Weeding with Rymill
Rymill Abell

Ground asparagus smothering native vegetation on Lord Howe Island. The plant is still a popular resident in many suburban gardens from where birds can disperse the seeds into surrounding bushland. If your backyard is home to an asparagus plant please collect any berries to avoid the plant jumping the garden fence or, better even, remove the plant altogether.

Meet the Asparagus challenge with Gloves to protect you from the thorns (fabric gloves with a coating of plastic are best) long-sleeved shirt A sharp knife with a strong blade about 150mm long A pair of secateurs and A narrow but strong trowel

Ground Asparagus has an attractive fern like green foliage and bears large pea sized green berries, which ripen to red. It is a problem weed along much of Australia’s east coast, and Sydney’s Northern Beaches have battled to control it for many years. Climbing Asparagus is less common, and does as its name implies; climbs through other foliage, supporting itself on downward pointing thorns on the main stems. It was planted for its filmy foliage, which was extensively used in floral bouquets. The fruit is of similar size, and becomes dark when ripe. Both are close relatives of the edible asparagus.

Ground Asparagus

The stems of the Ground Asparagus emerge from a central mass of plant material which is known as the crown. From the crown, roots radiate underground, and in old plants may form a network of up to 300mm diameter. Attached to the roots are numerous water tubers, grape sized beads which sustain the plant through long dry periods. These tubers may be left in the soil, and there is no chance of regrowth from them. The critical part which must be removed in its entirety is the crown, which may be, in an older plant, the size of a medium potato.

• Carefully collect all berries (every fruit that falls is another potential plant)
• Clear around the base of the plant
• Gather all of the stems in one hand (you may need to shorten some to a manageable length, as they can grow up to 2 metres in length)
• Push the knife blade into the soil a couple of centimetres outside the outer stems (If you strike the crown move your knife thrust a little further away from the area of emerging stems). The knife should be angled slightly toward the centre of the under side of the crown.
• Move the knife around the limits of the crown
• Ideally, you will be able to lift out a conical section of soil containing the crown, but with all lateral roots with attached tubers severed and remaining in the ground. If the crown has been cut and a piece remains, seek it out and remove it, as it will continue to grow if left.
• If access to a Ground Asparagus is difficult, due to it growing between rocks or against a tree or log, adapt the method for treating Climbing Asparagus.

Climbing Asparagus

Climbing Asparagus is often more deeply rooted than Ground Asparagus, and the lateral roots have the capability of forming new plants some distance from the original. Seedlings of both species may be lifted from the soil by judicious use of the knife, but an established Climbing Asparagus plant will often prove to be difficult to remove. Using herbicide is a slow, but more effective method to treat a plant which is judged to be too well established to dig out.

• Wearing gloves, clear all debris from around the base of the plant
• With your sharp knife, scrape one side of the stem from about 200mm to ground level to remove the outer layer of material

• The herbicide will be absorbed by the exposed cell tissues and will, over a period, effectively starve the plant. This may take a couple of months, so the plant should be left in situ until you are certain that it is completely dead.

  Within 15 seconds, apply to the scrape an undiluted film of Glyphosate 360
• Using secateurs, cut off the stem just above the scrape and again quickly apply a drop of Glyphosate
• Each of the main stems should be similarly treated, so that all that remains of the plant is a clump of sticks, each having been treated by an application of herbicide.

Bag the crowns and fruits for safe disposal, but the foliage removed may be left to dry or composted.

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