Supplements and Herbs

Supplements and Herbs


Hedge Nettles

Question: What plants will grow under a leylandii hedge to smother weeds? Hedge backs onto railway embankment, trouble with brambles and nettles migrating.

Answer: Brambles and nettles are both very invasive. Nettles spread by sprouting from extended roots that are fed from the parent plant until they have formed sufficient roots to feed themselves. Brambles spread by rooting where the long leaders touch the ground. To stop nettles you must insert a polythene wall to about 2 feet deep on the far side of your hedge. This is a difficult job and will be worse because of the leylandii roots. The brambles must be cut back as they reach into your garden. You could try to use a semi permeable membrane that allows water into the ground but blocks out sunlight, so preventing the weeds from growing upwards. It comes in rolls and is available from any good garden centre. It is not impossible to grow plants beneath the Leylandii but anything there will have to compete with the nettles that are fed from their parent plant and have a head start on your plants. Things that will grow there are Sedum that loves a dry soil. You will have to water them regularly until they are established but once they are, they actually grow better in dry areas. Unfortunately this will not stop nettles which will sprout up between your plants. Try using a weedkiller that you apply directly to the leaves of unwanted plant, (avoiding contact with plants and bushes you do want to keep). The poison will be fed into the roots and back to the parent plant. You will have to keep repeating this as new plants take the place of the old ones.

 


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