Dirt Divas: expert gardeners

August 26, 2007

By Hally Truelove

Ask me about lawns, for instance, and I will tell you to find a different advisor, as I don't care what grows in my lawn, so long as it is kept mowed and doesn't spread to my perennial garden. However, on the subject of salvaging a weed-infested garden, without losing the long established residents, I am truly an expert, having had to rescue my own gardens with fair regularity, due to a good deal of neglect the pervious season.

My worst local enemy is quack-grass, followed closely by clover, and then by dandelions and the rest of the weed community.

Quack-grass is the worst, because if the wrong half-inch segment is left in the ground, it will spring to life. If you make the mistake of chopping it into pieces, it will multiply like the apprentice's broom.

Clover is difficult too, because priming its roots from the soil is nearly impossible, and a remaining root soon produces a new plant.

Dandelions are less trouble if they are your own, as they can be uprooted easily enough, especially in damp soil, but they can be problematic if your neighbor also has them.

Theirs will come to dwell where you have evicted your own.

The remaining weeds are not much more than a nuisance, so long as they are removed before going to seed.

What to do, then, if your perennial bed has become a thriving colony of quack-grass, clover, dandelions and all their acquaintances, accented occasionally by cottonwood suckers and other miscellaneous species of tree seedlings?

First, get rid of the suckers and tree seedlings.

Nip the suckers with sharp loppers, being careful not to cause excess damage, as nicks on the roots will encourage the growth of more suckers. As long as one does not disturb the root system, it will not interfere with your other plants. The tree seedlings can be pulled up by the roots and discarded, but if one is overly kindhearted or exceptionally thrifty, they can be successfully potted.

Secondly, having dealt with the shrubby invaders, attention must be turned to the herbaceous weeds.

A small infestation can be removed by hand, but not with a hoe, as that implement is best suited for use between rows of vegetables.

Mulch is a good tool to destroy weeds, and it has the added benefits of conserving moisture and improving the soil.

Cut the weeds to the ground, and being careful not to cover the crowns of your perennials.

Lay a 1/4-inch layer of newspaper over the weed stubs, followed by 2-3 inches of mulch comprised of a combination of the cut off weeds (but not any budding or flowering portions), rabbit manure, compost, leaf mold, or clean grass clippings. Small new seedlings can be planted directly into the mulch, or dig through it to plant larger specimens.

Now there should remain only those weeds left growing amongst the clumps of perennials. These are best picked out carefully by hand, and this must be repeated several times during the growing season. If a perennial is also out-of-control and needs dividing, try a sharp narrow bladed spade, with which one can cut away any part of the clump that wants reducing. This causes some die-back along the cut edge, but it is less damaging and ever so much easier than lifting a plant to divide it. Be sure to pot up the cut off piece; perhaps your neighbor can use it to replace some of his dandelions.

Of course, if one wants quicker results or is overwhelmed by hoards of invaders, Roundup is effective against most herbaceous garden intruders and has no residual effects except killing anything one didn't intend to spray, but did. It can, however, be applied with a paintbrush to specific weeds and can even be useful in cleaning quack-grass out of a perennial clump, if one pins the grass shoots to the ground and paints them carefully.

All of this advice seems wonderful on paper: Remove saplings, chop off weeds, cover with mulch, renovate perennials, apply Roundup.

In fact, salvaging a garden is hard work and usually takes me most of the season, but my resident perennials remain happily undisturbed, stretching contentedly into their reclaimed accommodations, and the following season weed invasion is minimal. Just keep your eye on the neighbor's dandelions.

They don't wait for an invitation to move in.

Like stray cats, once they're in, you own them.

Hally Truelove is a Master Gardener and Plants Woman who lives and gardens in Wasilla with her two daughters, Hazel and Alice. Contact her at 376-0909.