Briars in a hedge

brendan_donegal

How do I get rid of briars that are growing through a hedge?

Qwerty?

I just snip them at the bottom with a secateurs and pull them out using the secateurs.

brendan_donegal

Yeah, have tried this but it seems to keep growing back, anything you can do to kill it off

looksee

That's a really good question and I wish there were an easy answer.! I have a briar infested garden, at least it was - I got rid of most of them but I am left with two shrubs/bits of hedge that are infested.

The only way to go is to root into the bush with something with a hook on it that you can slide round lengths of briar and pull them out of the bush into an inconspicuous area. Get as many as you can, though it doesn't matter if you don't get all of them.

When you have a few lengths pulled out paint them or dip them into systemic weedkiller. Don't spill it on the bush or surrounding plants. Then just leave them for about three weeks and dip them again. Don't expect anything dramatic to happen, the stuff is working its way back into the plant. You will probably have to repeat the process with new growth the following year, but that should then have killed the plant completely.

Now is the best time to do it as there is young growth happening.

Now, must go and follow my own instructions, I have one bush that is more brambles than bush!

bbam

Ive used a strong roundup solution. Wear a waterproof jacket and a pair of good strong waterproof gloves, eye protection too.

Stretch out the briar and with a small paint brush carefully paint on as much of the solution as you can without contact to surrounding plants. It will take a few weeks to kill them but they do die off completely. Just cutting them is only a temporary solution.

Oldtree

wear mask too and have a bit of cardboard underneath you where you are doing the leaf painting

Discodog

You can now get a Roundup Gel that makes the job much easier.

http://www.roundup-garden.com/roundup-gel.aspx

ZX7R

Get a syringe,mix some burnt engine oil with neat round up, try to find a main steam of briar and make a cut half way through and inject into it ,this will kill it in about 5 days ,also it wont harm your hedge also works on ivy ect

Discodog

ZX7R wrote: »

Get a syringe,mix some burnt engine oil with neat round up, try to find a main steam of briar and make a cut half way through and inject into it ,this will kill it in about 5 days ,also it wont harm your hedge also works on ivy ect

Why the engine oil when roundup will kill it anyway ?

bbam

Discodog wrote: »

Why the engine oil when roundup will kill it anyway ?

Yea, now that you say it it's probably not a safe method... If you somehow managed to stick yourself things could go pear shaped very quickly.. :eek:

ZX7R

The burnt engine oil will make the round up travel through the briar quicker also you can follow the mixture through the plant if needs be, wear gloves you should be safe,your more likely to hurt your self from the briar;)

paddy147

ZX7R wrote: »

The burnt engine oil will make the round up travel through the briar quicker also you can follow the mixture through the plant if needs be, wear gloves you should be safe,your more likely to hurt your self from the briar;)

Its highly illegal to use engine oil in this manner,for very obvious enviromental and also health and safety reasons.

I would advize "against" using engine oil for any matter like this.:eek::(

Oldtree

ditto to paddy :eek:, burnt engine oil is cascenogenic, not withstanding the pollution and h&s issues.

fatoftheland

grazon 90 is the herbicide of choice for briars

bbam

fatoftheland wrote: »

grazon 90 is the herbicide of choice for briars

It is but if you don't have much to do it is expensive. I think it was €60 for a litre the last I bought.