I cleaned up this side bed in our yard last fall, and planted 5 Girard's Rose Azalea
plants there. It needed weeding early this Spring that I didn't have time to do and
now it is completely overgrown with mint. I didn't plant the mint but it is growing
crazy like a weed, it is so full and tall that you can't even see the Azaleas. Is this
some form of mint, not sure if it is even mint.
Picture below, any suggestions, just weed it out?
This message was edited Jun 10, 2015 4:00 PM
Yes, it looks like Mint to me, I hate the stuff IF growing in the garden soil, I always plant mine in larger pots, then sink the pots into the herb beds, the pot restricts the roots spreading like a tidal wave as you have learned to your cost.
All I can say Pete is, Mint has fleshy roots, and better still, the roots are NOT deep into the soil, If possible, before the plants grow stronger this year, try dig out as much of the plant AND roots as you can, either burn the uprooted plants or be very careful how you dispose of this plant as you have learned, it spreads like lightening.
You could use a killer that you buy from the garden store (I personally hate the use of chemicals ) but believe me, there are some occasions when you have tried every other known remedy and failed, so the sprays are the only other alternative, it's a choice only you can make, the other thing to think about, any other plants in the area need protection from the spray, especially IF theres even the slightest breeze, some also say you cant plant that sprayed area for ex number of months.
After any type of weeding, hand or chemical, you can be sure, for the next 4-5 years there will still be small bits of this plant returning as some roots will obviously break away as you dig.
Hope this gives you some food for thought and you get some way of riding the garden of this pest of a plant when left to it's own devices.
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.
Yes, mint in the azalea bed is going to be hard to get rid of.
1) Anywhere you can, dig it out. Careful, though, azaleas are shallow rooted, so only dig areas away from the azaleas.
2) Shield the azaleas with some cardboard or plastic and spray the mint with weed killer.
3) Hand pull next to the azalea trunks.
4) You can mulch, the azaleas will like it but I do not think it will slow down the mint.
You will have to keep after it. Mint and azaleas thrive under the same conditions, so there is not much you can do about trying to alter the conditions to favor the azaleas.
I never knew that mint was so invasive, I had put down mulch but certainly not enough. I think I'll try newspaper under the mulch which I've found to last a few years, is that long enough for the roots to decay? I'm guessing no!
Maybe I should shield the plants and hit them with a strong dose of roundup, I think I'll try to get as much as I can down to the roots, then hit what comes up next with roundup.
Thanks for the help!
You need to be very careful when using very potent killers like round-up, AND there are more products just as dangerous on the market too, you have to read ALL the labels and instructions as to how, when and where to use that type of stuff.
I'm not saying not to use these products BUT, in the hands of novices, they can kill everything in sight, just the slightest little breeze, you need to choose the proper day to use the stuff, prepare the site to be sprayed carefully by protecting ANY plants close to this area.
For instance, small plants can be protected by placing an upturned plant pot BUT you need to make sure there are NO holes that the spray can drip down these holes onto the plants, larger plants can be covered by plastic bags etc, tied around the root areas preventing run off getting onto the bark /stems / trunks etc. larger Taller trees / shrubs and other taller climbing plants need covered by plastic wrapped around the lower areas.
Lastly, do check that whatever you use, you can plant, or germinate where you have sprayed or grow food product within a certain period of time.
I'm just reminding there is a responsibility to using these products and in making sure they dont go onto neighbours crops etc.
Kindest regards.
WeeNel.
Yes thanks I've been using roundup for probably 20 years now. I've actually gone to the stronger stuff and I have occasionally had overspray, and drips kill other plants. I will shield the azaleas and I might even paint it on with an old paint brush, keeping the bucket inside the mint area so that drips go right on the mint. I have all rather small sprayers and one with the plastic milk jug shield trick to help contain the spray.
Thanks again for all the tips.
Good idea to alternate pulling and spraying.
Don't let it grow very big before doing something. The longer it grows the better established it gets.
I tried weeding and there were just too many roots left behind so I switched to Roundup. I bent them over onto large plastic bags protecting the lawn and sprayed away from the plants toward the plastic.
We'll see how this goes.
I took up the plastic the next day, and I think it rained which dripped the Roundup onto the grass. This killed a 2 ft strip around the bed, I'm reseeding it now.
Did it do any good against the mint?
Yes completely dead.
Good luck Pete, keep a eye on it and kill anything reappearing immediately. Mint can be a real scorge. When I was young I put an add in for "gardener" in the newspaper. Well my first job was mint gone wild. It had escaped the pot and literally gone 20 feet across the yard under the plastic and rock mulch and came up in everything on the other side of the yard. What a nightmare. I pulled everything I could get my hands on and then bowed out as her gardener. Some things can only be handled with round-up.
Then there are some of us who love mint. Mine takes over an area, then dies back, but I dont hAve the wilder mints...the chocolate mint is the one that crowds itself out.
Thanks everyone, I will keep an eye out for it. It sure grew fast.
