patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
The other thread about canada thistle made me think of this, but it doesn't apply to canada thistle so I'm putting this separately.
If you have obnoxious perennial thistles OTHER THAN canada thistle, here is something that has worked quite surprisingly well for me:
Let the buggers grow all the way up until the first flowers are almost ready to open.
Then cut them down at or below ground level. I use strong loppers, or a pointed shovel that's been seriously sharpened with a mill file. Stand clear when the thistle falls, as having a seven-foot spiny plant crash down onto your shoulders is no fun, ask me how I know. BTW, loppers make good 'pincers' for grabbing the fallen plants to drag them away, too.
I did this (not as Clever Strategy, just playing catch-up) in several different parts of the horse pasture several years in a row, and in every case, what do you know, less than 5% of those thistles came back the next year (when they were easily whacked while still in the rosette stage). I think they must have put so much into growing tall enough to flower that the roots lacked the strength to come back for another year. I have not tried it in the garden -- and it's possible that with better soil their survival might be a bit higher -- but I have been exceptionally pleased with this method and certainly recommend it to anyone who wants a low energy input solution. While the thistles are growing up to flower, tell the neighbors they're some exotic form of artichoke or something
Pat, where thistles and all are still covered by the %#&/@ snow
If you have obnoxious perennial thistles OTHER THAN canada thistle, here is something that has worked quite surprisingly well for me:
Let the buggers grow all the way up until the first flowers are almost ready to open.
Then cut them down at or below ground level. I use strong loppers, or a pointed shovel that's been seriously sharpened with a mill file. Stand clear when the thistle falls, as having a seven-foot spiny plant crash down onto your shoulders is no fun, ask me how I know. BTW, loppers make good 'pincers' for grabbing the fallen plants to drag them away, too.
I did this (not as Clever Strategy, just playing catch-up) in several different parts of the horse pasture several years in a row, and in every case, what do you know, less than 5% of those thistles came back the next year (when they were easily whacked while still in the rosette stage). I think they must have put so much into growing tall enough to flower that the roots lacked the strength to come back for another year. I have not tried it in the garden -- and it's possible that with better soil their survival might be a bit higher -- but I have been exceptionally pleased with this method and certainly recommend it to anyone who wants a low energy input solution. While the thistles are growing up to flower, tell the neighbors they're some exotic form of artichoke or something
Pat, where thistles and all are still covered by the %#&/@ snow