Rampant montbretia, any advice?

[HundredAcreOwl]

I've been lurking for a bit.

HI, I'm an unconfident occasional gardener, herbs mostly.

Any thoughts on how to get rid of or limit the montbretia would be very welcome. I've been told even black bags won't work, it'll just poke through. It's well over 25 years established.

Thank you.

Digging up the bulbs should reduce it a lot. Dig deep.

Dig it up.

Thank you both. I did, more than once, but probably not deep enough!

Oh I see. Maybe go deeper and perhaps plant something g else that will take up that space before it has a chance to grow back. I had a euphorbia problem but the Japanese anenome have taken over and now I have a bigger issue! 🤨

I was even considering mint, without a bucket, in an island bed...😄

You like to live dangerously! 😂

I’ve got a border which is a Darwinian battle of the thugs 😂

Did down, remove as many bulbs as you can
Watch out for regrowth and dig down where it occurs. 12 years in this garden and much improved

Thank you, everyone. There is hope...

I've learned no mint, no euphorbia, no Japanese anemone - and dig deep!

Dig it out. If you leave a tiny bit, it will come back. It does take persistence over a few years. It’s actually on the pest plant list now.

It’s all about the digging and discarding - I don’t put it in my own compost heap in case it comes back to haunt me!

Donate it to a ‘friend’.

Hmm. I donate a lot of plants to charity sales, but I wouldn't inflict montbretia on an unsuspecting buyer!

My husband once bought some, only a few weeks after I'd dug out and binned a whole lot 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

He's no longer allowed to take the initiative in buying plants unless it's for his pots and hanging baskets.

That’s why it’s classed as a Section 9 invasive plant. It grows from a corm ( like a flat bulb) The plant produces a new one each year so they form a chain of corms. As others have said you need to dig deep to get them all out.

It’s interesting g because I have a small amount of monbretia( crocosmia?) and it has never spread. I have been in this house for 20 years!

I’ve been digging it up for 20 years and it still recurs in a few places!

The first 3 years were endless damned digging. It’s pernicious.

Yes but the previous corms are not able to grow again. And corm is to do with the fact they're hard/not layers rather than flat shape

Yes I do know the botanical difference between a corm and a bulb. I wouldn't be 100% convinced that the older corms don't regrow but you've obviously tried it out, so I'll take your word for it.

That and the 2 RHS qualifications.....

Interesting how some plants are a problem in one garden and hard to establish in another. I planted it several years running and it just died. I also planted mint and it’s a sad little clump. I can grow most things here

Yes they're hard with aren't they.

I planted some at the base of the leyllandi hedge ( next doors) and it is struggling, however the hardy geraniums are thriving.

I have no advice, but just wanted to say that, if I was going to name change, RampantMontbretia would be a great MN nickname!

We have some and it has just stayed in a small neat clump. It's at the far end of the garden though and it really doesn't matter what it does.