I have a pretty bad Ranunculus ficaria (lesser celandine) infestation in a section of my garden. I smoothered the lawn in this section last Spring but the lesser calendine had already gone to sleep for the season and apparently slept soundly while the grass was suffocated around it. I had the same problem with my star of Bethlehem infestation in the same area and both are now rampant in the garden. The Star of Bethlehem I'm going to attempt to pull up as I've seen recommended. However, the lesser calendine is impossible to pull! I end up with a fist full of leaves and no roots. My soil is very healthy and I did try pulling after a good rain. Looking a solution up online seems to always lead to a chemical solution for these guys because they're pretty evil.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I know my window is going to be closing soon as they're just starting to bloom and will soon disappear.
I found this response to a question about getting rid of acres of lesser calendine carpeting along a river bank https://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=1097
To sum it up:
"And hundreds of acres?! Removal of such a large number of plants along a river bank in any manner would lead to severe environmental devastation. And for what? To be able to risk replacing a plant that produces pretty yellow buttercup-like flowers and does a magnificent job of preventing erosion with different plants that thrived in a different era and may no longer have what it takes to compete in a world that’s been dramatically changed by the presence of humans?
Nature doesn’t favor natives—or so called ‘invaders’. Nature simply provides a canvas, and the rules of Darwin decide the winners. It’s not the same river as when those other plants first flourished; human activity has changed everything about it and the area around it. The best I can suggest is that you establish a nearby area that you can protect with deep edging in which to show off your natives. Any attempts to remove that much celandine will be expensive, time-consuming, immensely destructive to the environment, and run a high risk of failure."
I understand that the task would not only be daunting but also have an impact on erosion until natives could re-establish themselves, but the underlying mentality surprises me. Sorry Dutchman’s Breeches, Virginia Bluebells, Trillium and Trout Lilies... survival of the fittest and you lose!
To sum it up:
"And hundreds of acres?! Removal of such a large number of plants along a river bank in any manner would lead to severe environmental devastation. And for what? To be able to risk replacing a plant that produces pretty yellow buttercup-like flowers and does a magnificent job of preventing erosion with different plants that thrived in a different era and may no longer have what it takes to compete in a world that’s been dramatically changed by the presence of humans?
Nature doesn’t favor natives—or so called ‘invaders’. Nature simply provides a canvas, and the rules of Darwin decide the winners. It’s not the same river as when those other plants first flourished; human activity has changed everything about it and the area around it. The best I can suggest is that you establish a nearby area that you can protect with deep edging in which to show off your natives. Any attempts to remove that much celandine will be expensive, time-consuming, immensely destructive to the environment, and run a high risk of failure."
I understand that the task would not only be daunting but also have an impact on erosion until natives could re-establish themselves, but the underlying mentality surprises me. Sorry Dutchman’s Breeches, Virginia Bluebells, Trillium and Trout Lilies... survival of the fittest and you lose!
Just wanted to give an update in case anyone else ends up searching for a solution to the same problem.
I went out in the rain yesterday and used my shovel to dig up sections of soil. I made sure to dig deep enough so I'd get the tubers instead of severing them. I basically dug up squares one at a time, then sifted through the dirt, section by section. I wish I had before and after photos because it was a carpet surrounding my plants before and now the majority is gone (at least in the worst section of my garden). I'm sure I'll have more to deal with next spring, but hopefully the numbers will lessen year after year. Pulling these guys really just isn't efficient so I'd recommend this method.
I went out in the rain yesterday and used my shovel to dig up sections of soil. I made sure to dig deep enough so I'd get the tubers instead of severing them. I basically dug up squares one at a time, then sifted through the dirt, section by section. I wish I had before and after photos because it was a carpet surrounding my plants before and now the majority is gone (at least in the worst section of my garden). I'm sure I'll have more to deal with next spring, but hopefully the numbers will lessen year after year. Pulling these guys really just isn't efficient so I'd recommend this method.
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rainbowgardener
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Wow. Thanks for posting the update and what a lot of work! Yeah the lesser celandine is getting to be a real problem around here, too. I have little bits of it in my native woodland shade garden. I think I probably need to really work on getting rid of it now, while it is still little bits, rather than waiting until it starts taking over.
I'd definitely recommend getting rid of any plants you can now. I'm wondering if mine were particularly hard to pull because I had raised the ground level when smothering the lawn so the tubers were down pretty deep. The stems between the tubers and leaf on the surface were about 3" inches long. I don't know if this is typical, but that's why the long skinny stems would just snap off without bringing the tubers to the surface. The thought only came to me now... would that make sense? You'll have to let me know what your experience is with pulling them.
I was happy to find a perennial salvia and lots of bee balm hiding within the carpet. I thought I had lost one of my three salvias, so that was a nice surprise!
I was happy to find a perennial salvia and lots of bee balm hiding within the carpet. I thought I had lost one of my three salvias, so that was a nice surprise!