Rose bay willow herb - how good?

[stripee]

This is quite a tall and vigorous plant, lovely colour flower, bees seem to like it, but it seems to dominant patches crowding out other flowers....is it a good idea to limit it a bit?

[Seajay]

This is an extemely vigorous plant - I wouldn't have it in my garden. Try something like Bergamot instead.
As a wild flower it is beautiful, of great benifit to wildlife and mankiind (willow herb tea). If you have a large wildlife garden I don't really see how you are going to contain it though perhaps you could remove all the seed heads?


Colin

[stripee]

I have got loads of it, clouds of seedheads It is a large area....cutting it off maybe the best thing I suppose as it comes through. Thanks seajay

[Seajay]

Sorry Stripee I didn't realise you wanted to get rid of some of it. If I remember I don't think its particularly deep rooted. Try pulling some up or do an exploratory dig with a garden fork. If it is deep rooted you are really looking at chemical weed killers over the area you want to reduce and with the remainder as soon as it has finished flowering cut off the seed heads. You'll still have a long battle though with seed that has already fallen in previous years - keep pulling those out or mow them.

A long, hard slog I'm afraid On the plus side it is very beautiful and as I said a very beneficial plant wildlife wise, the downside - it is a thug!

It used to line the edges of the forest in Keilder, Northumberland around the heather fields where my Grandfather used to take his bees for the heather honey. It is one of the sights I will always remember with fondness. We used to take two hives in the back of a big 1940's Rover! Happy days

Colin

[stripee]

Originally Posted by Seajay

It used to line the edges of the forest in Keilder, Northumberland around the heather fields where my Grandfather used to take his bees for the heather honey. It is one of the sights I will always remember with fondness. We used to take two hives in the back of a big 1940's Rover! Happy days

Colin

This is a lovely image of summery days gone by - very evocative.
I like the colour of rose bay flowers so usually try and leave them until they've seeded, but I think they create a cover that stops weaker plants getting through, so think maybe I will cut more of them off when they come through. I don't think eradication is an option, it sounds too difficult and I don't mind if there is still some of it.

[smartie]

It spreads by by seed and creeping white rhizomes, which don't run very deep. So you can over time remove it by cutting the flower heads off before they go to seed and by forking out the roots. They are quite brittle, though, so you won't get it all out first time. If you persistently pull out shoots it will also weaken it over time. I've got some round my pond (good for elephant hawk moths among other things) and I manage to contain it in a fairly small area by these means.

[Mr Mag00]

yeah, it does spread well lol, i thin it in the spring and then try t remember to cut back after flowering but i dont mind too much its benefits out weigh it brutish behaviour esp in my garden!!!!!!

[stripee]

Thanks for replies and useful tips I think some of it has to go, I thought it was beneficial to bees etc, but there is too much of it and the little flowers don't get a chance

[Wild-Woman]

Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillars love the stuff. So if you're into moths, keep a nice patch of it for them.

[stripee]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Elephant Hawkmoth caterpillars love the stuff. So if you're into moths, keep a nice patch of it for them.

Will do, Wild-Woman, there is plenty of it more than I can deal with And I love the vivid colour against the green.