Garlic Chives Infestation
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adrienne
Posted: Apr-17-2005 at 8:42am
I have garlic chives growing all over my backyard. How do I get rid of them? I've tried digging them up but each year they come back more and more.
JeanneK
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Apr-18-2005 at 9:10am
Hi Adrienne, welcome to Rainyside!
Bulb plants can be very difficult to remove. Essentially, if you starve them by pulling the tops off, you will eventually kill the plant. But that can be very difficult to implement if you have alot of them and it can take a while to kill the bulb. As you found out, digging them up can often produce more bulbs by cutting them in half. Have you tried using a garden fork instead of a shovel to dig them out? The fork will lessen the chance of cutting the bulbs into small pieces. Also, make sure you deadhead the flowers so there are no seeds.
Good luck and I hope you make some headway in ridding your backyard of the chives!
Jeanne
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton