val douest Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 We have recently had some work done on our house and now have a carport with a driveway of concassé. Over the last few weeks this very tenacious weed has started sprouting through the concassé - as fast as I treat one batch with Roundup another appears. The weed used to climb on the sides of the house (though we pulled it off regularly) and is also in the verge and adjoining grass. I treated it thoroughly with Roundup before the carport and surrounds were constructed. I have just dug up one patch about a metre square and pulled out the bucketful of thick woody roots shown in the picture.Two questions: can anyone give this weed a name? And if I keep dousing all the new shoots with Roundup or equivalent will that eventually kill it? I don't think I can face digging up all the newly laid concassé to remove every bit of root.Many thanks,Val[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/weed1.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/weed2.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/weed3.jpg[/IMG] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/ground-elder.htmGround Elder [:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 too late to ask if a weed membrane was used first before the concasse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyh4 Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Gardeners' Question time was once asked about what to do about Ground Elder. The answer was "move".You could try treating the driveway with sodium chlorate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardengirl Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Exactly what I thought, Russethouse. We had it in our very first garden, and luckily managed to keep it in one part, behind the garage. Digging it out and using glyphosate on any that sprouted was the best I could do. It was still there when we sold the house and moved south. [:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Are you sure about Ground Elder? I only ask as Ground Elder doesn't have saw-edged leaves.Do I see tendrils in the pictures? It could be Virginia Creeper. If it is then not quite as bad as G.E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tancrède Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 The plant illustrated is some kind of Parthenocissus - perhaps quinquifolia. I am surprised that you are having no success using Roundup, as I killed one of these all too easily (mercifully not my own) with the inadvertent drift of Roundup spray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardengirl Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 It could be, although Roundup should have worked OK.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_quinquefolia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Most Roundup formulations err on the safe side whilst commercial products are considerably stronger. Glyphosate (Roundup) should work om ground elder but try a double strength mix for this area only.Grumpy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterG Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 [quote user="Pierre ZFP"]Are you sure about Ground Elder? I only ask as Ground Elder doesn't have saw-edged leaves.Do I see tendrils in the pictures? It could be Virginia Creeper. If it is then not quite as bad as G.E. [/quote]I tend to agree with Pierre on this one. We had one on the side of the house and it started to lift the tiles off the roof. We cut it off at the base and treated the stump with SKB. More powerful that Roundup, more for use on brambles etc. We still got shoots coming up so we kept pulling and carefully spraying. At last they seem to have gone.http://www.beginner-gardening.com/virginiacreeper.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val douest Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 Many thanks to you all for your suggestions and advice. Having looked at several photos I am 99% sure it is Virginia creeper (it does indeed have tendrils) and I will persevere with the Roundup equivalent. No, there is no membrane under the concassé - the builders were desperate to finish and it just got overlooked.However, this raises another interesting question: the front of our house is covered with what I had always thought was Virginia Creeper but it is quite different from the pernicious weed described in my original post. Its leaves are wider and shinier, though it also has tendrils and black berries and goes red in Autumn, and is a magnet for bees in July. It is vigorous and we have to trim it regularly to keep the eaves and gutters free but it isn't invasive like the other creeper. Can anyone identify it from the photo?[IMG]http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc147/valeriewest/Housecreeper.jpg[/IMG]Val Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 Boston Ivy ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_tricuspidata Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
val douest Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 Yes, I think you've got it in one! Many thanks for your help in identifying it.Val Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now