Carolyn i did not know that asparagus ferns had thorns! It's been years since I grew them....i guess my knowledge of the thorns got lost in the mists of time. Do you know how they reproduce? I seem to remember seeing orange seed berries on them. Maybe they just throw lots of seed around? How about the roots, are they tenacious? I would still be tempted to pull the whole shebang out and start over. That hedge looks like it needs to be renewed anyway.
Congrats on your research Carolyn. I recall the A. Ferns that I have kept indoors in the past and the wild asparagus that I frequently saw widely distributed when hiking in Spain. When the original poster returns to read the responses to her questions perhaps we can suggest some solutions. However, up until now, I would have to go along with Cayu’s suggestion because getting to the root of any botanical problem like this one can only be truly addressed in this radical way. There are many folks on our allotment complex here that have hedges. There are always foreign things growing in their hedges thanks to wind and bird droppings. They removed their hedges to get at the trees or brambles. Others have just left them and go after them with sècateurs a few times in the season...and still others simply leave them. What I cannot understand is why some folks remove the hedges and then replant them...the same problem will simply return in time. Ach, but I am straying now...let’s first see what our poster think when they return to weigh the info that is waiting for them to appraise.
CM, the hedge is pretty mature. I don't know much about shrubs but it looks overpruned at the wrong time of growth. all the new growth was cut off and left dormant wood behind.. I am not a hedge kind of person unless it is a property line divider. they require a lot of maintenance to keep them under control most of the time. I hate....maybe thats a strong word, but the forsythia bush... no no no no no! they reproduce by their tips touching and rooting just like black raspberries. the fern reproduces by seed. and as it matures you can divide them. those little orange berries are what you have seen that is what the birds eat of an spread like wild fire in areas that are warm enough.
I agree 100% with your impressions Carolyn and Cayu. Especially that perhaps better pruning and timing choices could have been carried out. Chapeau.
I agree Carolyn. The poor hedge looks a little "moth eaten" doesn't it? Some hedges though really respond surprisingly well to being sheared straight to the ground & then left to start afresh. But with those asparagus ferns in there, I don't know that it would work....or if it is the right kind of hedge to prune that way. And i agree with you about forsythia. I do love their bright yellow color in the spring when we are so eager for the drab of winter to end. But yes indeed they are a maintenance problem.
Mine was also bindweed in my old town. Have you tried Roundup? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Roundup-Ac...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= K
A number of European and Asian countries have banned the use of Roundup (glyphosate) as a possible carcinogen. The EU as a whole permits it until 2022 but a number of individual countries have banned it. Here in the states, Monsanto (the producer of Roundup) is a huge conglomerate with a lot of influence.
@Cayuga Morning not a rant, just information. Unfortunately I lost a pet directly to the use of Roundup quite a few years ago (vet said it was poisoning-I deduced it was my ignorance). Live and learn.
