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Homeowner Forum / Lawn and Garden / July 2008Control Of Weed Called "Selfheal" In Lawn - Help Please !!
Hi, I have several occurrences of a weed known as "Selfheal" in my lawn. It has not reached the point where it is becoming rampant but I have pulled up approximately 20 of the spreading web like shoots that I have so far located. On reading a bit about it I think I need to take some positive action now rather than later to control the weed. Can anyone please recommend an efficient treatment that I can purchase in the UK to get rid of the "Selfheal" that will not compromise my lawn. Regards "Anxious In Surrey" On 29/7/08 17:35, in article a8hu84drgcocfa807kcr4b3svtnrqpb1aa@4ax.com, > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > in the UK to get rid of the "Selfheal" that will not compromise my > lawn. It's not a weed, it's a wild flower and is called Selfheal because it's used to cure mouth ulcers and sore throats. It's a little ironic to think that others might pay quite a lot of money for a wild flower garden containing it! Perhaps you could allow at least a little patch to flourish?  SignatureSacha http://www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon >On 29/7/08 17:35, in article a8hu84drgcocfa807kcr4b3svtnrqpb1aa@4ax.com, > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >others might pay quite a lot of money for a wild flower garden containing >it! Perhaps you could allow at least a little patch to flourish? I grow some in our wildflower areas as it is a good butterfly and bee plant as well as having attractive blue flowers. In a lawn it can be a bit of a problem as mowing, even relatively close mowing, does not control it. Scalping the lawn or grazing with sheep will but I don't suppose that you want to go down that route. The only organic alternative is to dig the plants up before they spread to far. Failing that you will need to try repeated applications of a selective weed killer such as Verdone. SignatureRobert Hibell > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Regards > "Anxious In Surrey" First of all - why? it's an attractive native plant as Sacha has already said. However if you must, it is a typical plant of rather impoverished lawns that are probably very compacted and have probably been mown too short. You can reduce it a lot by helping the grass to compete more effectively. Mow frequently but set the mower a bit higher. Do some work on relieving the compaction, a good feed now and plenty of water if the monsoon hasn't yet arrived in your neck of the woods. Scarify vigorously as well. I'd see how you do over a couple of seasons of that before resorting to selective weedkillers. You'll be surprised to see how the mix of grasses and other plants changes according to how you manage it. " >> I have several occurrences of a weed known as "Selfheal" in my lawn. >> It has not reached the point where it is becoming rampant but I have [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > First of all - why? it's an attractive native plant as Sacha has > already said. Could you not bring yourself to leave it alone, I have lots of it on my lawns and in the paddock and it is a beautiful little plant. kate On 29/7/08 18:46, in article b705b18f-365b-429b-aa38-d8eda54c2daa@z72g2000hsb.googlegroups.com, "Rod" <rodcraddock@lineone.net> wrote: >> Hi, >> [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > surprised to see how the mix of grasses and other plants changes > according to how you manage it. Does what you are describing mimic land grazed by sheep, Rod? I know I'm off on a dream of my own here but I wonder if our Surrey gardener can't be persuaded to start a new fashion in his corner of Surrey? (says she who lived in Haslemere for a little time and thought then, in the 70s, that Hostas were 'boring'!) SignatureSacha http://www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon tbg;807224 Wrote: > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Regards > "Anxious In Surrey" Dig them out -- beccabunga One mans meat is another mans poison, hence, I have decided to poison the weed with a vigorous effort by attacking it with a selective weedkiller with a follow up treatment later on. In addition I shal make efforts to improve the general well being of the lawn by aeration etc. Now, wheres my nearest stockist of a large box of 2,4 dichlorophenoxy acetate, prunella vulgaris will be vulgar no more, it will be dead. Rgds > One mans meat is another mans poison, hence, I have decided to poison > the weed with a vigorous effort by attacking it with a selective [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Rgds You could just use tarmac or if you want a green look, try astroturf or just get an apartment with no garden. > > One mans meat is another mans poison, hence, I have decided to poison > > the weed with a vigorous effort by attacking it with a selective [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > You could just use tarmac or if you want a green look, try astroturf > or just get an apartment with no garden. :-) Some people have too much time on their hands, or plan to use their lawns for putting practice. My lawn is chocfull of weeds, including the selfheal in question, a couple of patches. Lots of daisies, and white clover, the odd thistle, docks and god knows what else. But when clipped tight - which weather permitting I try to do every week end - it looks lovely and densely green, and it is particularly nice for a kickaround, or even to lie out on on the couple of days in the year that that odd shiny hot object appears in the sky. Between clippings, it is lovely and "enameled" (as they apparently did in medieval times) with white and gold daisies, purple selfheal and white clover. Life's too short to be anal about lawns, in my book :-) Cat(h) On 30/7/08 14:00, in article c7d294b8-9b5b-4b00-b4d5-35082641eda7@w7g2000hsa.googlegroups.com, "Cat(h)" <cathy_ie@yahoo.com> wrote: >>> One mans meat is another mans poison, hence, I have decided to poison >>> the weed with a vigorous effort by attacking it with a selective [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Cat(h) The preoccupation with lawns seems to be an intensely British passion. That slab of bowling green is essential to some peoples' peace of mind. In Crete we saw several villas with immaculate lawns nobody ever sat on because they all sat on the terraces of their pools. It infuriated the locals, to whom water is immensely precious, to see it wasted on these meaningless bits of greenery which aren't even useful to a goat! Our lawns have daisies, a few dandelions, violets, some clover, and enchantingly, white violets on one of them. Under a tree we have cyclamen, bluebells, daffs. SignatureSacha http://www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon > The preoccupation with lawns seems to be an intensely British > passion. That slab of bowling green is essential to some peoples' [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > violets, some clover, and enchantingly, white violets on one of them. > Under a tree we have cyclamen, bluebells, daffs. I can't understand why people who call themselves gardeners bother with an uninteresting slab of monoculture. Remove the turves, pile them up, and let them rot down into decent soil, and rotovate what's left. Then you have a nice, empty piece of land to turn into something attractive and/or useful. SignatureJeff (cut "thetape" to reply) On 30/7/08 19:36, in article u8mdnZy-YqYNKQ3VnZ2dnUVZ_h7inZ2d@tcp.co.uk, >> The preoccupation with lawns seems to be an intensely British >> passion. That slab of bowling green is essential to some peoples' [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > them rot down into decent soil, and rotovate what's left. Then you have a > nice, empty piece of land to turn into something attractive and/or useful. It depends on what you have available to you, though. If a lawn is your sole recreational area on which to sunbathe, play, eat al fresco etc. I understand it better, though not in the pristine, weedless sense. When it's a square of hallowed green in front of a house and on which nobody treads other than to mow it or weed it, its usefulness or desirability passes me by. In those circumstances I'd do what my old grandfather did, pave it and in his case make a flower bed in the middle - in my case, it would probably be a water feecha. No way was Grandpa going to sit on a lawn beside a road which was used by - ooooooh - at least a dozen cars a day 'back then'! SignatureSacha http://www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon > > > One mans meat is another mans poison, hence, I have decided to poison > > > the weed with a vigorous effort by attacking it with a selective [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Cat(h) We have 2 bumble bee nests in our garden and a wall of knee high thistles, docks and ragworts in our wild bit. It depresses me when people want gardens to be sterile and freak at the slightest oddity and want instant chemical solutions. Yer man has selfheal in his lawn because the lawn is shite not because he has been lax with his chemicals. If he wants a nice lawn, he has to put some time in. Spraying it will waste the money and give him a patchy lawn with bare bits and the weeds will regrow in a while. If he wants a nice lawn he has to scarify, aerate, feed and mow correctly. I saw a clip on Nationwide a few weeks ago where some folks in Cabinteely have made a wildflower meadow in the fantastic Cabinteely Park. I was pleased to see that until, I saw one of them "weeding". They explained that they did not want docks and thistles. I wonder did she ask why greenfinches and chaffinches are now so uncommon in the cities. They cannot feed on hanging baskets or weed suppressing membranes. I am in grumpy old man mood. Des > > > > One mans meat is another mans poison, hence, I have decided to poison > > > > the weed with a vigorous effort by attacking it with a selective [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > bits and the weeds will regrow in a while. If he wants a nice lawn he > has to scarify, aerate, feed and mow correctly. To be fair to the guy, he said this was exactly what he proposed to do. My idea of a lawn is obviously more relaxed than his, but it doesn't either correspond to a wild meadow. I like my lawn to be reasonably clipped tight and green. I would take action if I had bare patches. My front tiny lawn is probably 40% moss, but I only scratch it once in a blue moon. Once, I tried the feed and weed stuff - only to end up with lots of nasty black patches around the place. I'd rather green moss than black patches. > I saw a clip on Nationwide a few weeks ago where some folks in > Cabinteely have made a wildflower meadow in the fantastic Cabinteely [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the cities. They cannot feed on hanging baskets or weed suppressing > membranes. Very true. I can afford to weed *and* have plenty of birds because I am surrounded by horse and cattle paddocks and hedgerows. > I am in grumpy old man mood. It befits you wonderously. Cat(h) >>> One mans meat is another mans poison, hence, I have decided to poison >>> the weed with a vigorous effort by attacking it with a selective [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > :-) Some people have too much time on their hands, or plan to use > their lawns for putting practice. > My lawn is chocfull of weeds, including the selfheal in question, a > couple of patches. Lots of daisies, and white clover, the odd > thistle, docks and god knows what else. I draw the line at buttercups, dandelions, thistles and docks. They are not welcome although sometimes tolerated against the hedge or fence. I encourage clover and various low growing wildflowers. I make a token effort to discourage daisies once a year. > But when clipped tight - which weather permitting I try to do every > week end - it looks lovely and densely green, and it is particularly [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > white clover. > Life's too short to be anal about lawns, in my book :-) I agree. Besides I like having some flowers in it. Some of the smaller bellis plants will grow OK in a regularly cut lawn which allows for daisy like flowers with a wider range of colours. Regards, Martin Brown ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com ** "Cat(h)" <cathy_ie@yahoo.com> writes >:-) Some people have too much time on their hands, or plan to use >their lawns for putting practice. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >white clover. >Life's too short to be anal about lawns, in my book :-) On the same day as the OP posted his plea, I was celebrating because my lawn has just produced its first clump of self-heal, to go along with the white clover, daisies, et al. SignatureKay On 30/7/08 18:55, in article 1bekeKB3rKkIFw9+@scarboro.demon.co.uk, "K" <k@scarboro.demon.co.uk> wrote: > "Cat(h)" <cathy_ie@yahoo.com> writes >> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > lawn has just produced its first clump of self-heal, to go along with > the white clover, daisies, et al. It's certainly horses for courses. As long as ours are cut and look fairly tidy, I fin it makes the entire garden look tidy. But the joy of a little patch of 'something pretty' springing up here and there can't be overstated for me. SignatureSacha http://www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon Des Higgins, This is your quote pasted below: > Yer man has selfheal in his lawn >because the lawn is shite not because he has been lax with his >chemicals. If he wants a nice lawn, he has to put some time in. >Spraying it will waste the money and give him a patchy lawn with bare >bits and the weeds will regrow in a while. If he wants a nice lawn he >has to scarify, aerate, feed and mow correctly. Now, how do you know my lawn is shite, have you seen it, thought not? It is just your uninformed opinionated scathing arrogance that leads you to type such drivel. In my first post I said that I did not have an epidemic of the prunella vulgaris but said that it was giving me concern. I did not mention any other detrimental points about my lawn. For your information I have listed below my general annual routine. 1. March/April, handrake the lawn with a lawn rake to clear all the winter worm casts and other debris. 2. Apply the correct dose rate of "Feed-Weed-Moss Killer" with a Scotts spreader. 3. Allow 2 weeks for process 2 above to take effect then mow and hand rake again. 4. Apply mid summer feed around July I then keep the lawn mowed each week until November. Every other year I hire a scarifier in the spring from HSS to give it a good clean up. The one thing that I have never done is to aerate the lawn with a hollow tining fork or general garden fork. Sure, the process could be improved but I am generally happy with he results so far. As a matter of fact, the lawn is probably in very good condition in comparison to the general standard of lawns in the UK. My post about prunella vulgaris was prompted by the lawn of a family relative been ruined by an epidemic of the plant that got out of control and has resited the efforts of professional lawn services. This caused me to place my question on here for advice on how to get rid of this specific plant. So Des Higgins, please inform me how you know my lawn is shite having never seen it. Regards > As a matter of fact, the lawn is probably in very good condition in > comparison to the general standard of lawns in the UK. My post about [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > So Des Higgins, please inform me how you know my lawn is shite having > never seen it. Where you made your mistake was in assuming you would get a useful answer. This ng is for chatting by a select group who decide how your garden should look. You may not grow it as you wish but must conform to their ideas. The owners of the ng look down on anyone who has the temerity to want a weed free garden and the worst crime of all is to use chemicals. My advice to you is to brown nose the leaders for a while and lose no oppotunity to tell them what good chaps they are, after a while you will get to know the chief group and will be able to take sides with them against others who do not conform. Then you may, only may, be allowed to have an opinion of your own, but don't hold your breath. > In article <11m1941hut656n4udcu2k2iibs50el5...@4ax.com>, > dogf...@btinternet.com says... [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > may, be allowed to have an opinion of your own, but don't hold your > breath. That's it; you are not being invited to the secret inner cabal get togethers any more. > Des Higgins, > [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > > Regards I am sure your lawn is wonderful and brings you enormous pleasure and fulfillment. I was concerned (clearly unduly as I now realise) that you were stressed over a small plant and that maybe you should try astroturf for a completely stress free gardening experience. I now realise that you take your lawn very seriously and humbly apologise for any extra stress I may have caused you and wish you many more years of spraying and scarifying. Des |
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