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RE: Pesky roots

I recently had to remove a more pernicious weed species, Mexican
Primrose. It had been given to me with a warning, and since I have
experience keeping many mints corralled I just laughed off the warning. 

Then I discovered how fast and how far the underground roots went. After
6 months I have developed this technique, the only thing found to kill
it at the root level.
-In the flower bed, there is no substitute for gently pulling out all
the rhizomes. They invade one at a time in single file so this is
doable.
-Where the plant has moved into grass and bare soil, where it has just
gone nuts, I discovered that roundup has very little affect on it (the
leaves turn a pretty red at the edges, then it bounces back like I just
fertilized it). I also discovered it pays little attention to my
Grass/Weed killer spray. However, the one-two punch of Roundup, followed
by Grass/Weed Killer in 3-7 days has left me with a patch of dead
Mexican Primrose. So I CAN control it. By the way, the Bermuda didn't
even notice any grass/weed killer.
I spray with extremely low pressure so it doesn't atomize and carry to
adjacent areas of the garden. I also use cardboard on the downwind side
to catch any overspray.
Believe it or not, I still cultivate some of this thing and have
discovered a catalog where they actually sell it and claim people plant
it in their dirt driveways because it is so tough. I believe it. I will
find a well contained home for it since it has such a long blooming
season, even if its only in a pot. It's mallow type pink flowers are
striped with dark pink, and there are lots of them. From its morphology
and bloom, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that its a relative of
bindweed. (Its definitely NOT a primrose or even a distant cousin). 

I have proven the same extermination routine works on my most aggressive
mint, pennyroyal, which is the hardest to keep contained. It has a large
and thick rootmat which means it will take a  lot of chemical to get
down to the root and kill it all. A one-two punch is required. I have
also planted them in deep shade to see if they survive (they are) and to
see if they are more easily controlled there (so far so good).

I am trying to groundcover a very large slope on which very little
thrived (too shady, heavy clay) and have been building a significant
amount of experience in what it takes to contain a lot of wandering
garden citizens. I have also been placing them next to each other to see
if they mix or choke each other out. I am enjoying a lot of the
experiment, but made myself a lot of work when I underestimated the
Mexican Primrose root trucking.

> >
> >Hi,
> >I'm currently fixing up a plot of my lawn for a garden.  Previously
> >it was a garden, but it was overrun by grass and mint.  Mint was
> >planted in it a few years ago, and as a result it has overrun the
> >entire garden.  I manage to do the big stuff, but I'm worried that
> >there are still roots that can sprout.  Can I do anything to prevent
> >this?  Thanks in advance.
> >
> >Tran 
> >
> >
>
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