Ask a Master Gardener: In the battle with creeping Charlie, sometimes the best answer is to give up – Duluth News Tribune

Q: Creeping Charlie is taking over the land from our backyard down to a pond. What is the best way to get rid of it? I am hoping not to use anything that would run into the pond and be bad for the wildlife. Thank you!

A: Creeping Charlie flourishes in areas that grass does not. Unless you change the environment, it will continue to out-compete grass and come right back with a vengeance. The problem is usually that it is too shady, or the ground is wet or compacted. It may also be a combination of these problems.

You could dig out the creeping Charlie by hand, but that is not very practical with the quantity you have.

You could spray the entire area with Rodeo, which is glyphosate (the same ingredient in Roundup) but does not hurt water life, and kill all of the vegetation, both weeds and grass. You then would have to change the water flow down the hill, maybe with a French drain, so it does not saturate the area you want grass. You would have to somehow core aerate to help with compressed soil. This would not be easy on a steep hill. Then you would have to re-seed or sod.

If it were me, I would learn to like creeping Charlie. It has a bad reputation because we have been convinced by advertising that we need a homogenous lawn, but it is actually not a bad plant. It is low maintenance and does not need mowing or fertilizing. It also provides some nectar to pollinators though not much pollen, which pollinators also need.

Or if you felt really ambitious, you might consider replacing the lawn with something more suitable to the habitat. Lawns, as you point out, can cause chemicals to run off into the water. Replacing turf grass with native plants can help prevent erosion, reduce algal blooms and attract wildlife. There are lots of suggestions here for attractive shoreline plantings: dnr.state.mn.us/lakescaping/index.html.

Written by U of M Extension Master Gardeners in St. Louis County. Send questions to features@duluthnews.com.

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Ask a Master Gardener: In the battle with creeping Charlie, sometimes the best answer is to give up - Duluth News Tribune