What can I do to stop an invasion of blackberry plants popping up all over my garden beds. These bushes are on the other side of the fence around my backyard and are coming in through the bottom, between the panels and over the fence. I live in Cumming, GA. Thank you! |
Blackberries send out lots of underground roots and as you've discovered they can travel quite a long way before sprouting. About the only way to stop it is to sever the roots near the fence by digging a trench and cutting each root you find. Then you can cut the suckers as they sprout and immediately paint the stub with a vegetation killer such as Round Up. Round Up will travel down to the roots and kill off that particular rootmass. It won't travel in the soil, though so it won't hurt your other plants. Each time a new sprout appears, cut it down and paint the stub with Round Up. Keep at it and eventually you'll kill the roots and nothing more will sprout up. Good luck with your project! |