Feels good to get this big job done.

I bet each of us know that feeling@porkchop_z5b_MI i.e. getting a gardening job to completion, one which you have been musing on. Nice!

Indeed, mxk3. Those hefty digging jobs are harder by the year.My birthday tomorrow - 67! I would probably be giving the offspring some side-eye.Just the effort of hauling out a vast tuberous mountain of dahlia was exhausting enough...so much so that over a 2 weeks later, the enormo-clump still remains on the grassy path. Well done for getting beyond the thinking and planning stage, and well into the virtuous sunny uplands of completion.

Kitchen redo using all my time and energy.

Have absolutely zero money so it is a deep dive into years of hoarded paint, fabric and timber stashes.

At almost 79 I know exactly what you mean about hard jobs getting really hard.

Good on you getting a very hard job completed mxk. I had ordered Miscanthus 'Malapartus' years ago but it turned out to be a different M. that seeded. Those seedlings are full sized now and will be a big job to remove. Should have got to them sooner!

Happy Birthday rp!

Good job! People don't reralize when they plant these things, what will happen. A nightmare to deal with. I made the mistake of planting one once. Never again.

Have been in pre- contemplation mode of taking out a large clump myself- was planted by previous owner. I think I’d leave it if it were on the wild yard side where it could be a screen. But it halftime be in a partly sunny area I can see from the house which is above it on sloped property, the soil is fairly “ diggable” and I have a hope of planting groups of smaller things, flowers & sedges & maybe a smaller grasses.

I have read about cutting it down & using herbicide; I’m not averse to focused use of Roundup. But was not sure if I could get the root mass out in order to establish something else. I have a spade something like the Slayer, but, while I’m hardy and hard- headed, I’m not sure I can slay this myself. Was assuming that the roots go VERY deep.

I guess after cutting & poisoning I could give it a go.

Also wondering if eventually after scrabbling it down, perhaps can put more soil over top & plant small plugs of something else, as roots eventually would break down as organic matter?

The other thing was, I’m assuming I have to just watch this area ( site of possibly killed/ removed Zebra grass) for a year or so before planting there, since may re- sprout. If I thought I’d eventually eradicate it, it’d be worth starting, because it would at least be cut down & not shade out my preferred plants, not be expanding further, I could be considering that big chunk of future space in my plans.

I used a pickaxe to get mine out. Apparently I missed a few pieces, but those weren't too hard to just dig out. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.

I replaced it with a hydrangea.

mad_gallica, Ok! Thank you. I use a pickaxe to get out ( some of) the numerous rocks in my soil if I want to plant ANYTHING .
So it seems like it is doable.

This thread is why I've never planted any grasses lol. I'm sure there are some that aren't as bad as this zebra grass, but being the indecisive person that I am I hesitate to plant something that is difficult to move. My neighbor has some kind of grass and I enjoy it from afar lol.

gdinie, that clump is huge! It's actually rather lovely but I guess smack in front of the front door is not a good spot for it lol.

"... so much so that over a 2 weeks later, the enormo-clump still remains on the grassy path...."

THANK you, rosa! Thank you for showing me that other people do the same things I do! It's like when I walk into someone's house that is all messy and I think, yes! Here are real, normal people! (or at least people like me!) LOL. I can now walk past those dug-up digitalis grandiflora that have been sitting in clumps along the edge of a bed for a few weeks with my head held high, and not slink by them in shame....

:)

Dee

That photo above looks like 'Morning Light' to me...I thought Zebra grass looked different than that. I LOVE 'ML' and have been tempted to add it but - what always stopped me was that I hate the inflorescents in the fall. Just not appealing to me at all. And it does get quite big and spreads. I've been glad I never added it until I drive by a beautiful front yard with a couple of them shining in the sunlight..lol.

I don' t add grasses often. The only one that I've found manageable and I love the look of it, is Pennisetum 'Hamelin'. It's very neat and spreads slowly and is easy to just dig out the middle and divide the outer ring into new plants. And it rarely reseeds. I've enjoyed it enough to try other varieties of Pennisetum but I've shovel pruned a couple that reseeded like mad. I thought I was cold enough here to prevent that but not w that one. And there was another, 'Karley Rose' - I wanted something larger - and it was larger, but it was so messy looking. I finally found an additional variety, 'Desert Plains' from Bluestone Perennials - that is also manageable but colors up better in the fall, so I am keeping that one.

I also grow Carex buchannii which is tan color all season. It does reseed but gently. Very easy to get along with and added to plants with dark foliage, it's a nice companion.

HAHA when I said "done" I meant done as in getting rid of and never planting again. LOL!

I still have a few more to go. I was out there this afternoon trying to get a clump out and gave up. This grouping is just too tough for me -- going to have to ask DH to do it.