GARDEN WEEDS 2016 Molly O’Boyle Reston Association, All Gardeners Meeting February 13, 2016

Molly’s Mantra A Weed is a Wildflower Growing in the Wrong Place

Types of Garden Weeds ANNUAL SUMMER - WINTER PERENNIAL BIENNIAL Please note: Some weeds are edible!

Best Practices for Organic Weed Control Identify the weed plant Make sure the soil is friable = not wet, not dry Only work your soil where you will be planting – by turning your soil, the weed seeds are exposed to air and more easily germinate Manually pull, dig up when the seedling is small

Best Practices for Organic Weed Control (cont.) Attempt to get all roots – DO NOT shake the clump of soil as it may spread roots Remove the plant BEFORE it flowers to prevent seed spread Cover exposed soil with leaf mulch, plastic cover, wood chips to prevent weed seeds from germinating Can spray full strength white vinegar on the leaves of a plant to kill the above ground portion; will still need to pull up the plant as the roots will not die.

Yellow Nutsedge Summer annual weed Light green leaves; flowers on triangular stalks; shallow root system Reproduces by seed and by nodules on the roots Remove the entire plant in loose soil Do not shake the soil from the roots once you have removed the plant

Bermuda/Witch Grass – Cynodon dactylon Perennial Grass Propagates at the nodes and through flowers Has rhizomes (underground) and stolons (above ground); potentially grows 6+ inches deep in soil Difficult to eradicate; can form an impenetrable mat Do NOT toss in compost pile!! Please bag and throw in trash!!

Ground Ivy - Glechoma hederacea Perennial weed Creeping stems that root at the nodes and foliage that emits a mint-like odor when crushed Rhizomes occur and fibrous roots are also produced at the base at each node of the trailing stem. Easily eradicated by hand pulling, make sure to remove all roots

Bulbous Buttercup – Ranunculus bulbosus Perennial Low-growing, divided leaves and distinctive yellow flowers Flowers are erect, from 8 to 24 inches in height The base of the plant is thickened into a structure known as a corm, which resembles a bulb. Reproduces by seed and dividing of the corm

Hairy Bittercress - Cardamine hirsuta Winter annual weed Silique, a narrow capsule with many seeds, explosively spread the seed as much as 10 feet from the parent plant Has a taproot Currently, germinates in Oct/Nov and will flower in Feb/March

Common Chickweed - Stellaria media Winter annual, prostrate growth Usually running along the ground, rooting at the nodes, with the upper portion erect or ascending and freely branching Flowers are small, light blue Shallow, fibrous root system, easily removed Leaves are edible

Henbit- Lamium amplexicaule Winter annual or sometimes biennial broadleaf plant Square stems and pink-purple flowers, reaching 16 inches in height Profuse bloomer in early spring Mint Family – tastes more like raw kale – stem/flower/leaves are edible Spreads only by seed

Purslane – Portulaca oleracea Summer annual weed Low growing plant; single taproot Small, succulent, edible leaves Looks like small Jade Plants Very small flowers – goes to seed 3 weeks after seedlings appear! Reproduces by seed and stem pieces – 40 years

Palmer Amaranth - Amaranthus palmeri Summer annual Erect growth habit, may reach 6 1/2 feet in height Taproot that is often, but not always, reddish in color Single seeded utricle that reaches 2 mm in length and are wrinkled when dry. Each utricle splits open in the middle to expose a single glossy black to dark brown seed The young leaves are edible!

Morning Glories - Ipomoea hederacea Summer annual, twining or climbing vine with heart-shaped leaves Can climb up to 10’ tall Taproot VERY easily eradicated early – identify the plant, easily removed when just a few cotyledons/leaves are present Spread by seeds once the flower pod has dried; will easily pop off the vine

Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale Perennial from a basal rosette with yellow flowers and a 'puff-ball' seedhead Deep Taproot up to ½ “ in diameter Eradicate early, before seedhead forms Propagated by seed

Plantain - Plantago major Perennial Taproot with fibrous roots Cotyledons are spatula-shaped and joined at the base Flowers on a narrow stalk Difficult to hand remove due to numerous, dense root system

Pokeweed - Phytolacca americana Perennial weed, large growing 3-10’ tall Reddish-purple branched stems and dark purple to black berries- poisonous Large, white tap root up to 6 inches in diameter – hand pull when young Spread by wildlife

Ragweed – Ambrosia artemisiifolia Summer Annual Upright growth pattern – can grow to 4+ feet tall Multiple flower sets release numerous seeds – 39+ years viable Remove when small to prevent spreading Shallow fibrous root system

Queen’s Anne Lace/Wild Carrot - Daucus carota Biennial weed; closely resembles a typical garden carrot during the first year of growth. During the second year of growth, the plants produce tall stalks with white, flat-topped flowers. Many white flowers occur in a cluster where the stalks of each flower (pedicels) all arise from a common point (an umbel). However, this gives the appearance of a single, flat- topped white flower. Slightly thickened taproot.

White Clover - Trifolium repens Perennial Stems that root at the nodes, shallow root systems Trifoliate leaves White flowers on short stems Difficult to fully eradicate

Korean Garden Hoe – Ho Mi Coco Foods, Route 7

Local Plant Resource: ****** Resource for presentation: Virginia Tech Weed ID Site

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enjoy the New Growing Season!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~