[TQ79]

Hey AMHD Gardening Folks,

I'm not much of a garden person I can kill almost any plant that comes in a few feet of me. My husband however loves gardening in the back yard and landscaping ever since we bought our house. But it seems there's an annoying weed that keeps coming back.

I don't know what it's called exactly but for the past 2 years my husband and I have ripped it up and cleared it out.. only with it to come back again the very next year in a new spot and even worst than the first time. It started in our back neighbors yard and kind of crept through the fence into ours.. it's now up by our house and flower beds. More a less taking over our flower beds and part of our lawn.

So I've taken pictures of it.. hopefully someone's seen it before and knows what it is, and if possible how do we get rid of this stuff for good.

I took a couple shots: a close up of the offender and a few of where it is and what it's doing. Hopefully they help.

- TQ

[tickle]

Yes, I have that too, and gave up. It flourishes on damp or wet earth. Don't know the name of it but first noticed it a few years ago. This year I intend to order many yards of topsoil and do my lawn over again, only higher, so it stays dry. We are below the water table here by the lake so I don't think my ministrations will work but will try hard again.

Tick

[TQ79]

yes, i have that too, and gave up. It flourishes on damp or wet earth. Dont know the name of it but first noticed it a few years ago. This year I intend to order many yards of topsoil and do my lawn over again, only higher, so it stays dry. We are below the water table here by the lake so I dont think my ministrations will work but will try hard again.

tick

I hope your attempt this year works for you. We've dug this up so many times.. Espeically the first year we moved in and noticed it along the back fence in the neighbors yard, thinking we could nip it in the butt before it took root in our own yard. But it keeps coming back. Last year we had to pull it off our rose bushes that run along the back of the house, it's like a vine type thing that just covers over the top of the ground not much to dig up but it still comes back every year.

My husband was doing some yard work yesterday and before he got into tackling weeding out all the flower beds he wanted to know I could find a way to get rid of this stuff before he worked over time ripping it all out again. But with out it's name I'm having trouble looking up solutions on the web. Usually we don't see it this bad till the summer but it's back with a vengeance early in our lawn.

Maybe with some luck someone will have a solution to get rid of it for both of us tickle :D

[tickle]

I don't have it as bad as you. You could take a piece to your local garden centre/nursery and maybe they could identify it.

Tick

[George Leigh]

It's called gill over the ground or ground ivy. Rubbing this plant on your skin will cure poison ivy rash. It has beautiful flowers and a strong unpleasant smell when the plant is crushed, most animals avoid eating it. It spreads by seeds as well as any broken off piece of it's stems will take root. I actually have a large area of the front yard taken over by it, it grows so thick I no longer need to mow the grass. So I sort of tolerate it. But everyone who sees it there makes comments like, oh, you've got THAT stuff.
It does do better in shade than in full sun. You could try mowing it very closely then smothering it with a thick mulch, use some sort of a garden edging to keep it from creeping back in from the neighbor's side.

[TQ79]

it's called gill over the ground or ground ivy. Rubbing this plant on your skin will cure poison ivy rash. It has beautiful flowers and a strong unpleasant smell when the plant is crushed, most animals avoid eating it. It spreads by seeds as well as any broken off piece of it's stems will take root. I actually have a large area of the front yard taken over by it, it grows so thick I no longer need to mow the grass. So I sort of tolerate it. But everyone who sees it there makes comments like, oh, you've got THAT stuff.
It does do better in shade than in full sun. You could try mowing it very closely then smothering it with a thick mulch, use some sort of a garden edging to keep it from creeping back in from the neighbor's side.

We've pulled it out before and buried it with heavy mulch near the house by the roses last year and it's back again in the same spot, and then some spreading to the flower bed that was pictured. On the upside you gave us the name of it.. I can now search on gardening sites for how to get rid of it.

[tickle]

Hi TQ, just googled 'ground ivy'. You may want to check out Google first. You may find out how to deal with it from your computer screen !

ms. tickle

[MCKR]

You might try looking up Swedish Ivy. It sort of looks like the stuff I've been pulling for 40 years. Good Luck. :)

[George Leigh]

Well it makes sense that the cure for poison ivy would be just as persistent and annoying as poison ivy itself, sort of... maybe you can open up a herbal business of some sort. Just use an out of focus picture on your brochures...

[0rphan]

Hi weed sufferers,

Have you tried a weed killer? something that will kill the weed but not the grass.

Every few years I use... VERDONE... absolutuly brilliant.

It kills almost every weed variety, not sure if it would work on this though,but give it a try you never know.

Once you cut the grass you have to leave it for about 3 days,dilute verdone with water and watering can it on... unless you have a fancy spray of course.

A can is better because you can more or less put it where it needs to go, where as a spray might distribute it on flowers and shrubs which would kill them, be sure and give it a good soaking.

Once you've put it down don't mow your lawn for at least 3 days as the weed killer works through the leaves of the weed down to the root.

[ballengerb1]

Ortho and most of us call that Creeping Charlie and it's a bear to kill. Get 1 oz. of Ortho weed killer and 1/2 oz of Ortho Chickweed killer and spray it. This U of I extension serevice offers other solutions. Creeping Charlie – Is he on your most unwanted list? - The Homeowner's Column - University of Illinois Extension I, on the other hand, am lazy and like to visit ACE so Creeping Charlie - Scotts Miracle-Gro

[TQ79]

Thanks for the suggestions folks. We have not tried a weed killer on it because we have cats one of which likes to go outside and roll in this stuff for some odd reason. Thus far we've been digging and ripping it up. I've made my husband dig under it more than we have in the past to ensure we get all the roots this time. It's still there though so we're making slow progress if any at all.

However if a weed killer is the only way to totally terminate this stuff from coming back does anyone have suggestions for um say pet safe weed killers. Although I could keep our cat indoors during that time one of our neighbors also has cats that he lets out. I don't want to chance making his kitties sick either.

[MsMewiththat]

If you have never tried borax on the creeping charley you will thank me when you are done. It's the greatest

Borax Solution for Creeping Charlie Control:
Dissolve 10 oz. Twenty Mule Team Borax in 4 oz. (½ cup) warm water.
Dilute in 2.5 gallons of water.

This will cover 1,000 square feet. If you have a smaller area to treat, cut the "recipe" accordingly

[ballengerb1]

Good luck with that, it is effective but can only be applied once a year for 2 years. After that you got to go toxic. CC is a bear to kill and keep killer, pulling is of little help because specsks of roots will regrow in a week. Also, if you dose too much it will also harm the plants you want to keep.

[George Leigh]

My guilty secret: I stick handfulls of this stuff in a clay pot with a white petunia and a red geranium. Presto, instant red white and blue planters for the porch or around the driveway. Obviously I don't care if someone steps on it or drives over it.
Her tulips are just great, wouldn't want any weed killer to hurt those!!