How do I kill wild ginger ?

Sep 24, 2006 4 Replies

Hi there,



I've got about 2 ton of wild ginger lurking in my "garden" .. any ideas on how I can kill it off without killing the native trees ? (if I kill the Kauri trees by accident the council will lynch me!)



I'm not kidding about the 2 ton part, the last owner of the house just ignored it and it's taking over :-(



Thanks!



Mark



You can always pull it out or spray with Roundup. Roundup won't harm the trees unless you get it on the leaves. I'm wondering how you got it to grow. I see it growing wild in the woods, usually at lower elevations. It grows in small bunches here and there. It likes shady moist acidic soil conditions and that's exactly what I have on the sloped side of my house. Do you think it will grow there? I'm in zone 7, e.TN.

Pulling it up is going to be a mission, and the horrible stuff is just everywhere, seems to love this area. I've seen references about roundup .. is it OK to spray around ? Does it break down in soil ?

I've no idea where "zone 7, e.TN." actually is ... America ?!?!

If you have Google Earth, and look at Latittude : 36=B057'1.49"S Longtitude: 174=B037'53.45"E you'll see where I am and see if it matches your garden.

Regards

Mark

That's why common names are a problem on an international forum. What Phisherman calls wild ginger is probably an Asarum species like A. canadense. Judging by Pyrite's email address, he/she is probably referring to a Hedychium species like H. gardnerianum or H. flavescens.

If I'm correct, then this website may be useful to Pyrite. It describes the use of herbicides, including Round Up, to control invasive Hedychium:

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I've no idea where "zone 7, e.TN." actually is ... America ?!?!

Presumably eastern Tennessee, USA.

According to Environment Waikato in New Zealand you can control wild ginger in two ways:

Physical Control Pull out small seedlings by hand and dispose of them carefully.

Dig out small clumps and remove all of the root system. Dispose of rhizomes by placing them in a black plastic bag and leaving them to rot. Or place the rhizomes in a weak herbicide mix, then crush, dry and burn them.

Herbicide Control There are two main methods for herbicide control:

cut stump treatment

spray application.

Source:

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Phisherman wrote:

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