice was from farmerman.) It worked quite well, and didn't seem to stress the environment at all. Not sure whether that can actually be discerned with bare eyes, but not much was used, total. There certainly weren't any problems like bare patches -- just took out the poison ivy.
Thanks, soz.
It's looking like Round Up at the moment, I guess, unless another solution is found. I wish the damned thing wasn't so quite so established, though. Lots of roots, from many new shoots. Worse than a triffid attack!
Most herbicides are relatively innocuous toward mammals. That's especially true of 2,4-D. It kills broadleaf plants by making them outgrow their food supply. However, that seems like the least of your problems. If this vine is a rhizome, similar to bindweed, I don't know of anything that does a decent job of killing it. I've been fighting it in my front flower beds for over twenty years. Good luck!
bindweed as cowdoc says is a bitch that requires napalm.
Does your weed look like this?
For description, click
Wild Cucumber
Msolga,
Are you anywhere near a botanical garden ? While the cuttting and Round Up idea seems like a good one, you might get a better answer from local plant geeks.
It's been my experience that plant people love to give advice, and someone in your neck of the woods will probably be familiar with the "triffid" in question.
neko nomad wrote:Does your weed look like this?
For description, click
Wild Cucumber
The flowers are rather similar, neko, but the leaves are nothing
near that size. Quite small, actually, & that stem in the photograph is
much thicker than my plant. I read you link & no, I don't think it is the wild cucumber. I'm now wondering if this wretched plant I have is some sort of Oz variety, maybe a relative of the wild cucumber? Thank you for the trouble, though. Much appreciated. Oh, & greetings to the beautiful neko chan, too!
CowDoc wrote:Most herbicides are relatively innocuous toward mammals. That's especially true of 2,4-D. It kills broadleaf plants by making them outgrow their food supply. However, that seems like the least of your problems. If this vine is a rhizome, similar to bindweed, I don't know of anything that does a decent job of killing it. I've been fighting it in my front flower beds for over twenty years. Good luck!
Thank you, too, Doc. I'm now checking out bindweed. (I couldn't be that lucky,
could I?) From what I've read so far in my Google search it doesn't sound quite the same.
A question regarding herbicides, if I may: If they can't hurt mammals, what about, say, birds, bees, etc.?
Best of luck with
your triffid battle!
dyslexia wrote:bindweed as cowdoc says is a bitch that requires napalm.
Napalm is looking a distinct possiblity, dys! Never come across this particular variety of weed before. It's growing so quickly!
LionTamerX wrote:Msolga,
Are you anywhere near a botanical garden ? While the cuttting and Round Up idea seems like a good one, you might get a better answer from local plant geeks.
It's been my experience that plant people love to give advice, and someone in your neck of the woods will probably be familiar with the "triffid" in question.
That's an excellent idea, LionTamer. Thanks. But actually, I might begin with one of the better nurseries around where I live. If it's a common pest around here they might just be able to identify it for me. If they can't, I'll move onto the the experts.
I've been really impressed (& quite jealous, too, I might add!) by some of the pics of A2Ker's gardens that have been posted to various gardening threads here over the past few years. Could I ask you gardening folk if any of you use pesticides in your gardens? If so, which do you use & for what purposes?
Occasionally I need to use regular weedkiller (the 2,4-D kind) to hold back an invasion of this nuisance from a neighbor's yard:
Garlic Mustard
This stuff is bad news in my area. Too much to remove manually. The neighbor is content to just mow his yard but neglects that part his mower doesn't get along the fence. Click the link for the dismal rundown on this invasive pest.
I HATE GARLIC MUSTARD!
I'm pulling it and pulling it and it's positively sisyphian.
J_B mentioned an epic battle with it, too. (She's the one who ID'ed it for me.)
Sorry for the digression, off to look at the link...
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