Montbretia (crocosmia?) gone mad!

keep chopping the stalks off as they appear (mow them if it is a big enough area).

they'll give up eventually.

songbird

Thank you Songbird!

Although it looks attractive, crocosmia is an invasive weed once it gets going. It spreads by its corms underground and by the cormlets above ground There are some cultivars which are better behaved, I am led to believe (but I am staying clear of crocosmia!).

You cannot dig them out. The corms break up underground and you may end up with an even worse problem (muscari are similar)! Spray the plants with glyphosate at the recommended strength. Wait two weeks and spray them again. After another week they should be showing signs of yellowing. If any aren't, spray them again. Whenever new green growth appears respray. After 6 months or so you should be free of the plants, but there may be some hangers on, so treat these as soon as you see them. Once the glyphosate has done its thing, there is no need to dig what's left out.

Thanks Jeff,

Great answer. I knew it would be a challenge.I know from experience that they are stubborn survivors if you want to clear them. A friend wants me to clear them out of a shrub and tree/hedged border in order to refresh with new plants.

It's a area totaling about 70m2. I was a little fearful of the poisoning approach due to the proximity of the other remaining shrubs etc.They may just have to come out too, and temporarily re-located, to make the 'killing' effective as the crocosmia are growing in and amongst them.

Could be a long term project if they are serious and determined enough to go through with it. So i'll suggest Plan B now!

regards

Terry

That /is/ a large area! Would it be possible to wrap the lower parts of any evergreen shrubs in polythene (or even clingfilm) to protect them when you spray? Or, failing that - and although it might look unsightly

- prune the lower 50cm or so of the shrubs so that the bottom part is bare. Either should be enough to allow you to spray the crocosmia without fear of damaging the shrubs through glyphosate absorption via the leaves.

The trouble with temporary relocation is that you are quite likely to carry bits of crocosmia root over to the new site, which will just get transferred back when you replant the shrubs! And you might have introduced it to the relocation site! Not good...

Good luck. You are going to need it.