My Garden

lesser celandines and wild garlic

Last post 30-11-2008 5:19 PM by bogweevil. 6 replies.

• 22/11/2008 07:03 PM

  kgibb Location: Joined on: 19 Nov 2008 Posts: 2

  Reply | Contact Does anybody have any ideas on how to eliminate/reduce the presence of the above plants. We garden largely organically on a clay soil and the garlic and celandines have spread to many of the flower beds which I don't want to dig up because of perennial plants. The garden suffers from large areas of shade due to a new flat development close by and a VERY tall ash tree that cannot be 'topped' because the owner is looking for any excuse to destroy it and it is a very useful screen from other houses. Please help!

• 22/11/2008 08:00 PM	In reply to
  sue1002 Location: Ipswich, Suffolk Joined on: 06 Sep 2005 Posts: 5,200	Reply | Contact I was going to suggest digging them out until I read that it might encourage the celandine to spread more easily http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0405/celandine.asp so it seems that the best way completely get rid of it is to dig up all the plants, use glyphosate and replant afterwards. sue1002

• 23/11/2008 02:17 PM	In reply to
  Silver surfer Location: South Wales. U.K. Joined on: 09 Jun 2008 Posts: 393	Reply | Contact Far easier to learn to love  celandines for their bright yellow flowers early in the year. By summer all trace of them has gone, as they are summer dormant.

• 29/11/2008 10:58 AM

  In reply to

  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,043

  Reply | Contact There is no selective way to remove celandines from beds and borders, so if you cannot put up with these pesky weeds, I suggest: Removing all desirable plants, freeing them of any celandines, to a waiting bed or pots and then applying glyphosate (many people think it best to keep organic principles for after difficult weeds have been eliminated) or covering with black plastic or 10cm of organic mulch for two years. Replanting can then be done, but careful eradication of each of the few surviving celandines will be needed for years to come. You could do a bed each year and grow things in pots standing on the opaque covering in the meantime. Sorry to offer so little hope. Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil

• 29/11/2008 08:01 PM

  In reply to

  Phot's-Moll Location: The sunny South coast. Joined on: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3,347

  Reply | Contact  Sit down, place anything breakable out of reach andtake a deep breath.  Ready? I've deliberately planted celandines. They're in a tiny wildflower patch in my lawn. If I can, then I'll keep them there and nowhere else, but I do know there's a considerable risk that they may escape. I decided that I'd rather have them where they're not supposed to be than not have them at all. As Silver surfer suggests, these are easy to love. Neat leaves and pretty flowers early on and then they disappear - what's so bad about that?  Wild garlic is more of a problem. It can easily smother other plants and the smell won't appeal to everyone. I think that might respond to a weedkiller though? Perhaps the kind you paint on would be best if it's growing amongst other plants? I suggest you dig out as much as you can, divide the other plants and add compost if required first and then try to kill off any garlic that remains. You could also consider removing the plants, ensuring they are free of unwanted extras and grow them on elsewhere, possibly in pots, and return them when they're growing strongly so they can compete better with the garlic and celandines. Is the garlic edible? I've eaten something called wild garlic, but it might not be the same plant. If the kind you have is edible then add it to stir fries and soups.    Whether you think you can do a thing, or think you cannot, you are right.

• 30/11/2008 03:32 PM

  In reply to

  miranda Location: Oxfordshire Joined on: 17 Nov 2004 Posts: 2,977

  Reply | Contact If it is wild garlic, then you can certainly eat it and if you eat enough, it will stop the plants from flowering and spreading by seed. If it was me, I'd find out what it is and then, if it's the right stuff, I'd start eating it as fast as possible. That stuff is really vigorous and I've seen it covering acres of woodland floor. Just a thought - you could sell it to restaurants, some of them would be well in to it.

• 30/11/2008 05:19 PM	In reply to
  bogweevil Location: Joined on: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 2,043	Reply | Contact I am told that Cornish miners used wild garlic leaves in their pasties in times of hardship when they could not afford onions or leeks. Gardening beneath ash trees can be a little unrewarding in view of dry soil and lack of light so it may be worth putting up with celandines and wild garlic as a troublefree groundcover. Boggy Beware the bat-eared bogweevil