What is a weed? Is it a plant growing in the wrong place, or is it the gardener’s worst enemy, the bane of our existence? Depending on how serious the weed problem is in your garden this year, it could be all three, or worse! Has anyone else noticed that the crop of dandelions seems to be exceptionally healthy and numerous this spring? Perhaps they thrive when it snows in the third week of April.
Here are some facts on a few more unwelcome visitors that you may cross paths with this year in the garden.
Purslane is found in many local gardens, including my own. It is related to the much more ornamental portulaca, which produces very colourful blooms and thrives in hot, dry weather and poor soils. Purslane has fleshy leaves and grows very close to the soil surface, with small yellow flowers that open on sunny days. It spreads by seed and by stem pieces, so don’t leave stems in the garden after hoeing it out.
Many gardeners have told me that purslane has made a sudden appearance in the garden years after they thought it was gone. This is because the seed can lie dormant for up to 40 years before germinating. If you find this fact discouraging, have a salad. Purslane is edible, so if you can’t beat it, eat it.
I’ve been battling quackgrass in my garden for years. This is a nasty opponent. It spreads by underground rhizomes that can run for what seems like several feet. At each node along the rhizome fibrous roots form and a new shoot is sent above ground. It also spreads by seed. Do not let this weed grow unchecked, make it your mission in life to rid your garden of quackgrass or you will become very discouraged about gardening.
Morning glory is one of my favourite flowers, but not when it occurs in the form of its close relative, Field Bindweed.
The roots of this weed can grow three metres below the soil surface. The flowers are the familiar morning glory funnel-shaped blooms that close on cloudy days. Bindweed spreads by these incredible roots and by seed as well. The above-ground stems can be anywhere from one to three metres long. In severe cases of bindweed infestations the entire area has to be covered with black plastic, with a foot of mulch placed over top and left for an entire growing season.
Here's something to ponder next time you are on your hands and knees, bowing before a patch of weeds in the garden: Researchers in England dug up and sifted through the top few centimeters on a hectare of land. They estimated a population of 1.33 million seeds of prostrate knotweed, 1.73 million seeds of shepherd’s purse, 3.21 million chickweed seeds and 16.6 million seeds of annual bluegrass.
