Comments on: The Virtues of Bishop’s Weeds

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 03:36:20 +0000

When I moved into my house almost 14 years ago, there was Goutweed in the front garden bed – about a 3′ X 4′ patch. I don’t like to use chemicals of any kind as I’ve always had a dog and my neighbour has outdoor cats. I am happy to say that after 12 years of digging it up and removing all visible traces of the white roots (it will sprout again quickly from the tiniest of pieces, and the roots go quite deep), I only had a handful of spots left last spring! Maybe this spring (which will make 14 years in the house, 13 of trying to get rid of the Goutweed) I will only have one or two sprouts to dig up! I did find that in the past few years I had to get into the bed early in the spring to remove the roots, and this seemed to work much better than waiting until on in the season. Basically as soon as you see shoots, dig up the roots! (Not poetic on purpose…) That said, this discussion has reminded me of how ‘hearty’ it is, so if there are a few bits in the front this spring, I may transplant them to the back – I now have two dogs who have demolished my backyard grass by chasing each other for hours a day, so maybe Goutweed in the back will make me love this plant that I’ve hated for so many years!

By: Dee

Dee — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:02:07 +0000

I am not a fan of chemicals in my garden. I try to use ways that will work without them. Doing it shovel by shovel will work, but alot of work. The carpet idea is good but I have a foolproof way. Use cardboard. No light will pass through it. Use double thick if you want. I had thistle and used this and it worked. You can also use the fabric garden cloth, but you have to make it about 4 or 5 times thick. Don’t mess around, use cardboard but you have to wait the entire season. Oh ,one more thing if you have plants in the garden already transplant into pots or place the cardbord around them.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:01:03 +0000

HI
I have been fighting for the last 3 years with Field Bind Weed. The best method (including chemicals) that I have found for fighting it is old carpeting that people are throwing away. I spread it over the patch to be weeded in the spring, and leave it on all summer; the plants try to grow under it, but with no light, they all eventually die off. It should work for Bishop’s weed as well. And no chemicals. One word of warning; not all carpets completely block the light. If the plants are still green under the carpet after 3 weeks, find another one.

By: E. Ray Heflin

E. Ray Heflin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:13:47 +0000

I have a steep bank in front of my house at roads edge that is too steep to mow and hard to stand on to weed-eat. It is south facing and shaded by trees from about 2:00 PM until dark. Am looking for something to plant that will kill out and replace the grass. Will Bishop’s Weed do this. Also, will mowing keep it from spreading onto the flatter area of lawn?………thanks

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:32:18 +0000

My mother always had “snow on the mountain” or Bishop’s Weed in our garden with plenty of other plants growing through it. We had mostly bulbs that would come up: tulips, daffodils and crocus plants that would bloom up through. The Bishop’s weed was contained to an area of garden that was “pavement bound” – a border garden between our neighbor’s driveway and our own. This worked great since the roots couldn’t spread past the asphalt. I’ve since grown up and bought my own house. There is a large patch of dirt, with nothing growing in it, between my driveway and my neighbor’s house. I’ve planted some Bishops Weed because I don’t want to fuss with the 3-foot wide strip of dirt, and I want something that will maintain itself without a lot of work. I think this plant does certainly have some virtues if you’re prepared to carefully consider where you plant it.