How to Control Bracket Ferns
- 1). Mow the bracken ferns to the ground in early summer. Rake up the mowed ferns and discard them in the trash. Do not compost weeds because they may regenerate as you spread the compost.
- 2). Apply a glyphosate herbicide to the remaining fern stumps, following the package directions on the herbicide for application instructions. Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide and will kill any plant life with which it comes into contact, so do not apply it on a windy or rainy day. Wait seven days for the herbicide to kill the ferns.
- 3). Cultivate the soil with the dead bracken ferns. Use a garden tiller and turn the soil at a depth of 8 to 10 inches. This cuts up any surviving rhizomes and prevents regrowth of the plant.
- 4). Recultivate the soil in late summer to kill any rhizomes that may have survived the earlier treatment. Lay down a 4-inch layer of organic mulch or black plastic sheeting over the soil and leave it until the next planting season.
- 5). Plant the area where the bracken ferns were growing with dense lawn turf or other closely packed plants. Bracken fern cannot compete well with other plants, so this prevents the regrowth of the ferns.
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