French herb multiplies explosively. No wonder, since every single plant produces more than a thousand seeds. In the garden, the herb gradually crowds out other plants. Diligence and consistency are therefore required when fighting it, as this is the only way to get rid of it permanently.

French herb has only small flowers and is therefore not very attractive

Annual and not hardy

The buttonwort, as the plant is also called, is an annual plant that does not survive the cold winter. Nevertheless, it can be sighted anew every year, usually in even larger numbers than before. This is because the herb successfully sows itself via seeds.

tips

Before you have completely removed the "weeds" from your garden, you should perhaps taste them. French herb is not poisonous but edible. In France it was even cultivated as a vegetable in the past.

prevent seed formation

When controlling the plants currently growing in the garden, future generations must also be kept in mind. Any seed that falls on fertile soil can later develop into a vigorous plant. It must not get that far, otherwise every countermeasure is pure Sisyphean work.

  • Fight the plant before it blooms
  • work thoroughly, do not miss a copy
  • watch out for new seedlings in good time in subsequent years

Weed French herb regularly

The only way to prevent seed formation is to weed all plants when they are young. Without its typical flowers, however, the French herb looks confusingly similar to some summer flowers. This is where we need to take a close look and act decisively.

Luckily, the herb is relatively easy to pull out of the ground. Check your garden regularly to make sure you don't miss a single specimen. Even a single undiscovered plant can sow countless seeds.

Chemicals

Of course, there are also total herbicides on the market that destroy these weeds and all other plants. However, this is such a strong poison that we do not recommend it for the sake of nature.

Discard flowering plants

You should dispose of all flowering plants with household waste or the organic waste bin, but never put them in the garden compost. The seeds would survive there intact and find their way back into the bed.

Avoid inviting areas

Every empty spot in the garden is like an open invitation to the French herb, which it gladly accepts. Take this living space away from him.

Areas under bushes, larger perennials or in the vegetable patch that have been mulched with a natural material remain largely weed-free. Even the French herb hardly has a chance. Planting groundcover is another way to attractively plant bare soil before buttonwort can take over.

Category:

Herbs