A paradise garden full of beautiful plants, everyone dreams of it... but every now and then the plants don't stop and they spread all over your garden. Pretty annoying! How do you deal with such loan sharks? Garden gnome Chrisje gives tips.
Bamboo
“ Bamboo has been one of the most popular plants in recent years, but some will quickly change their minds because the plant spreads very quickly . If you plant them near your driveway, you risk raising your driveway yourself. There are two options that you can take into account when planting bamboo. Either you dig a root barrier around the root ball or you put the plant with the pot in the ground so that the roots remain in the pot. But who knows, you may not need these tricks in the future. Because nowadays there is bamboo that does not proliferate, bamboo Fargesia ."
Ivy
“ Ivy , too, quickly leads its own life and attaches itself to the wall . If you just pull the plant off, you may end up with a piece of wall. But there is a trick for this too.”
“You can dig up the roots so that the plant no longer touches the ground. Make sure you don't leave any root as ivy doesn't need much to re-sprout. Once you have completely dug out the roots, you have to be patient so that your plant dies on the wall. As a result, small adhesive roots loosen better. If you then sand it with a coarse brush or use the high-pressure cleaner , it should go a lot easier.”
Other loan sharks
“Most people immediately think of exotics such as bamboo and tenacious plants such as ivy when they think of loan sharks, but there are more.”
“There is the Convolvulus . It literally winds itself around other plants and smothers them a bit. You have to be careful to remove them before they go to seed, otherwise they can spread very quickly and that is a real misery. When the plant goes to seed, it produces small flowers. These are pollinated, giving the plant the signal to drop its seed and reproduce. No matter how beautiful the flowers are, once they appear it is better to remove the plant.”
“In addition, there is the well-known Japanese Knotweed . This plant has an enormous urge to expand and is also very sturdy in terms of root structure. It can even get through cracks in asphalt. Blackberries are also not easy to get rid of and the spines on them make it extra difficult. Finally, mint is also a plant that grows very quickly. For many people that is not a problem because you can make delicious tea or mojito with it...”