Any gardeners on here? I have a query... (1 Viewer)

Skyblueweeman

Well-Known Member
If so, have you heard of Scouring Rush? I've got some in my back garden and it's taking over my lawn as well. After tips on getting rid of it from my lawn and to stop it growing in places it shouldn't be.
 

Gazolba

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure what that is but a general rule I've arrived at with unwanted plants is to pull them up as early as possible.
Some plants form deep roots really quickly and to pull them up you have to do it very quickly.
I do not believe in using chemical weed-killers as they poison the soil and also yourself if you are not very careful.
You have to pull the plant up complete with all its roots or it will re-generate.
And unless you do it quickly, it may form deep roots or spread seed or spores to reproduce itself.
There's a guy with a Sumac tree in the next house to me and it drops hundreds of microscopic seeds everywhere.
By the time the seedlings are about 3 inches tall they are impossible to pull up and have to be dug up.
 

Skyblueweeman

Well-Known Member
Thanks Gazolba. Yeah, I think it's past the stage of it regenerating. Bought a house a couple of years ago with decent sized back garden and down one of the borders, we have this scouring rush plant. Looks ok...quite oriental but it's spreading itself under the lawn and sprouting up. It's a real bugger. I'm pulling it out at the root but it spores like you say and then re-growing but in different places.
 

Sky_Blue_Dreamer

Well-Known Member
Hadn't heard it called that before - had to look it up.

As Gazolba said the only thing is to get in there and dig it up with all the roots you can. If it starts to reappear then get in quickly and pull it up again. A lot of these grass type plants are rhizomous so grow from the roots underground and pop up again nearby. If you don't want to plant anything in the space or mind a bit of a bare patch in the grass (as you'll probably have anyway from digging it up) you could try a specific weedkiller but do it on the new shoots - they absorb it quicker. I'd try and avoid that if possible.

Other point is - did you plant it yourself or has it spread from elsewhere? Do you want to keep it in a specified place in the garden? If so try putting it in a pot, although it will need regular watering. You could always 'sink' the pot into the ground slightly to reduce watering which will encourage the roots down into the soil but they've got much less psace to spread so if it does it's easier to get rid of the unwanted sections later on.
 

Skyblueweeman

Well-Known Member
Thanks SBD.

I inherited after purchasing a house a couple of years ago and there's a decent section of it in a border down one side of the lawn where it was planted. It looks good to be fair - where it's supposed to be - not in my lawn though!

The lawn isn't the best so I've treated it for moss which killed that and I was going to scarify and re-seed anyway so might take up that bit of lawn where it's coming up (probably about a 3 sq M patch) and dig it up before leveling with new soil and sand max, then re-seeding.
 

Gazolba

Well-Known Member
Thanks Gazolba. Yeah, I think it's past the stage of it regenerating. Bought a house a couple of years ago with decent sized back garden and down one of the borders, we have this scouring rush plant. Looks ok...quite oriental but it's spreading itself under the lawn and sprouting up. It's a real bugger. I'm pulling it out at the root but it spores like you say and then re-growing but in different places.
Dig it up a section at a time.
Some plants spread by sending out roots sideways under the ground.
The roots start off by going down but then start going sideways and you see another plant coming up nearby.
Read as much as you can about the plant since knowledge about its habits is key to getting rid of it.
 

Houchens Head

Fairly well known member from Malvern
I had Scouring Rush once. Caught it off "Dog Kennel Dora". Doctor gave me some cream for it.
 

lifeskyblue

Well-Known Member
Not sure how this differs from the English horsetail. The English version v difficult to get rid of...v deep roots (up to 10ft deep) that impossible to dig out whole. Any bits broken off just produce new plants. The foliage has a coating that makes most weed killers useless.
Best advice re this I was given was to bruise the foliage when it grows with your boot) then apply the weed killer. Does have some effect but still not get rid of it all.


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lifeskyblue

Well-Known Member
Also wherever it sprouts just keep on top of it...try and exhaust the plant by keep hoeing, digging it out.


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