The Creeping Charlie is in my trees at home, not among the arborvitaes.
I’ve heard that Hostas are candy for deer. I planted a couple at another site and they were eaten within 2 days.
Your right, I’d still cut the arbs
I have the Creep in my trees too. When I get tired of it, Roundup.
Thanks, Antmary.
Ortho lists CC as one of its target weeds. Bayer does not.
I looked up chickweed. It has white flowers, must be a cousin to CC.
Bob- my aplogy for hijacking your thread.
Bob, if it is a sunny place you may think about Russian sage. It looks somewhat like lavender, and should be very deer resistant, spreads fast. Not very ornamental in winter. I do not know if boxwood is deer resistant, but it would cover the lower arbovitae well and it is green all seasons. But it grows slowly.
If you mix your own round-up you can control the strength. ( I tried regular round up on it and it browned but never died. I have too much of it hand dig.) Leave the mixture stronger (less water) but you will kill anything else green in its path. I just couldn’t do that. The is growing to close to many of my trees. Ugh! I have hand dug tons of it out around my trees and then mulched. That slowed down the process of growth.
My wife and I made creeping charlie tea last year- very good as it is in the mint family. We both thought it seemed to give a pretty good buzz- you feel really really good for about 10-15 minutes. I don’t know the science behind it, but when it gets a little warmer we’ll be making it again.
This is just one more opinion. At this stage no matter what caused the issue I don’t think you will get enough new limbs that low to get a good balance and look good again. Many varieties of plants tend to focus there energy on the top portion and I suspect this one is that way. I’m certainly not an expert on this but I have had a long time interest in my home landscaping. On most evergreen plants used in the landscape it is suggested to always keep the base limbs/foliage a little wider than the upper portion to help with this issue. The shade from the fence might be contributing to the under-story decline. The upper section looks healthy and if it is used to provide privacy I would trim the lower limbs back and as others suggested plant new plants under these. Most Holly bushes are shade tolerant in my area and work well for this purpose. A great tree that is often used in my area for privacy is the Nellie R Stevens holly. I planted a row about seven years ago and have no regrets. What grows well in my area might be a complete flop for you. Bill
ok, did anyone else try this? How much does one have to use?
I have dug out more creeping charlie in my life than I care to even think about. Between this and bindweed, these are 85% of my weeds…
The rest are pretty desirable plants (catnip, purslane, currant bushes, cherry tomatoes and chives)
Scott
There are several very different plants often called “creeping charlie”
Best to get a true ID before attacking
My second lawn is almost now all creeping Charlie. I give up!!!
We chopped up the leaves and flowers and put in as many as the “tea ball” would hold and let it steep covered for about 10 minutes.
I have it everywhere. I’ve also given up. I just mow it. The flowers are kind of pretty…