- Author: Betsy Buxton
I’m sitting at the computer while waiting for the promised rain to begin. Waiting and waiting; there’s a method to all this though: when the rain comes, the ground will soften and the weeds will be easier to pull.
I have magnificent oyster salsify (Tragopogon porrifolius L.) weeds growing in the front and side yards of the house. I have learned that having a house at the end of a cul de sac is the best way to get weed seeds blown into the yard – living 1 block in a straight line from the Suisun Marsh doesn’t help either. If I were to be taking a weed class, I would have all sorts of both grassy and broadleaf weeds to preserve as samples!
Meanwhile, the oyster salsifies are hanging on to the soil with the large, white fleshy roots that like lovely parsnips, just waiting to go to flower and then to seed. And the amount of seeds!! Each with its own little helicopter of a sail, ready to fly away and repeat the cycle – again and again, until the stand of plants are shoulder to shoulder and keeping other (meaning, wanted) plants from the area.
When the ground is wet and the flower stalks have grown to approximately 1 ½ feet to 2 feet, that’s when you can easily pull them out. But remember, as members of the aster family which includes Spiny Sowthistles (Sonchus asper), pulled plants and even just broken off flower heads will continue to mature into seed heads! Toss them immediately that day into the garbage or green waste container! If you don’t, you have just condensed the seeds into a single area and you have definitely not “doubled your pleasure”!
I would not suggest merely mowing salsifies down to get rid of them, as the root will raise another flower stalk which will be shorter and shorter the more it’s cut. Using herbicides on them is not too successful, as the leaves and stems have a thick cuticle (rather smooth layer which has a tendency to allow liquids to run off) and it seems as though more spray is needed, thereby increasing the possibility of hurting the desired plants.
Besides, there is a great deal of pleasure when the darned thing pops out, you put it in the bucket, and realize that there’s 1 less in the yard!
Hope to see some of you at the talk at Annie’s Annuals on April 13th at 10-ish for the FREE talk on using natives in the garden, and again on May 25 for the talk on Salvias. I don’t get anything for mentioning these talks but they’re good for Continuing Ed and the speakers are pros and answer all questions!