How can I safely get rid of lesser celladine in my lawn/flower beds?

JZ
by JZ

This groundcover has tubers which are invading my lawn and flower beds. If I pull it from my garden I've been told that the tiny tubers left behind can create a further problem

  3 answers
  • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Jun 13, 2019

    Round-Up

    • See 2 previous
    • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Jun 18, 2019

      FYI......so are all the household cleaning products,fertilizers,pesticides,paint,flea/tick/mosquito junk you slather on your poor pets, that you are using everyday in your yard/soil and rinsing down your drains just because no one filed suits against these companies products doesn't mean they are any less damaging.Especially at the rate the billions of people in the world are using them.

  • Peggy L Burnette Peggy L Burnette on Jun 13, 2019

    Hi this is Peggy. Sorry you are having a problem with lesser celadine in your lawn and flower beds. Here is some good information I hope will be helpful for you. How to Get Rid of Invasive Lesser Celandine (Fig Buttercup ...

    1. https://www.gardeningchannel.com › Landscaping

    Looks can be deceiving. Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria L.), or fig buttercup, appears to be a sweet little exotic plant that wouldn't harm anyone. But ask ...

  • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Jun 14, 2019

    It's not native to North America.... Invasive Plant To Watch: Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) The story of lesser celandine (also known as fig buttercup or pilewort) is the classic story of an invasive species. Native to Europe, northern Africa, western Asia, and Siberia, it was brought to the United States as an ornamental plant.And please remind people not to plant lesser celandine! I've been told a number of stories of people removing it from parkland to put in their yards as it was "so pretty." Glyphosate

    The only current reliable method of killing lesser celanine is to use glyphosate. As you all know only use herbicides when it is absolutely necessary, and then in the minimum amount required.

    The protocol for lesser celandine control is to foliar spray celandine in the time in the spring after it has leaves but before it goes to flower (typically less than 50% of the plants have buds). This is an incredibly narrow window that we are now out of. This year it was about March 27-April 6.

    You must repeat this cycle for 3 years in a row.

    There is no good method for controlling celandine.It must be irradicated, we are looking at extensive infestations throughout U.S. All of the stream valleys and many of the parks in between do have celandine. This is a massive infestation.

    What can you do?

    Avoid areas with celandine. Avoid digging in them, or even walking through them. In a few months (usually by mid-June) the celandine has senesced and you can go back to work.Support efforts to research better ways to kill celandine.Lesser celandine is a perrennial - 20% acetic acid(vinegar) is unlikely to have any long term effect. Only kills tops not underground,I know of no direct, replicated experimental studies on the species/treatment, only anecdotes. Household vinegar is 5% acetic acid and appears to have no consistent effect.Most people know not to pull it out - those pesky underground bulbils stick around and thrive in the disturbed soil. So people have resorted to digging out the clumps whole. This can work in areas where the soil, moisture and all other factors are inline,so you get all of it from underground. It generates a ton of waste (soil and plant matter) and does a number on the health of the soil you're leaving behind.This only works best in garden beds, or in very small infestations (1-10 plants).

    This waste cannot be home composted, so the only option is to burn it because if you send it to the county yard waste compost/recycle it will further spread elsewhere.