How to get rid of virus-like bush roots

[skotl]

Sorry - I'm not really much of a gardener so I don't know what these bushes are, but...

We recently moved to a new house that had rampant bushes all over the grass and the house-walls. We had a gardener in to take away all the bushes (and around 40 trees) and the place, literally on the surface, looks miles better.

The problem is that the bushes have left a hideous spider web of roots across the front garden. Some of the individual strands run 10-15ft in length and they are as tough as wire.
The smallest roots are probably 10mm in diameter, and the thickest are like mini-trees, running to five or six inches in diameter.
I've been at them with my hands, a garden fork and a spade but feel I'm just making a tiny dent in the surface, given their quantity and depth.

Can anyone recommend a way of eradicating them? I'm happy to accept a dead lawn for this year, if I can get rid of them for good and restart next year.

Cheers
Scott

 

[JohnD]

is there anything growing above the surface? If not, the roots will die and rot away, the smallest ones first. When big shallow roots rot, the ground above them will sink, so keep some dry, sifted soil to scatter onto the turf in thin layers (letting the grass poke through it) to level it in future. If like most people you are on a heavy clay soil, add some grit or coarse sand to the mixture.

If you have not seeded or turfed it yet, spray any regrowth with Glyphosate weedkiller (it need not be a posh brand) and repeat up until the day before you seed or turf.

Once you start mowing the lawn regularly, you will mow off the tops of any regrowth. If there is much you will need a larger rotary mower with a substantial blade, kept sharp. There are very few plants that will survive being cut back to an inch time after time. After the first year, or if you already have a lawn, you can use a hormone lawn weedkiller on the few that mowing has not killed.

Apart from that, you need to know the name of whatever plant or bush it was. The person who cut them down may know.

p.s. I once tried to cut through a tough root with my spade, failed, hauled it to the surface, it was the electricity cable. I'm not the only one.

 

[skotl]

Thaks, John.

There are a lot of tendrils snaking across the surface - I'll try and post a pic to see whether anyone can identify it.

...oh... and they're definitely roots, not cables

 

[JohnD]

It will be important to know what the trees are/were. Lilacs can be bad, they have a fibrous bark, and throw up suckers.

 

[skotl]

Sorry for the delay in responding, and thanks for the responses so far.

The following three pics are, in order;

1) the roots, around 5" in length
2) longer view of one of the root tendrils, around six feet long
3) a general view of the horrible stuff all over the ground

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Any thoughts or advice appreciated.
Thanks
Scott

 

[JohnD]

cut the stumps and pour SBK brushwood killer into them

it kills stumps

It does not kill healthy grass

Sold in Garden shops

instructions on the packet.

You can also dilute and spray it on any leaves that sprout, or even dip the leaves and sprouts in it.

Are you sure there isn't ivy in there?

 

[enyam]

That looks like Japanese knotweed,the more you dig the more that stuff spreads.If it is,there is a wealth of info on here.

http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/envir...ity/japanese_knotweed/control_of_knotweed.htm

 

[skotl]

Thanks Enyam

at first I thought it might be JKW but a number of people have confirmed that it's not, although they can't confirm what it is!
Seems to be a combination of bindweed and other cr*p.

Scott

 

[r896neo]

The large woody lump looks very like a fuschia but they are not so prolific that they would create that much carnage. a digger with riddle buckt is probably the best bet.

Expensive though.

Its not knotweed

 

[JohnD]

it'll have leaves soon, show us a pic and someone will identify it.