I’m looking to remove all of this random plant mix and Virginia creeper ivy sometime in the next year, but not sure best time or way to go about it. I want to replace it with clean mulch and some nicer plants (it’s chaos right now). We live in northern Illinois… should I wait for much of it to die in late fall or winter? Is this something to save for spring? Regardless, there will be a lot of plants to clear out. Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
by j2fell
8 Comments
I’d dig it all out now just so it’s tidy. Dig methodically so you get more of the vine roots. Cover with cardboard and mulch so ready for next year. Measure and plot the new plantings over winter. Frugal me would dig out actual garden plants, clean the rootballs of weeds and replant.
Likely some will survive, if you see green then dig it out.
To remove chaos use Get Smart
I would say for things you are sure you don’t want to keep pull it now. For things you want to move, make a note of where they are and do it on the spring. But at least do the weeding now so you have a blank canvas in the spring. Early in the year it’s hard to tell what you have as many perennials won’t show up yet or have small leaves that make them harder to identify.
I would say the hostas at least are worth keeping, and they are easy to split in the spring if you want to propagate them and spread them around. Hard to tell what else is in the bed.
Most of this ground cover is hearty so not as much might die back in the coming months.
Pull it out now if you can. Lay the ground over and prepare the soil for future plants.
If you don’t want to keep any of it. Weedeat it. Spray it good, wait 2-3 weeks. Hoe up most of the roots. Spray again. Put cardboard, newspaper or landscaping fabric down and cover with mulch.
I prefer to weed when plants aren’t dormant. You can see what you’re doing. You can also weedwhack it and tarp over it and let the sun do its magic until the end of the season. It doesn’t work as well this time of year, though. Make sure you are really to plant in the spring so weeds don’t have a chance to take hold again.
Yank out what you can by hand and be sure to get the roots otherwise chaos will return. It’s easier to pull when ground is wet. Everything else spray with heavy doses of roundup once a week until it’s dead and brown THEN weed wack it to the ground.
I would start by hand picking the big weeds and any plants you hate. Then trim back the rest plant by plant until you know what you have. Then start tackling the smaller weeds.