By Cesca
Stirlingshire,
United Kingdom 
Help! I am 66, no excuse, and have a large garden. Many of my established flowering plants/shrubs are becoming choked with couch grass or bishopsweed or buttercups. I know fine well that leaving a bit of root is hopeless, so, having worked my knuckles raw today trying to dig bits out, is there a systemic weedkiller I can paint on the leaves that will kill the pesky weeds? Weedout no longer exists. Happy to paint on a lethal substance! Spraying wouldn't work and digging out and spending an afternoon removing all bits of evil root....well, life's too short!
2 Apr, 2014
Roundup does a version in an applicator stick, looks a bit like a deodorant. It's nowhere near as useful as the weedout pens were though, its a bit clunky to use and its expensive. Alternatively, use glyphosate (weedol or just glyphosate, diluted as apppropriate, with a squirt of washing up liquid in the mix) and water it onto the weeds when they're growing strongly, preferably with a can fitted with a fine rose, avoiding getting it on the leaves of your shrubs. It won't damage the woody parts of your shrubs, but will damage the leaves if you splash them. Repeat applications will probably be necessary, whichever you choose to use.
2 Apr, 2014