I wonder if this is similar to what i'm fighting. I've never been a fan of Round-up or anything chemical but i'm beginning to cave in. Painting the leaves was what i had in mind. Do you have to use a special type of Round-up for that, or just the regular kind? This might become a regular summer project for me with the amount of it there is. :/

Regular RoundUp Marica, a good tip that I have been doing for a good many years now is to use a cardboard paper roll when working in a perennial bed, aim the paper roll on the plant/weed and spray your RU in the top of the hole so that it won't splash onto the surrounding plants.

Quack grass is the same as creeping charlie or bellflower it runs by runners, just keep up on it all during the summer and you'll beat it eventually.

I have a bed that I do grow Creeping Bellflower, it is in a bed that it can run wild if it wants, it is controllable along with the Yarrow and other weedy perennials. I also make sure I deadhead once its finished blooming, otherwise it will self seed all over the place.

Sharon

Thanks for the tip, Sharon. I'm going to have to have a BIG roll for those things. I did dig out a bunch a few years ago and put them in a bed at my son's house because he wanted something that would just take over. And they have! Another thing i've tried to do is move these "weeds" out along the road. I'm waiting for a nice show with poppies, verbascum and bellflower - maybe this summer. :)

Oh! Like, wow! Not wanting to sound like a teenager (since it's been over 20 years since I've been one) but, like, that paper roll idea is wickedly awesome!

Just to make sure I have it right, you aren't actually sticking the 'to be sprayed' plant INTO the paper towel roll, it is being used to prevent the spray from splaying out like it normally would? And, is this a toilet paper roll (4") or paper towel paper roll (12")? How many sprays can you do on one roll? I think my mom has SO MANY of these creeping bells in her yard, I may just run over to Canadian tire and buy a length of that black (sewer/drain) pipe, and just keep it for that use.

It's so sad to see what they (creeping bellflower) do to her perennial beds, they just shove their way into her clumps of lilies and lupines and roses, she gets so discouraged. Would be nice to think we could weaken them enough in an area that she could be rid of them for even a season.

I remember one season dh had to use RU near some of my plantings, I covered what fit (it was early spring) under ice cream and laundry soap buckets, and then also used a sheet of plywood as a shield on the shrubs while he sprayed, moving it as he moved. Worked well, shrubs never got any on them.

Thank-you again...kioni

Kioni, i was thinking the same thing, that a length of vinyl pipe might work as well. Just don't get the stuff with the holes in it! LOL

That stuff is horrible - it's moving into places it's not even that close to and not where i've moved something from where it's growing. Guess we'll have to report back on our success, eh? :)

Re: toilet paper roll... I use a sawed off 2 litre pop bottle and squirt through the top opening. That allows the spray to cover more area and you can see if you're hitting your target.

Okaay, I'm likin' the pop bottle idea too, and that would only co$t 20 cents. Thank you also, garden chick.

I tried to read up on this weed, and although not everything can be believed that is read on the web, but apparently this weed came over from Europe (probably in the soil of a plant/shrub that someone brought over), and has no natural enemies (does ANY weed, besides gardeners???). What bugs me is that it is not considered a (ob)noxious weed in our area, so minimal effort is made to keep it at bay, some yards really let it go, allowing the plant to bloom and set seed, making more work for neighboring yards to keep clean. When I told a previous neighbor that her flowerbed was ALL of this weed, and showed her what it was doing to my lawn, she mowed it down the next day, but she never did get to digging it out. But at least she kept her plants little. Guess I wouldn't complain if it was someone's prize winning peony working it's way over, or gorgeous red lilies, or something along that line, would love to have some of those, but these things, yeck.

Please tell me... am I making a huge mistake??????

We moved into our house 17 years ago, back then it had no trees, and the back border was in bright sun. I planted it with sun-lovers, and it bloomed amazingly -- lilies, daylilies, native sunflowers, etc.

Fast forward to the present. The amur maple border at the back of the border is now 10 or 15 feet tall, and combined with the oak, pine, butternut, and buckeye tree in the same root-zone, just about every drop of water and ray of sunshine goes to the trees and shrubs. The lilies have faded to a paltry few blooms. The daylilies produce leaves but no flowers. Even the late-introduced martagon liies strain for light (but still bloom, not great though).

But there's a new kid on the block, that seems to not mind the dry, shady environment. I think it was introduced via an attempted bleeding-heart transplant from a friend's garden from an older part of town. And I believe it is creeping bellflower. It's been gradually establishing itself in one spot in the back border for a few years. And so far, I'm liking it. Last week I dug a few separations and moved them to new spots in the back border (some of the toughest spots, to see just how tough this plant really is).

Am I nuts? Am I inviting the devil? Or is this plant going to provide some colour and texture in a garden area that has become shady, dry, and largely barren? Once it spreads under the fence I will never be rid of it, as my neighbour has an adjacent border, but does essentially zero garden maintenance.

I could still kill this thing off before it gets fully established. But right now it's looking pretty appealing to me. Oh, here's a picture:
{{gwi:753618}}

When you people were talking abut Creeping Bellflower I was thinking Creeping Charlie. Upon doing image searches on google, I see that I am lucky enough to have both in my yard.

Creeping Bellflower: I have had it for years growing along the fence (previous owners planted it). It spreads as well as self seeds and even shows up across the yard in other corners. Yes, nice looking blooms, but I usually just pull it out as it crowds around other plants. FYI, it is easy to pull out but in reality you are not removing the entire plant, just the above ground stems and a bit of the root. Still, it takes a while to come back and it's sort of like weeding and the area temporarily looks better. In short it's kind of pretty, but I pull it out like crazy because one small area of it is enough and I'd rather have other plants.

Ground Ivy/Creeping Charlie: another monster that supposedly started as a European groundcover perennial from my neighbors yard. Even harder to get rid off, really doesn't respond to roundup. So, I just sort of live with it. Sort of like clover in the lawn, some people like it, some don't, but at least your lawn is green. It mostly fills in flower beds, however and can be pulled out. Here too, i don't expect to eradicate it, but at least to control it (sort of like chickweed in the flower beds). FYI, I've seen a variegated version of this plant offered as a 'basket stuffer' in garden centers and Richters sells it as it supposedly can be used for medicinal purposes.

Glen

Don, yes, that's the stuff. If it does well where you have it and you want it there, it can be a pretty plant. But just watch that it doesn't spread to other flower beds because it's almost impossible to get rid of. I started to use Round-up on it, but there were too many other plants around, so i'll wait till next spring and spray it as it comes up.

Check over the fence - it's probably there already!

This plant came across the fence from my neighbour about ten years ago and I cannot get rid of it. First it was in my backyard near a stand of evergreens and I thought I had licked it, but then it was in the front yard, east side with only morning sun and I thought I had licked it. Now I am trying to establish a bed near the evergreens, and it keeps popping up again. At least it never gets to re-seed or even flower anymore, but it's a real nuisance.