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canada thistle, poison ivy, giant ragweed

To Weed or Not to Weed? The Perennial Garden: Early Season Plant Identification

It’s time for spring cleaning the herbaceous perennial garden, but be careful not to pluck out any of your favorite flowers. With all the green quickly sprouting up, it may be difficult to tell friend from foe. Established herbaceous perennials will emerge from the ground in the same location as[Read More…]

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pineapple weed flower and leaves

Spotlight on Weeds: Pineapple weed

Biology: Pineapple weed (Matricaria matricariodies), behaves as either a summer or winter annual and it is commonly found throughout the United States. It is a weed of both high- and low-maintenance turfgrass lawns, landscapes, and nursery crops. Its ability to tolerate low mowing heights and highly compacted soils allow pineapple weed[Read More…]

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landscape

Developing a Weed Management Plan for Your Properties

How did your weed control program perform this year?  Could you be 10% more efficient?  Could you make your clients 10% more satisfied with the level of weed control?  In today’s labor market, improving efficiency is the single best way to reallocate labor to other, more profitable, jobs.  One aspect[Read More…]

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Milkweed aphids are out in force this year! Should you try to manage them?

Bright yellow or orange aphids covering a milkweed plant may look shocking, but they usually aren’t a cause for concern. These aphids become more noticeable in late summer or when plants are stressed. Some may find them unsightly, but, for the most part, they cause little to no harm to[Read More…]

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bermudagrass

Spotlight on Weeds: Common Bermudagrass

Biology: Common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is the most commonly used turfgrass in the southern United States, but it is also a difficult-to-control weed in northern turf. Bermudagrass is a drought tolerant, warm-season, perennial grass species that tolerates low mowing and actively spreads vegetatively by both rhizomes and stolons but also has[Read More…]

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Spotlight on Weeds: Prostrate Spurge (Euphorbia humistrata)

Biology: Prostrate Spurge (Euphorbia humistrata) is a summer annual broadleaf weed that can be found in dry/sandy and/or nutrient-poor soils along with compacted, weakened or disturbed turfgrass and landscape sites. Look for it first in driveways and sidewalks or in potted plants in a landscape or nursery as temperatures start to get[Read More…]

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Figure 1. Wild garlic’s grass-like growth in dormant turf.

Spotlight on Weeds: Wild Garlic (Allium vineale)

Biology: Wild Garlic (Allium vineale) is a monocotyledonous cool-season perennial that can be found throughout most of the eastern and southern United States. Despite having linear leaves and parallel veins, wild garlic is neither a grass nor a sedge; it is a member of the lily family. Wild garlic is more[Read More…]

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Early Spring=Earlier Germinating Weeds

This winter has been very mild, especially compared to last year.  With the mild temperatures throughout the season, most plants have accumulated enough growing degree days to start bud break when temperatures become favorable.  Utilizing the Spring Leaf Index, via the United States National Phenology Network (USNPN), spring has been[Read More…]

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Spotlight on Weeds: Common Mallow (Malva neglecta)

Biology: Common mallow (Malva neglecta), also known as cheese mallow, cheese weed, and dwarf mallow, is a winter annual broadleaf weed, though it can also act as a biennial if environmental conditions that favor growth persist. It is generally found in low-maintenance turfgrass lawns, nursery crops, and landscapes. The ability of[Read More…]

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Spotlight on Weeds: Ground Ivy/Creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea)

Biology: Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea), also known as creeping Charlie, is a very difficult to control perennial broadleaf weed. It can often be seen growing in the shade and invading turfgrass and landscapes throughout the United States. Ground ivy thrives in moist, rich soils located in shaded areas, but will grow[Read More…]

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weed control

Beyond Roundup: Alternatives to consider adding to your weed management plan (Update)

What is your go-to postemergence herbicide?  If you answered Roundup (glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup), you would be in the majority for landscape and nursery professionals.  Though glyphosate works very well on most weed species, there are times when other products may be more effective or offer a[Read More…]

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lamium weeds

Spotlight on Weeds: Purple deadnettle

Biology: Purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum) is a common winter annual broadleaf weed found throughout the US. It is closely related to another winter annual broadleaf, henbit (Lamium amplexicaule). Both have vibrant purple flowers that can been seen now in lawns, landscapes, and fields.  To see more about henbit, refer to this[Read More…]

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chickweed

Spotlight on Weeds: Common Chickweed

Biology: Common chickweed (Stellaria media) is a winter annual broadleaf weed. In lawns, it forms dense, prostrate patches throughout North America, but can grow relatively tall in the landscape. Common chickweed germinates from seed in late summer or early fall. However, germination timings can vary throughout the year if conditions are[Read More…]

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yellow nutsedge

Spotlight on Weeds: Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus)

Biology: Yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus), also known as chufa (chufa is a non-weedy variety that is used for wildlife food plots and is not a cold hardy weed like yellow nutsedge), nutgrass, or watergrass, is a troublesome, difficult-to-control perennial weed found throughout the United States. It is important to understand that yellow[Read More…]

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Cultural Plus Chemical=A good weed control combo in landscape beds

This article, and many others, will be presented at the 2018 Purdue Turf and Landscape Field Day on July 10th.  Registration is open and available online: https://www.mrtf.org/event/turf-and-landscape-field-day/?event_date=2018-07-10   Here is the lineup for the field day. A cultural weed control method is one that involves steps to reduce or eliminate weeds via[Read More…]

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broadleaf plantain

Spotlight on Weeds: Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major)

  Biology: Broadleaf plantain (Plantago major) is a perennial, broadleaf weed that can be found in nutrient-poor soils; however, they prefer nutrient rich-soils that are moist and often high in calcium. Broadleaf plantain is a common weed in turfgrass, nurseries, and landscapes. It germinates from seed in late spring through mid-to-late[Read More…]

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henbit

Spotlight on Weeds: Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule)

Biology:  Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) is a common winter annual broadleaf weed found throughout the United States. It can often be mistaken for another closely related winter annual broadleaf, purple deadnettle. Both can be observed by their showy pink to purple flowers which are primarily produced in April, but can appear from[Read More…]

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dandelion flower and leaves

Spotlight on Weeds: Dandelion

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)     Family: Asteraceae Life cycle: Perennial Reproduces: Seed Flowers: 1-2” diameter yellow disk and ray flowers on long stalk. Leaves: Simple, lobed (variable), wavy margins (variable), 3-10” long originating from a basal rosette Seedlings: Dicotyledon that is smooth, yellow-green and lack hairs. Comments: A very prominent[Read More…]

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maple bud break

Early Season Predictions: Methods to Predict Weed Emergence

Fill in the blank: Apply crabgrass preemergence herbicide when____________is in bloom. If you said forsythia, you would be correct.  Most of us have been told the answer to this for many years, but have you ever thought to yourself, ‘Is it true?’ There are many ways that people make decisions[Read More…]

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native prairie

So, the saying goes… Save the Stems, Leave the Leaves, and No Mow May

Gardeners are bombarded with sayings like save the stems, leave the leaves, and no mow May. These sayings are rooted in the same goal of protecting pollinators, but often leave gardeners with more questions. Let’s dig into each of the sayings. Save the stems: The first question that often arises[Read More…]

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