WEEDS!!! ID? Solutions?

[Telemark]

I think I have horseweed and fleabane. Internet says it's garbage, and I should get rid of it, but that is difficult to do.

Any help here?

 

[Telemark]

Is this fleabane? It's over 6 feet tall and sprang up over the summer in drought conditions.

 

[Telemark]

Is this marestail? Do I just roll it and spray it?

 

[Telemark]

Whatever this is needs to be identified in its infancy and persecuted mercilessly.

 

[Native Hunter]

First plant is horseweed (aka marestail) - It's an annual and has already seeded. It is aggressive and will keep coming back until perennial plants eventually choke it out. It has little if any deer value. It makes about 250,000 seed per plant.

Second plant is Pilewort (Erechtites hieracifolia) - It's an annual and not quite as aggressive as marestail. It has no deer value. Looks like it has already seeded.

Third plant - Sticking to your pants is Tick-trefoil (aka sticktight) - It is a perennial and highly desirable wildlife plant. It is a high preference browse for deer, and quail relish the seed.

Good luck.

 

[Native Hunter]

PS - mowing the first two above a few days before they make viable seed will help control them. If you mow them too early they will adapt and still make a few seed. Mowing is only partially effective because all plants don't mature at the same time. However, it works pretty well as other plants take up some of the open space.

 

[buckdeer1]

I spray marestail with Interline if in a enlist field of soybeans.I would mow it and burn so maybe you can kill some of those seeds.What do you want to do where this is located? Food Plot or cover

 

[Telemark]

First plant is horseweed (aka marestail) - It's an annual and has already seeded. It is aggressive and will keep coming back until perennial plants eventually choke it out. It has little if any deer value. It makes about 250,000 seed per plant.

Second plant is Pilewort (Erechtites hieracifolia) - It's an annual and not quite as aggressive as marestail. It has no deer value. Looks like it has already seeded.

Third plant - Sticking to your pants is Tick-trefoil (aka sticktight) - It is a perennial and highly desirable wildlife plant. It is a high preference browse for deer, and quail relish the seed.

Good luck.

Ok thanks for the info. I'll leave the trefoil alone and try my best on the marestail. I can ignore the pilewort for now since I also have teasel to deal with.

I can just avoid the trefoil since I can identify it now. Is it one of the perennials that can crowd out marestail? What about pokeweed?

 

[Telemark]

PS - mowing the first two above a few days before they make viable seed will help control them. If you mow them too early they will adapt and still make a few seed. Mowing is only partially effective because all plants don't mature at the same time. However, it works pretty well as other plants take up some of the open space.

What about rolling and spraying? Will that be able to cover a wide range of maturity on the marestail? I could broadcast something before rolling if it would help take up space and crowd out marestail.

 

[Telemark]

I spray marestail with Interline if in a enlist field of soybeans.I would mow it and burn so maybe you can kill some of those seeds.What do you want to do where this is located? Food Plot or cover

I wanted food. Preferably perennial. I was hoping to plant a bunch of ragweed and pokeweed, plus a few mulberry and other shrubs.

 

[Native Hunter]

Ok thanks for the info. I'll leave the trefoil alone and try my best on the marestail. I can ignore the pilewort for now since I also have teasel to deal with.

I can just avoid the trefoil since I can identify it now. Is it one of the perennials that can crowd out marestail? What about pokeweed?

Yes, the trefoil can help crowd out the marestail. Pokeweed is a great plant in some locations and not in others. At my farm they show little interest in it, but 20 miles away at my home they devour it.

 

[Native Hunter]

What about rolling and spraying? Will that be able to cover a wide range of maturity on the marestail? I could broadcast something before rolling if it would help take up space and crowd out marestail.

Yes, spraying should work fine, but keep in mind that you may kill some other plants as well. If it is just mainly marestail, spraying would be a good option. Naturally, you will have some seed to keep coming out of the seedbank over the next few years, so you will deal with it for a while.

 

[Telemark]

Yes, the trefoil can help crowd out the marestail. Pokeweed is a great plant in some locations and not in others. At my farm they show little interest in it, but 20 miles away at my home they devour it.

Ok I'll get some pokeweed and giant ragweed in there. The marestail is up around 7 feet tall in some areas. The trefoil is only about 3 feet tall but seems easy to identify and avoid.

 

[Telemark]

Yes, spraying should work fine, but keep in mind that you may kill some other plants as well. If it is just mainly marestail, spraying would be a good option. Naturally, you will have some seed to keep coming out of the seedbank over the next few years, so you will deal with it for a while.

This is an old field that went fallow during Covid and just got worse and worse. It was mostly just grass, but now it is getting a host of invasives, and it's really getting out of control the last few years. I don't mind nuking patches and starting it over with perennial shrubs and forbs, ideally natives.

I'll go roll it now and see how the results look.

 

[buckdeer1]

If it was mine I would at least mow and burn to help reduce seed bank

 

[buckdeer1]

But then again I wouldn't plant weeds.It's just like pigweed, the deer eat it as good as beans when little but if it reaches a certain point it's just a weed

 

[Telemark]

I tried to mow it, but it wouldn't contact the blades. The roller pressed it down a bit. The mower did manage to cut the tops off some of the stalks, but the stalks were tall and rigid, so much of it was relatively unaffected.

I forgot to take pictures, and had to leave town. I'll be back tomorrow to see what it looks like after the rain, if we get any. I'll spray if I get a chance.