Many people love wild garlic and anyone who has a garden is only too happy to plant it there. But be careful: wild garlic multiplies rapidly and conquers ever larger areas within a short period of time. How to remove the plants and curb growth.
How can you remove wild garlic from the garden?
If you want to permanently remove overgrown wild garlic from your garden, you can't avoiddigging upthe plants. It's best toimmediately after sproutingin spring, cut off all areas that are undesirably overgrown with wild garlic andgive awaythe plants ordispose ofthis.
How can rampant wild garlic be effectively combated?
If you want to permanently remove wild garlic, you must first understand how the stubborn herb reproduces. Wild garlic grows particularly quickly due to the large number ofdaughter onionswhich therefore have to becarefully removedwhen digging. However, theseeds, which can germinate in the soil even after years, are particularly difficult to remove. Therefore, make sure that flowering wild garlic is, if possible,not seeded! If you cut off the flowers before seeds form, the greatest danger is already contained. If the wild garlic continues to grow, then there are probably still toomany seeds in the ground The only thing that helps here is patience and constant cutting and digging up of the plants.
Can you remove overgrown wild garlic from acidified soil?
However, it is even easier: As a lime-loving plantwild garlic does not tolerate acidic soiland thrives on substrates with the appropriate pH value. You can therefore combat the overgrown plants bytargeted acidification of the soil This works, for example, with thick layers of
- Rhododendron or ericaceous soil
- Spruce or other conifer needles
The best way to do this is to remove the excess plants immediately after they sproutin springand then cover the ground with the material mentioned in several centimeters thickness. The disadvantage, however, is that all planting is also affected by this measure and you would have toplant the area with acid-loving species. In addition to rhododendrons, various heather plants, blueberries, cranberries, crowberries, bell berries, mountain laurel and many others are suitable for this purpose.
What other methods can you use to get rid of wild garlic?
Alternatively, you can also remove wild garlic bypreventing it from sproutingTo do this, you can apply athick layer of mulchin good time in late winter or early spring, or use a specialweed fleece. Advantageof this method is that the rest of the planting does not have to suffer from this measure: You can specifically cut holes in the weed fleece for other plants, so that only the area is actually covered with wild garlic. Disadvantage is that the fleece has to stay in place for months. However, you can cover it with potting soil and plant a shallow-rooted ground cover on top.
Tip
How do you prevent wild garlic from growing in the garden?
It is of course best if you prevent the possible overgrowth of wild garlic when planting it. That's why wild garlic should never be allowed to grow freely in the garden, but should always be planted in a bed with root barriers, a thick-walled planter or a raised bed.