We have
onion weed all over our garden (Nothoscordum gracile). It has thin strappy leaves, and a small white bulb. The bulb grows new little bulbs which break off (particularly when you try to get it out) to form new weeds. It also has
flowers and can spread by wind.
Most of
what I've read is saying pretty much the same thing, you either have to carefully physically remove it, or
spray with something like Roundup (glyphosate).
Removing from bed is okay, but tedious. As long as it is removed at a young enough age (i.e. very small bulb) and carefully you can get it out of the ground. As soon as it is old enough to start forming bulbs, it is a real pain, but you can get rid of it by taking it out carefully with the soil around it so that the new bulbs are removed too.
Spraying with Roundup has had mixed results. I would say that it
appears to kill it after a second spray...still not too sure though. I've seen recommendations of dripping motor oil into the crown, but I haven't tried that.
It is frustrating, but manageable when growing in beds, but the problem that I have is that there are places in my grass where it is going. Spraying with Roundup is not really an option, and digging it out requires major damage to the grass. The main problem is that the weed grows up through the grass. I would guess the bulb is about 4 inches deep, and it is very difficult to actually get the bulb out (the stem breaks off very easily). If the bulb remains, it just grows back.
I put new grass in last year (there was nothing but weeds when we moved into this house), and I've been following the cheap and lazy
lawn care principles since I found them. We're about to go into spring here (Southern hemisphere), and I'll be adding a layer of topsoil to supplement and smooth out the lawn.
I'm a bit wary of just leaving them to grow and hoping that it will sort it self out. I'm making sure that they stay trimmed to ensure they don't
seed. At the moment it looks like my options are to leave it and hope for the best, or lift sods of grass and try to removed manually. Main problem is that there is no way of ensuring it is all out, and the tiny bulbs can easily be left in the ground.
I was wondering if any one had some suggestions? Maybe our soil needs some adjusting to help? Or must I just keep working on the cheap and lazy principles, and in a couple of years it will be better?
Thanks
