Q &A: Bringing out the big guns to beat a pest
Having struggled for a few seasons to destroy ground elder, I write for help. I have strimmed it repeatedly and mulched it heavily with no success. Could I smother it by planting ajuga or have you an alternative suggestion?
Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria) is a perennial weed which spreads by deep roots and sometimes by seed. You have to be committed to get rid of it – never allow the weed to flower or seed.
The hardest way to deal with it is to try to dig out as much of the root
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Hide Adsystem as possible and then mulch the area to deprive the plant of light. The chances of success with this method are, to say the least, poor.
By far the most effective measure is to paint all the leaves of the plant with a glyphosate-based weedkiller. Do this when the plant is growing strongly; it will transfer the herbicide to its roots, in effect, committing suicide.
It may take more than one application, but it' s worth the effort.