Viewing post #474779 by chelle

Bonehead said:A non-chemical control for thistle (mentioned in the original post) is to simply cut it off at ground level and continue to cut it off as it tries to grow back. It must set seed and if you don't allow it to do so, it will eventually die off. This is how we addressed a huge population of Canadian thistle in our front field (frequent mowing). Thistle seed, however, remains viable for a couple years so this is a lengthy process. Seems it would work OK in a flower bed though, and you then don't have to worry about the effects of either a commercial pesticide or vinegar on your daylilies. And once the thistle is truly dead, the roots would decompose for added organics.

Regular mowing works on thistles... yes!

However, this is so tough to do in a flowerbed. I've been pinching off thistle top-growth in two of my beds for multiple years now, to no avail so far.

It seems to me like even the most minute bit of top-growth allowed to see sunlight guarantees that these plants will be able to store sufficient energy in their roots to ensure survival.
If one could be out in the beds clipping them back after every single rainfall or watering session it might be more effective, but continuously walking on wet soil would only compound the problem, I think.

I've started adding stepping stones to those beds so that I can get after them more often...hoping and praying that I'll get them out of there someday.

[These are two of the beds that I previously wasted lots of time and energy on...dug out plants, dug out thistles, amended soil and replaced clean plants... I'm not ever going that route again! ]