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Our lovely Hedge is laced with brambles. I cannot access their roots. What is the ideal tool / product to perhaps inject.

Bulrush
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Adrian
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    Do you mean you can't dig out the roots without destroying the hedge, or that you can't physically get close to where the roots are because the hedge is too wide? – alephzero Sep 02 '19 at 17:58
  • "Brambles" is a common name for many plants including cane-like raspberries, floppy and low blackberries, and other plants. You will have to be more specific. Generally, pulling by hand, and getting all the roots is recommended in a case like this. For this case I would pull all brambles every 2 weeks and do the whole hedge until it's all gone. – Bulrush Sep 08 '19 at 12:47

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I managed to kill a weedy vine in a similar situation by cutting the vine close to the base and using a paintbrush to apply roundup to the wound. I made the cut on an angle to allow a larger surface area and then painted it onto and new leaves as the side shoots popped up. Foliar spray the hedge at the same time so the hedge is healthy and strong and outgrow the brambles.

Cathy
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  • The problem with brambles is they are accustomed to growing in the shade. Sure they grow best in transitions, like a hedge, but shade will not defeat them. – Escoce Sep 08 '19 at 16:31
  • If their are many you could use a steel cutting wheel on a strong weed eater. I use one to dig soil out when edging the lawn at a curb. It will do the job but be careful as it cuts anything it touches. – blacksmith37 Jan 31 '21 at 01:05
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It frequently happens in hedges that tip rooting brambles will get started in dense growth and hop from one protected location to another making control very difficult. The weakness of this growth pattern lies in the fact that the roots are always thinner than the majority of the hedge roots. The issue is getting at the bramble crowns. If you could sever the them from their roots then they would dry up and go away. The problem is getting at the crown to sever the roots.

There is a tool for digging dandelion roots which has a sharp Y type tip whose purpose is to sever a soft root. Mostly designed on short handles for hand digging, while it might sever bramble roots you can't get close enough in the hedge to allow it to work. Say you take a one inch diameter steel pipe about six feet long and fashion one end into a sharp Y - this would allow access to the bramble root (they will be at the surface) and the mass of the pipe will give enough heft to break roots from a distance. You will be working somewhat blind but most of the hedge roots will be much deeper than you need to access.

Hedges often have a sunny leafy side and a shady not so leafy side. Working from both sides you could sever many bramble roots without need for chemicals. Likely you will need to make this an annual task but it will significantly reduce the inconvenience of snagging bramble shoots.

Colin Beckingham
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