On a new property I have a serious weed problem. The place is: warm
temperate, about 1200mm (48in) annual rainfall, deep heavy fertile soil,
on a river bank. Down by the river there are trees growing along the
banks quite densely, producing shade and part shade.

Here I have small leaf privet (ligustrum sinense) and wandering jew
(tradscantia fulminensis) both noxious weeds, going rampant after the
recent rains. The privet grows mainly in part shade (where the slasher
cannot get to it) but the trandescantia seems to do well even in full
shade. I will be taking advice on direct weed control methods from the
relevant authorities but it will probably come down to hack/spray for
years. Such is life.

Since the grasses have not competed, and will not given the low light,
before starting into control I need a replacement ground cover or the
areas that I clear will be a target for the return of these two plus
every other weed that tolerates low light. The area concerned is large
so using weed mat or applied mulching to supress weeds will be very
costly (on top of the hack/spray) and I would prefer something growing
anyway. Any suggestions?

David

Just an addition to all the suggestions that have been posted he

If you aren't growing anything from seed (i.e. it's all being planted) there
is a product available called Ronstar. It's in granulated form and the idea
is you spread it over an area you have planted, and no seeds will germinate
there.
Found it to be particularly good for ground covers, as spraying weeds that
pop up through groundcovers isn't the easiest thing.
As I mentioned, only good if you are not growing anything there from seed.
Oh, and not too sure on the situation with being near a riverbank. If it's
likely to wash into the bank don't use it.

Good luck

--
Remove "not" from start of email address to reply

Sedges are a good idea, you local Landcare group, or Council
bushcare/Natural Resources officer or similar type position will or should
have an aexcellent idea of what to plant at your site..

As for a groundcover that likes shade and suppresses weeds... Microlaena
stipoides is fantastic at this, and in low/lower light situations. It seeds
quite prolofically and also spreads vegetatively, though much slower than it
does by seed.

All the little herbs that have been suggested are great, though if you are
near a waterway and want to rehabilitate the site, I would usggest not
putting in any exotics, especially Nasturtiums.

Good luck, and if you can get your hands on Joan Bradleys Bringing back the
Bush do so, it's a bible! next on my list would be Robin Buchanans Bush
Regeneration handbook (sorry, cannot remember exact title, though it is
available in some bookshops more and more). A search through
www.google.com.au should pick it up

Susannah


"Andrew G" wrote in message
...
Just an addition to all the suggestions that have been posted he

If you aren't growing anything from seed (i.e. it's all being planted)
there
is a product available called Ronstar. It's in granulated form and the
idea
is you spread it over an area you have planted, and no seeds will
germinate
there.
Found it to be particularly good for ground covers, as spraying weeds that
pop up through groundcovers isn't the easiest thing.
As I mentioned, only good if you are not growing anything there from seed.
Oh, and not too sure on the situation with being near a riverbank. If it's
likely to wash into the bank don't use it.

Good luck

--
Remove "not" from start of email address to reply

In article , Trish Brown wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:

On a new property I have a serious weed problem. The place is: warm
temperate, about 1200mm (48in) annual rainfall, deep heavy fertile soil,
on a river bank. Down by the river there are trees growing along the
banks quite densely, producing shade and part shade.

Here I have small leaf privet (ligustrum sinense) and wandering jew
(tradscantia fulminensis) both noxious weeds, going rampant after the
recent rains. The privet grows mainly in part shade (where the slasher
cannot get to it) but the trandescantia seems to do well even in full
shade. I will be taking advice on direct weed control methods from the
relevant authorities but it will probably come down to hack/spray for
years. Such is life.

You're going to need to drill fill / cut paint or hand pull the
privet, and you will need to remove all tradescantia. It sounds like
you live in an area like mine. The groundcovers we have that do well
a

Dichondra (kidney weed)
Hedycaria (native violet)
Comelina (scurvy plant)
New Zealand Spinnach
Oplismenus gracilus (nice low pretty grass with no common name, does
well in shade).
If you can get cabbage palm seeds, they work as a groundcover for the
first few years.

You will need to ensure the privet seed bank is exhausted (that's
about 2 years of vigilance) and you will need to spend a lot of time
removing the tradescantia first time round, less the second time
round, and should eradicate it completely the third or fourth time,
particularly if you've done a good enough job the first time.
"Bringing back the Bush" by Joan Bradley (Landsdowne Press, ISBN
186302574X) is the book you want to read to learn how to do this
without getting overwhelmed, although things have changed since it was
written due to the invention of Glyphosate.

Hope this helps.

--
Replace abuse with kd21 in email address to assure valid reply
address.

"David Hare-Scott" wrote in message
u...
On a new property I have a serious weed problem. The place is: warm
temperate, about 1200mm (48in) annual rainfall, deep heavy fertile soil,
on a river bank. Down by the river there are trees growing along the
banks quite densely, producing shade and part shade.

Here I have small leaf privet (ligustrum sinense) and wandering jew
(tradscantia fulminensis) both noxious weeds, going rampant after the
recent rains. The privet grows mainly in part shade (where the slasher
cannot get to it) but the trandescantia seems to do well even in full
shade. I will be taking advice on direct weed control methods from the
relevant authorities but it will probably come down to hack/spray for
years. Such is life.

Since the grasses have not competed, and will not given the low light,
before starting into control I need a replacement ground cover or the
areas that I clear will be a target for the return of these two plus
every other weed that tolerates low light. The area concerned is large
so using weed mat or applied mulching to supress weeds will be very
costly (on top of the hack/spray) and I would prefer something growing
anyway. Any suggestions?

David



Throw a few nasturtium seeds in whatever you decide to plant, because if
they do well and reseed it would be lovely, and if you decide you no longer
want them they are very easy to pull out.

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

On a new property I have a serious weed problem. The place is: warm
temperate, about 1200mm (48in) annual rainfall, deep heavy fertile soil,
on a river bank. Down by the river there are trees growing along the
banks quite densely, producing shade and part shade.

Here I have small leaf privet (ligustrum sinense) and wandering jew
(tradscantia fulminensis) both noxious weeds, going rampant after the
recent rains.

The information I have read on bush regeneration suggests that you should work
in from a less-weedy spot to the more-weedy areas, and replant as you move in
so that the weeds have competition. You're going to need local native plants
for this, and probably quite a lot of them -- how long is your piece of river
bank? Landcare can probably help. As it's a river bank, erosion is also an
issue if you go mad with defoliation... Good luck!

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"...children should continue to be breastfed... for up to two years of age
or beyond." -- Innocenti Declaration, Florence, 1 August 1990

David Hare-Scott wrote:

On a new property I have a serious weed problem. The place is: warm
temperate, about 1200mm (48in) annual rainfall, deep heavy fertile soil,
on a river bank. Down by the river there are trees growing along the
banks quite densely, producing shade and part shade.

Here I have small leaf privet (ligustrum sinense) and wandering jew
(tradscantia fulminensis) both noxious weeds, going rampant after the
recent rains. The privet grows mainly in part shade (where the slasher
cannot get to it) but the trandescantia seems to do well even in full
shade. I will be taking advice on direct weed control methods from the
relevant authorities but it will probably come down to hack/spray for
years. Such is life.

Since the grasses have not competed, and will not given the low light,
before starting into control I need a replacement ground cover or the
areas that I clear will be a target for the return of these two plus
every other weed that tolerates low light. The area concerned is large
so using weed mat or applied mulching to supress weeds will be very
costly (on top of the hack/spray) and I would prefer something growing
anyway. Any suggestions?

David

Well, my 2c worth would be good old-fashioned violets for a shady spot!
They do a fair job of suppressing weeds in my garden (on the dry, shady
side of the house) and the smell is divine when they're in flower. You
could use native violets, too, since they perform pretty much the same
function. Or, for a larger, more shrubby plant, why not try native
Indigofera? It's like a miniature wisteria (up to about a metre high)
with intensely pink flowers and a tendency to form thickets... While
Indigofera doesn't climb or ramble as wisteria does, it will spread
fairly quickly.

HTH,
--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

David Hare-Scott wrote:
"silvasurfa" wrote in message
...


Throw a few nasturtium seeds in whatever you decide to plant, because

if

they do well and reseed it would be lovely, and if you decide you no

longer

want them they are very easy to pull out.



I have seen nasturtiums go mad in full sun, but no experience of them in
shade, will they form a dense cover in shade or end up going leggy
trying to climb up to the light?


In my garden they get leggy but still out-compete the wandering jew
where they get a little bit of sun, but in full shade under trees, the
wandering jew wins.

Jane

"susannah" wrote in message
...
Sedges are a good idea, you local Landcare group, or Council
bushcare/Natural Resources officer or similar type position will or should
have an aexcellent idea of what to plant at your site..

As for a groundcover that likes shade and suppresses weeds... Microlaena
stipoides is fantastic at this, and in low/lower light situations. It
seeds
quite prolofically and also spreads vegetatively, though much slower than
it
does by seed.

All the little herbs that have been suggested are great, though if you are
near a waterway and want to rehabilitate the site, I would usggest not
putting in any exotics, especially Nasturtiums.

The main advantage I've found with nasturtiums (other than low cost) is
their ease of removal... very vulnerable to weedicides of all sorts, easy to
pull out by hand, seeds come up for a couple of years but it is nothing like
you get with weeds. And I've never seen them gone totally feral... I think
once every few years something catastrophic happens and they tend to die out
at any particular site.

Mind you, I am in South Australia, which is probably a different situation
to the OP. But I've never actually seen nasturtiums listed as a dangerous
weed anywhere. Are they a problem anywhere in Australia?