How to correctly get rid of Lily of the Valley - Ask Extension
Hi:
Lily of the Valley has become an invasive plant that has spread everywhere, taking over other plants, is near impossible to dig and pull out, and...
Knowledgebase
How to correctly get rid of Lily of the Valley #873933
Asked June 20, 2024, 1:33 PM EDT
Hi:
Lily of the Valley has become an invasive plant that has spread everywhere, taking over other plants, is near impossible to dig and pull out, and is a non-native.
A large shrub is being removed on Monday by Bartlett Tree Experts. The roots will be ground and they offered to use the stump grinder on all the Lily of the Valley growing under the shrub.
Here is why I am writing: IF Lily of the Valley is one of those plants that if even a small piece of the root remains in the soil and there is a possibility it will sprout someday (similar to wild Indian strawberry), then grinding all those plants will actually make matters worse, I do not want to do that. IF that is the case, I can paint some glyphosate on the leaves and supposedly kill the plant to the root.
What is your recommendation? Paint the many, many leaves with glyphosate, let the tree removal folks grind the plants when grinding the stump, or a third approach that I have not yet been aware of? Experience has taught me that with the rock-hard clay soil, along with the plants growing up against each other such that digging up one plant will sever the roots of the adjourning plants, that I cannot dig them up to the very end of the root, although I can get a good amount of the root.
Thanks for your guidance. I will be following it this weekend,
Jim
Carroll County Maryland
Expert Response
Hello Jim,
You might be able to combine the two approaches. Yes, grinding the stump out along with any Lily-of-the-Valley rhizomes in that soil will probably result in root/rhizome pieces remaining in the area and thus resprouting. However, we would expect that at least some of the plants ground or run over by the machine will die as a result, and thus the remaining new growth will be reduced (and at the very least, temporarily weakened by the loss of foliage), thus requiring less herbicide overall to treat.
Any herbicide use, either this way or applied to the whole intact colony, will probably need more than one application to work well anyway, spaced at whatever interval of time the product label directs. The addition of a surfactant, also sold under the name "spreader-sticker," will help the liquid adhere to the waxy, water-repellent leaves of this plant. These are sold alongside pesticides in garden centers, since the two are often used together to improve the function of the pesticide. That said, make sure the herbicide chosen allows for the use of a surfactant (it might also be called an adjuvant), since some formulations might already include one or be incompatible with certain types. Instructions for use of a surfactant will be included on its own product label, and the herbicide label will mention if one is recommended or prohibited. (If it doesn't say, ask the manufacturer about it.)
Miri
You might be able to combine the two approaches. Yes, grinding the stump out along with any Lily-of-the-Valley rhizomes in that soil will probably result in root/rhizome pieces remaining in the area and thus resprouting. However, we would expect that at least some of the plants ground or run over by the machine will die as a result, and thus the remaining new growth will be reduced (and at the very least, temporarily weakened by the loss of foliage), thus requiring less herbicide overall to treat.
Any herbicide use, either this way or applied to the whole intact colony, will probably need more than one application to work well anyway, spaced at whatever interval of time the product label directs. The addition of a surfactant, also sold under the name "spreader-sticker," will help the liquid adhere to the waxy, water-repellent leaves of this plant. These are sold alongside pesticides in garden centers, since the two are often used together to improve the function of the pesticide. That said, make sure the herbicide chosen allows for the use of a surfactant (it might also be called an adjuvant), since some formulations might already include one or be incompatible with certain types. Instructions for use of a surfactant will be included on its own product label, and the herbicide label will mention if one is recommended or prohibited. (If it doesn't say, ask the manufacturer about it.)
Miri
