Plant Doctor Archive

Weeds among chamomile

I HAVE a chamomile lawn with mosaic pavers in it, each one made by a member of our family. It is now in its second season, but there are a lot of weeds growing in it and I was wondering if there was an easy way to get rid of these.

Unfortunately, I don't know of an easy way to control weeds in a chamomile lawn. Try to prevent weed growth by making sure the chamomile is growing as densely as possible. This is easier said than done though, as chamomile lawns can be a bit patchy if conditions are not ideal.

Chamomile grows best in a sunny spot in free-draining soil and can die out in wet or shady conditions. The variety 'Treneague' is said to be the best for a lawn - it seldom flowers, but still has the lovely aromatic foliage. Fill any gaps quickly with new plants which you can propagate from cuttings.

So, to control weeds, you'll just have to get on your hands and knees and pull them out as they emerge. Or for deep-rooted broad-leaved weeds and difficult-to-pull-out creeping ones, like oxalis, you could use a weedkiller such as the glyphosate types (Roundup, Zero, and the like) carefully dabbed directly on to each weed. A small piece of foam rubber fastened on to a stick works quite well for this, as it won't drip weedkiller on to the chamomile - it usually only takes one dab to apply a lethal dose to a small weed.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.