Strawberry issue

[Ignatius]

Does anyone know of a specific product to eradicate wild/out of control strawberry plants from the garden & landscape?  One that will not attack evergreen shrubs (creeping juniper).

[Petee]

A broadleaf weed killer would get rid of them.  Read the label carefully to make sure it's safe for evergreens.  You may also contact a Master Gardener for Penn State information.  849-7361

[lavender]

Products containing 2,4,D are allegedly safe post emergent weed killers to control broad leaf weeds in evergreens but even those can harm the ground cover. Amount of application is critical and it is a toss up of whether the amount needed to kill the weeds will also kill the desirable plants. It sounds as though you will need repeated spraying which might be too much for the ground cover. You could try lifting the evergreens and just spraying the strawberries. It is a time consuming procedure but possible. I weed that way under evergreen ground covers.  You might also try lifting the evergreens and putting down newspaper, cardboard or other temporary mulch that will smother out the weeds. Again it will probably take several seasons to rid your self of all of the strawberries. As far as I know there isn't really an easy way to do this. Unless you are spraying a lawn for broad leaf weeds most of these weed killers should be sprayed selectively. Getting them on other plants other than grasses is a risk. There is a risk to the user as well. 

 

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