How to Get Rid of Stubborn Ground Covers: 7 Tips and Tricks
Ground covers shouldn’t be invasive! If they are, it’s time to rip them out and plant ornamental or native substitutes in their place. Whether removing grass, invasive vines, or a cover you planted years ago, these tips and tricks from native plant gardener Jerad Bryant will help you clear your garden.
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I live in the Pacific Northwest where English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and Japanese honeysuckle invade the forests. Their high tolerance for adverse conditions helps them push into natural environments where native plants thrive. Rather than coexisting with the native species, invasive covers trample over anything in their path.
If a ground cover naturalizes itself in nearby ecosystems, you can expect it to be aggressive in your garden. Other species like creeping Jenny, lesser celandine, and kudzu are rampant spreaders notorious for invading and destroying natural environments.
Though you may want to remove the invasive species immediately, some long-term strategies ensure you get every last bit of them. Which method to use depends on your garden, the plant in question, and your plans for the future. Grab a weeder or shovel, a kneeler, and gloves, and let’s get rid of those stubborn ground covers!
Identify the Plant
Knowing the type of plant you want to remove is crucial. Different weeds use different techniques for propagating themselves. Some, like ivy, mint, and periwinkle, root readily along their stems—they form extensive colonies with roots throughout the site. It’s best to pull them up by hand.
Other types, like lesser celandine, grow rooting bulbils above and below ground and spread seeds. They’re nearly impossible to remove, and if you remove them improperly you may risk spreading them further! Covering the site with tarps or thick layers of mulch works better than hand digging and pulling.
Other species are woody with central root systems and branches sprouting off a main trunk. Pull or dig these up, and remove any suckers that may form from lingering roots or stems.
Different methods work better to get rid of certain ground cover species, so knowing the kind you have will help you create a plan that works. Sometimes, a mix of all three strategies is best for a thorough removal. Some growers may rush to herbicides, though I encourage you to try mechanical methods first—some weeds are herbicide-resistant!
Work Smart, Not Hard
Rather than break your back trying to pull out weedy vines and covers, try tarping or mulching the plants! Tarping and mulching are two expert strategies for mitigating the spread of invasive species. You’ll place a layer on top of the colony and leave it in place to smother the underlying vegetation.
This tarping method is best for non-woody herbaceous species and low-growing vines. It won’t work for blackberries or similar species that grow prickly canes. Start by sourcing a thick, UV-resistant tarp. Use a black or blue material so that light can’t penetrate, and leave it on the site for six months or longer. Some species, like lesser celandine, may need tarping for two or more years before they die!
A similar method is solarization, where you place greenhouse plastic on top of the weeds during the summer. The clear plastic magnifies the sun’s power and heats the ground to extremely hot temperatures. Solarization kills annual grasses and shallow-rooted weeds, though it doesn’t work well from fall through spring.
Pin the tarps with landscape stakes, or use heavy stones to keep them down. You can also put wood chips on top of them; just be sure to pull any weeds that may sprout in the mulch. You don’t want another invasive plant taking over!
Get Your Hands Dirty
Though tarping is a great way to save your back, it doesn’t work for all plants. Species like blackberry, ivy, and winter creeper push the tarp up or penetrate through it! Their woody stems are tough and hardy, sprouting from equally tough root systems.
To remove these stubborn ground covers, you’ll need to dig as much of the plants out as possible. Use your favorite weeding tool to pull the roots out of the ground. Do your best not to leave root remnants, as they’ll sprout new shoots and take over bare soil. Avoid digging perennials like field bindweed or lesser celandine, as they may spread further when their root parts break and resprout.
Blackberry canes are incredibly prickly! Use thorn-resistant gloves when handling them to keep your hands safe. They do work! The gloves have a thick coating that prevents thorns from penetrating.
Properly Dispose of the Plants
Stubborn plants are stubborn for a reason! They often grow from cut stems and shoots in adverse conditions. You have a few disposal options. I like to put the waste on concrete or a tarp under direct sunlight. The heat and light kill the plants. After they die, you may compost or bury the scraps.
Some cities and counties have green waste collection facilities, where industrial processes turn plant scraps into compost. These facilities often use pressure and heat to create compost, killing any seeds or shoots within the green waste. Let your city take care of the scraps so you can enjoy your weed-free yard without any added stress.
A final way to process the debris is to place it in a metal or plastic trash can. The lack of heat, air, and moisture will cause the scraps to die and break down. After they die completely, you may compost or bury them or use them as organic mulch.
Stick With It
Getting rid of perennial weedy ground cover is rarely a one-and-done situation—you’ll need to return to the site often to ensure the aggressive species don’t return. Dig the plants out, tarp the area for a year or more, and monitor your progress until the plants disappear.
Lesser celandine is one of the hardest plants to remove because it lies dormant for most of the year. It may take many years of covering the foliage to starve the underground roots of nutrients. Similar bulbing species like Spanish bluebells and wild garlic are also resistant because of their seasonal dormancy. They store nutrients underground and can stay alive for many months.
Don’t give up! Your hard work and patience will pay off in the long run. It helps to imagine your future site free of weeds and full of black, crumbly, humus-rich soil. Dreams of the future garden will help you stick with the crucial task.
Check under the tarps or below the soil every month or two to see the progress. If no sprouts appear when sprouts should pop up, you’re safe! You can remove the tarp and begin planting your dream garden.
Use Herbicides as a Last Resort
Herbicides are often the first thing growers reach for to remove plants and weeds. Though they seem to provide an instant result, they often aren’t efficient for tough, perennial species that store energy under the soil. English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and kudzu will all return after repeated sprayings with synthetic herbicides.
Some products may label that they remove woody brush, though these tough formulations often have more harmful chemicals than the cheaper alternatives. They’ll kill any plant they touch and harm nearby perennials and wildflowers if particles land on them.
Not only do extreme herbicides harm your plants, but they also hurt pollinators and beneficial predators! The labels always recommend that the only person in the spraying area is the user, and the user must have protective gear on to prevent harmful side effects.
Bees don’t know to stay away! A new study shows that their gut microbiomes are affected by products like Roundup®—it weakens their microbiomes and allows pathogens to harm them more than they normally would.
Pull Seedlings
If you want to truly get rid of aggressive ground cover, never let the plants go to seed! Seeds aren’t like roots or rooting stems that die in adverse conditions—seeds may survive for decades in the soil before they germinate! Routine check-ups are crucial; you’ll spot sprouting seedlings before they grow into free-spreading adults.
Pull weedy seedlings as soon as you spot them. After a year or two of repeated pullings, you’ll see fewer and fewer seeds germinating. Some species, like gorse, sprout seeds that persist for a hundred years or more! With due diligence, you can remove them all and prevent future infestations. Solarization might be helpful in areas with many seeds, as the high temperatures kill them in place.
Key Takeaways
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again! Diligence is important in getting rid of invasive ground cover. After a proper removal, some tricks ensure continued success.
- Plant native plants or non-invasive ground covers after removing the pesky ones. The best way to keep other plants away is to cover the soil with living species.
- Compost, leaf mold, and similar organic mulches also help keep the weeds at bay. Apply a two to three-inch thick layer onto the soil once or twice a year.
- Seeds can come from bird or mammal droppings, foreign soil, and the wind. Annual weeding will prevent invasive species from taking over your yard.
If you still need effective weeding strategies, check out this guide with nine other tips for removing invasive plants.
