Photo: By Pegasene (Shutterstock)
Keeping your garden healthy is especially difficult when an unexpected plant strikes it for resources. Lots invasive plants need little or no light, and too much sun doesn’t matter. They are adaptable, which is why they will spread so easily around your yard and move so quickly that it seems almost impossible to stop them.
If you’re struggling to eradicate invasive plants from your garden, here are a few ways you can manage and stop, or at least slow down, them.
Are Invasive Plants Really a Threat?
All plants are living things, and some would argue that they should grow how they want. And while that’s fine for some plant species, invasive plants pose a real threat to the ecosystem and wildlife. How the US Forest Service reported, “[i]Invasive species have contributed to the decline of 42% of endangered and threatened species in the US, and 18% of threatened or threatened species in the US are the main contributors to their decline. ”Once these plants occupy an area, they withdraw from others Plant nutrients and reduce biodiversity in the area.
The effect of these plants extends beyond our forests as they produce large numbers of seeds that animals and humans easily spread. Like English ivy and kudzu can spread into your back yard and devastate your yard and garden. Their roots can also dig into brick and wood walls and affect their structures. (Chances are your outdoor cabin won’t survive them.) English ivy vines too climb treescreating canopies that prevent light from penetrating.
How to uproot invasive plants from small areas
The strong roots make English ivy and other ground covers difficult to get rid of, so the only way to keep them at bay is to remove the roots and stop seed transfer. There are several ways to do this, and none of them are fun, except maybe the last one.
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You can pull up the roots by hand, smother the plants, use spray (natural weed killers recommended when walking this trail) or mowing and raking. If all else fails, you can rent Goats to eat up every inch of the stubborn plant.
If you have a smaller area, pulling up the weeds may be the easiest option. Make sure you have a shovel and suitable sacks available, then just use a shovel and trowel to dig up the plant and some of the surrounding soil. Remove and drop the soil around the roots, leaving the soil loose and worked; Then let the earth dry completely.
Drying out the soil will kill any remaining roots or debris and prevent the ivy from returning. The loose soil will be the perfect environment for new native plants. Plant native plants as soon as possible to revitalize your garden. The nature conservatory suggests starting this process in the spring, when the soil is loose and wet.
Mow and smother English ivy from large areas
When you need to cover a larger area, mowing or suffocating your garden invaders is a less of the hassle option than hand weeding. When mowing, be sure to mow as low off the ground as possible to remove all of the plant. (A weed killer does the job too.) Then, thoroughly rake the area and bag the dirt and discard it. Leftover leaves, sticks, and clippings will only encourage the Scorge to return.
Choking is the slowest option, covering the affected area with thick cardboard and mulch, removing air, water, and light from the area. Before attempting to cover the area, mow or weed the area and tear up as many roots as possible. Then you would water the soil to remove air pockets and lay out cardboard to completely cover the soil plus two inches beyond the affected area to prevent light from penetrating.
The nature conservatory recommends adding ten to 15 layers of cardboard and newspaper and wetting between each layer. They will then leave the soil covered for the next six months. All that is left is to monitor the area, touch up any visible holes, and look for unwanted sprouts.
