When Good Plants Go Bad

There is a little, well sometimes little, plant that most homeowners love to hate. And it started out as a garden plant which escaped and naturalized. Every part of this plant is edible. It is used to make salad, wine, coffee and as a salve. Its root can even be dried, powered and used for medicine or chopped and eaten. The flowers can be fried and eaten, too. Here are some more clues. It first came to North America with European settlers, as an early spring green.

Its prolific seed capability, its fast maturation and its amazingly long tap root make it hard to get rid of. It can be virtually indestructible. If you get rid of it on your lawn, your neighbor's lawn or a lawn a couple miles away will happily re-seed your weed-free lawn.

I think you have an idea of what I'm talking about now, so I'll tell you. It is the dandelion. Yes. the dandelion. Originally brought as a salad plant. Thanks a lot folks - couldn't we have just stuck with lettuce? The dandelion is a very good cautionary tale of why exotics or plants from other places can be such a not good idea. The intentions were arguably good. North America really didn't have lettuce or edible greens. So Europeans brought them. And they're fairly healthy for us, so what's the beef?

photo by williac

The problem is that dandelions adapted too well to their "new" home. There are not the same
environmental factors here that control their growth over there in Europe. I can say, I
didn't see one dandelion over there. Even in the so called "wild" spaces. Really they were
more "untended" but that's a different story.

So back to how to get rid of them. That's what you came for, isn't it? Well, this is one
plant I've never actually tried to get rid of. Not the answer you expected, is it?
Dandelions have so completely naturalized, that to me they are like dock, mullein or
violets. They're expected in the landscape. I'll warrant though that I don't like them
actually in my garden, even though I don't mind them in my so-called lawn.

When you have dandelions in places you don't want, the trick is to dig them up completely.
You have to get the whole taproot. And you better do it BEFORE they go to seed. Otherwise,
just forget it. Of course, if you're having folks over to tour your garden, you'll want them
out anyway. There is a perfect tool for digging them up. I think it looks like a flattened
forked tongue, but you probably have your own ideas. It's called a dandelion weeder and you can get them just about anywhere. If you don't feel like spending money, a fork works pretty well, too.

If you can't dig them up, then you can slice off the top portion of the dandelion and as much of the taproot as possible up two inches. That'll at least give it a pause before it comes back.
Some people swear by regular severe lawn cutting, but this is not good for the grass and the
dandelion adapts by flowering sooner when the plant is below the cut level. Smart little
weed isn't it?

Of course, you want to take off the flower heads before they go to seed. A bonus there is that you can take them in, wash them off and pan fry them in butter with some diced onion, maybe a little salt and pepper. Yum. You may not care then that you have dandelions. I warn you, though, if you start eating them, they'll be harder to find in your yard.

For further reading on this subject check out these links:

http://www.gardenguides.com/plants/info/weeds/dandelion.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandelion

http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/d/dandel08.html

What's on Your Side of the Fence?

I want to hear from you. What weeds, weedy trees, annoying shrubs, and "bad penny" vines are you having trouble with? What do you want to know about or do you have eradication and annihilation tips? If your combat tips are organic, that's even better.

On Tuesdays I write about exotic invasives and other weeds. I've pretty much been writing about the weeds I encounter regularly that I wish I didn't have. And oh boy, do I have them, but that's another story entirely. I want to hear your stories.

Please post a comment with your ideas and/or questions below. I'll take the time to post your experiences or answer your questions here at the Mule Shoe Farm blog in the upcoming weeks.

Beauty Run Rampant

One plant that has really been a bother here at the farm has been Japanese wisteria. Wisteria is usually planted to provide an ornamental vine. It features white to purple clusters of strongly scented, sweet-smelling flowers. It is also a vigorous grower and must be aggressively pruned each year. It can tear down bricks and mortar, choke trees and buckle pavement when neglected.

There are actually several different types of wisteria. One variety is native to the Southeastern United States. The others are imports from Asia. The Asian wisteria has all but taken over the native wisteria which is a less vigorous grower. Wisteria from large retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot is usually the Asian variety. Most of the time, the sales staff will not know that there is a difference.

Wisteria will die back in the winter, but it starts growing fairly early in the spring. It blooms around the end of April and through May. Its stems can root at just about any point. It roots can easily sprout leaves. When cut back it suckers and its flowers release thousands and thousands of seeds. When the conditions are favorable, it can grow as fast as kudzu. It will still grow even when the conditions are not so favorable.

Wisteria also puts out a distinctive smell when cut or pulled from the ground. This smell is produced to drive off less aggressive vegetation. Day lilies can crowd it out, but they have to be fairly thick to do so. Forsythia and periwinkle, both appear to be companion plants to wisteria. That is to say that neither takes over the other and they grow together.

The best way to get rid of wisteria, is to pull it up every time you can. The roots and stems will break off when you pull with sufficient force, but it ain't easy. Cut it back and it will sucker. The easiest time to pull it out is actually in the winter when it is mostly dormant. Do it before the ground gets hard and you can make huge inroads. To get it off your trees, cut the vine anywhere between the ground and the tree trunk in the spring just before It starts to bloom. Once the part on the tree trunk dies off, you can easily pull it off provided, it's not too twisted. But you can't slack off for a season. Pulling and cutting wisteria must be part of your routine to be successful at keeping it at bay.

If you currently have wisteria in your garden at home, remember that this plant can be aggressively pruned without ill effect. Prune it. Aggressively. It needs it. Also remember that it cannot be neglected and then expected to behave itself and not take over.