Hello Referring to the above plant which is also known as 'Lords and Ladies'. Although it is a nice plant, it is poisonous and i have moved into a new house with a garden full of them. I have a young child and so need to remove them. There are about 200 which are very deeply embedded into the soil. Does anyone know if there is something i can use to spray onto them to kill them rather than digging the whole garden and disturbing the rest of the flowers and plants?
Did you make it "hot"? Really strong? Try mixing in a full cup to even 2 cups per gallon of water. Or you can paint it full strength on the leaves. Make sure you get the leaves though. Make sure you have at least an hour before say it rains or your having to water in those areas.
I've read it's no use trying to dig them out, because even a small amount of root left in the ground will sprout. If the roundup can't get to them, I guess you'll have to cover the entire area with thick, black plastic and leave it to bake for a couple of years.
Or teach your children not to eat anything out of the garden without asking first. Tht is what we did with our 5 and a garden full of poisonous plants (most of them are you know!). Otherwise Roundup does work , try adding a little liquid soap to the mix, it makes it sticky and cling to the leaf for longer so that it is absorbed. Even so it will take a few goes to remove all the plants. By the way they berries are the poisonous parts and even they are not deadly. From the effect described I do not think a child would eat more than one. The roots were once used as food (properly prepared).
I would also recommend Roundup - but try to keep the unwanted plants dry for a minimum of two weeks AFTER the application of the "hot" Roundup. With stubborn weeds, I found that applying the Roundup and keeping it dry works best. Gosh I was just thinking -is it very wet where you are? I was just giving advise and taking into account my type of conditions.
Mare's Tail Sadly, we have the same problem in our garden but I didn;t know they were poisonous. What happens if you pull them up bare handed and forget to wash your hands (this is me!). Also, very important subject. We have a beautiful garden with fields next to it. The bottom of the field has been overtaken with Mare's Tail which is now encroaching on the garden and into the pond. Can anyone tell me what to do stop it spreading, please!
You need to eat the berries of Arum for it to poison you and you need to eat far more than anyone could for it to be fatal. Mare's Tail is impossible to stop except perhaps by a physical barrier, but since I once followed a root of it down over 9 feet into pure sand I think even a wall would not stop it. Roundup does work on it but you need to bruise the foliage first. There is a chemical control available to professional gardeners I believe.
