Clearing an area of scrub

[mel21]

We are including a woodland area into our garden, this area is presently covered in ground elder and weeds. Not sure where to start, should we use weedkiller or attempt to weed by hand, do we then have to plant the entire area as soon as possible to keep the weeds away? We hope to plant shade loving plants and also some holly bushes.

[Thunderbird+]

Hi Mel,
Ground elder is notoriously difficult to get rid of and removing it by hand would be a long and labourious job as any tiny piece of root left in has the potential of forming a new plant.
Personally I would only leave the ground elder there if the area was being put down to grass, as it will not stand regular mowing.
Ground elder will easily out-compete anything you plant, so i think the wise move would be to eradicate the weed copletely before replanting.
A weedkiller containing Glyphosate, which is a systemic weedkiller, 'Roundup' is a well known brand.
Good luck with the woodland project it sounds great. Tbird+

[landscaper2]

Good advice from T/bird. Be patient, it may take a few hits to eradicate it. Dont forget that the plant will die back in the winter naturally, so dont get complacent!! Roundup will work more effectively on fresh new growth in the spring. Personally, I would continue the treatment throughout next spring and summer and not plant out until next autumn when the ground should be clean.

[Solarjunkie]

Having had a similar situation & tried several things, my suggestion is to cover the area with old carpet and leave it until the spring. It worked very well and gave almost bare, worm turned earth. To get rid of the ground elder, each time a ground elder leaf appeared, I dug down & removed the tiny piece of root it was growing from. It worked.

[mel21]

Thanks everyone for the info, we'll try the weedkiller as suggested and if I can get my hands on some old carpet will try that too....will look forward to next Autumn to get planting!