Weeds, Weeds, and More Weeds!

Spurge

In most parts of the country, winter is a time to relax and stay inside with a good book. The garden is totally dormant and there is nary a weed to be seen until late spring.

Unfortunately, we are soooo lucky in the Lowcountry to have summer weeds and winter weeds.Certain weeds love the hot humid summer, yet others prefer our cooler winters to sprout and take over.

Right now, we have a winter weed that comes to visit, often hitching a ride with nursery plants in their containers. This weed is named hairy wintercress. Originally a native of Europe, this little gem is found worldwide and gardeners everywhere bemoan finding it in their flower beds. It is an innocent looking little plant with tiny white flowers rising from a rosette of bright green leaves. It has hundreds of seeds that the plant expels to cause it to spread rapidly. While it is prominent in the cooler weather, but it can hang around even in July in shadier areas. It knows no shame. Fortunately, it is extremely easy to pull out.

Another weed prominent in the winter although it is a yearlong menace is spurge. There are several varieties, all creeping and low to the ground. The most common variety is prostrate spurge which can have a red dot in the middle of its leaves. It seems to love to grow up between the cracks of pavement. Again, it is easy to pull out. I find that pulling out weeds is not only therapeutic, but is good for the waistline.

Another year around weed is Oxalis. It looks like small clover with a yellow flower. This weedy variety is a scourge and seems to pop up everywhere you do not want it. It grows in long strings and is especially “active” in containers. When pulling it out, be sure to get all of the roots.

In the summer the worst weed of all makes its presence known. It is called chamber bitter. A native of Asia, it is everywhere starting out as an innocent tiny plant and then growing to 6-7 feet if left on its own. You can see it by the side of the road looking like a small tree. This weed has no redeeming social value. This weed has no sense of decency. This weed has no conscience.This weed needs to be an EX-WEED. Now I am sounding like a Monty Python skit. There are hundreds of seeds under the leaves and if not pulled out early, you will have entire colonies.Fortunately, it pulls out easily. Do not compost it otherwise you will have them taking over the compost.

Do I have an answer for these marauders? I am not a fan of pre-emergents and herbicides. I love my pollinators and do wish to expose them to chemicals in my garden. I hand pull the weeds and discard them. I am hoping that my yard waste, which goes to a commercial composter, will be heated to a temperature that will kill weed seeds. Usually, if the compost pile is large enough, that is what happens.

Not all weeds are pests. There is a saying that a weed is just a flower in the wrong place. One interesting fact about some of our weeds in this country is that other parts of the world love them as garden plants. Our goldenrod growing by the side of the road is coveted by Brits. I saw common mullein, a member of the Verbascum family, used in one of the most beautiful gardens in southern England. You cannot buy it here, but you do see it growing by the side of the road. It is a tall stalk with sage colored fuzzy leaves and butter yellow flowers. I tried to dig one out on 170, but so many people stopped to ask me if I was okay that I gave up. I think they thought I was burying a body.

Blanket flower or Gaillardia is listed as a weed by Clemson Cooperative Extension. It has lovely multi–colored flowers and it thrives in dry conditions. Fortunately, it is sold here with many cultivars at most garden centers.

Although we may not like to find weeds in our gardens, according to Ralph Waldo Emerson, a weed is “A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” Although I pull many weeds, some have characteristics with appeal. The main thing that separates a good weed from a bad weed is if the plant is an aggressive thug and tries to take over your garden and yard. That is abad weed! Bid it farewell.