Looking for advice about preventing Rose of Sharon

[The Chicken Lady]

Just a quick question... Will applying Preen to the garden in early spring prevent Rose of Sharon seeds from germinating?

If you have a technique that works well for you, would you share? (I've just spent the afternoon pulling about 1,000 little shoots out of my garden from last summer, and DO NOT want to repeat this every year... ).

 

[thistlebloom]

If you want to use a pre emergent like Preen to prevent seeds from germinating, it's effective to use it mid fall when seeds drop, and then again in spring. The way I understand it, it works by turning into a gas and preventing seeds from germinating. If you don't want to go chemical you can try corn gluten meal, it's sold as a pre emergent, but if you get it from a feed store it's much, much cheaper (as long as it's not labeled for weed control ). The thing about corn gluten meal is that the timing is more critical, but it's not toxic.
If using Preen make sure the soil is not disturbed for at least a few weeks or it will disrupt its effectiveness and you'll have to re-apply. Of course it won't work on anything that has sprouted, even if you can't see it yet.
Hope this helps!

ETA corn gluten meal also acts as a fertilizer so it is a multi tasker!

 

[seedcorn]

Yeah, send the seeds to me..........

 

[The Chicken Lady]

Thanks, Thistlebloom!

The snow has just melted here, so I put the Preen on and it's supposed to rain today so it will get watered in. Nothing much has started to grow yet (though my hostas and sedum are showing signs of life), so my fingers are crossed that nothing's happening underground at all with the Rose of Sharon.

seedcorn, the Rose of Sharon is certainly beautiful, but keeping it controlled seems to require a lot of effort! Be careful what you wish for.

 

[Nyboy]

I have the same problem here in NY. Rose of Sharon self seeds everywhere. I do feel better after seeing Home Depot selling them for $12.99. Anybody want some?