I've been trying to eliminate Spanish Bluebells for
umpteen years now. The previous owner of my house
planted thousands of them. I've dug up loads of them
over the years, but this year lots more are coming up
again. They just keep coming!
Would using a contact weed killer stick or something
similar work on these?
TIA.

On 02/02/20 11:49, Steve wrote:


I've been trying to eliminate Spanish Bluebells for
umpteen years now. The previous owner of my house
planted thousands of them. I've dug up loads of them
over the years, but this year lots more are coming up
again. They just keep coming!
Would using a contact weed killer stick or something
similar work on these?
TIA.

We've been here 7 years and still the odd one appears. They go really
deep even in heavy clay, and that's one reason it's so difficult to dig
them out. The other is that they break up.

I eliminated them by digging them up - being careful to avoid leaving
bits and offsets. And it's really important to stop them seeding (which
is where I would guess the majority of yours came from, rather than the
previous owner planting them). Repeated glyphosate weakens them, and may
kill them, but I've not found it that effective against Spanish Bluebell.

--

Jeff

On Sun, 2 Feb 2020 17:38:40 +0000, Martin Brown wrote:

On 02/02/2020 11:49, Steve wrote:


I've been trying to eliminate Spanish Bluebells for
umpteen years now. The previous owner of my house
planted thousands of them. I've dug up loads of them
over the years, but this year lots more are coming up
again. They just keep coming!
Would using a contact weed killer stick or something
similar work on these?

If they are in grass then a broadleaf specific weedkiller like Verdone
will see them off without damaging the grass. Otherwise the fastest way
to get rid is a combined hit with glyphosate and later dig them out.

Combined physical and chemical assault weakens the survivors. Whatever
you do don't let them set seed even if you do allow them to flower.

Thanks Martin, Jeff and Chris for your replies.
I'll continue to try and dig them up, but I do have
quite a few problem ones that are very near and
interwoven with other plants, so those are the ones I
wanted to zap with a weed killer. I will though
definitely not let any of them set seed this year.
Thanks once again.

On 02/02/2020 19:47, Steve wrote:

On Sun, 2 Feb 2020 17:38:40 +0000, Martin Brown wrote:

On 02/02/2020 11:49, Steve wrote:


I've been trying to eliminate Spanish Bluebells for
umpteen years now. The previous owner of my house
planted thousands of them. I've dug up loads of them
over the years, but this year lots more are coming up
again. They just keep coming!
Would using a contact weed killer stick or something
similar work on these?

If they are in grass then a broadleaf specific weedkiller like Verdone
will see them off without damaging the grass. Otherwise the fastest way
to get rid is a combined hit with glyphosate and later dig them out.

Combined physical and chemical assault weakens the survivors. Whatever
you do don't let them set seed even if you do allow them to flower.

Thanks Martin, Jeff and Chris for your replies.
I'll continue to try and dig them up, but I do have
quite a few problem ones that are very near and
interwoven with other plants, so those are the ones I
wanted to zap with a weed killer. I will though
definitely not let any of them set seed this year.
Thanks once again.

I had a nice clump of thema good few years ago which got caught by a
little Gramoxone spray(A contact weed killer) within 2 days they were
desicated and never came back.
I wonder what Wedol would do to them?
I'm sure it was the fast kill that did it.

On 03/02/2020 07:49, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 3 Feb 2020 00:01:52 +0000, David Hill
wrote:

I had a nice clump of thema good few years ago which got caught by a
little Gramoxone spray(A contact weed killer) within 2 days they were
desicated and never came back.
I wonder what Wedol would do to them?
I'm sure it was the fast kill that did it.

Comment/question: Gramoxone (paraquat) is banned in the UK now AFAIK.
Did the original Weedol contain paraquat (I have a vague recollection
that it did)? There are so many versions of 'Weedol' these days (it's
become a brand name rather than the name of a specific product), which
one would you suggest?

The marketeers have triumphed so that the shelf product names no longer
bear any clear relationship to the true chemistry so you do have to be
careful that you get the right one. Much more important when you want a
broadleaf weedkiller to use on lawns without harming the grass.

Slight variations in speed of kill and effectiveness against pernicious
weeds isn't too bad but wrecking a lawn is an expensive mistake!

Sometimes the clue is in the name like Pathclear (which someone I know
once misguidedly used as a spot weeder on a lawn with a dribbly wand).
The germination inhibitor made their mistake quite difficult to rectify.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 02/02/2020 11:49, Steve wrote:


I've been trying to eliminate Spanish Bluebells for
umpteen years now. The previous owner of my house
planted thousands of them. I've dug up loads of them
over the years, but this year lots more are coming up
again. They just keep coming!
Would using a contact weed killer stick or something
similar work on these?
TIA.


I have the same problem. I have a 1000 sq yard narrow garden and at the
bottom is what I call *my wood" lots of trees and I thought how nice it
would be to have English bluebells in there but even though I dig the
Spanish ones, planted by the previous owners, out, I cannot seem to
eliminate them completely and it's pointless to get them if I can't.
Also I'm reluctant to use weedkiller because of the snowdrops nearby.
Loads of snowdrops, including a double variety that I got from Germany
that I wouldn't want to lose.