3 17 Weeds & Potatoes

Horticulture

Plant: Shamrock

Term: Weeds

Shamrock - Oxalis Bulb - Green or purple clover-shaped leaves Many varieties – some perennial USDA Zones 6-10, 8-10 Full sun to light shade Small white or pink flowers Many are grown exclusively as potted plants

have relatively short life Pest sensitive

Many are capable of naturalizing Wood Sorrel

Weeds Weed - a plant growing

out of place or an unwanted plant

Weed Types Grasses Broadleaf Onions Annuals Biennials Perennials

Weeds

Can out-compete desired plants Poor environments:

High Moisture Sedge, Moss, Rush, A. Bluegrass

Low Moisture Spurge, Poorjoe, A. Lespedeza, Knotweed

Low pH Sorrel, broomsedge

Low Nitrogen Clovers, Legumes, Mosses

Compact Soil A. Bluegrass, Goosegrass, A. Lespedeza, Plantain

Weed Control Disrupt Lifecycle Out-compete with desired plants Physically remove – roots too!

Herbicides Herbicides – need appropriate weather

conditions & growing plants Selective – only kills certain types of plants Non-selective – kills everything Pre-emergence – keeps seeds from

germinating Post-emergence – After plant is growing

Weed & Feed Mix of fertilizer & herbicide Broadleaf control Selective or Nonselective? Monocots or Dicots? Works by preventing

germination Annual weeds or perennial

weeds? When should you apply?

Bittercress

•Bittercress •Winter Annual•Seeds can shoot 9’•Spring problem

Chickweed

Chickweed Winter AnnualLow-growing, succulent weed that often spreads out in extensive mats. It may survive summer in shady, cool areas that offer sufficient moisture Flowers are small but showy with five deeply cut white petals.

Dandelion

•Dandelion •Biennial or Perennial•Has a thick tap root, dark brown, almost black on the outside though white and milky within. • Dandelion seeds are carried away by the wind and travel like tiny parachutes. A strong wind can carry the seeds miles away from the parent plant.

Lespedeza

•Lespedeza. •Perennial•Found throughout the southeast. •Lespedeza has a strong, firm taproot. •The stems are also firm and woody.

Plantain

•Perennial. • Its roots are fibrous with a strong taproot.

Spotted Spurge

Spotted SpurgeAnnual Spurge contains a milky sap in the stem. The flower of spotted spurge is small and green in color. It germinates in mid spring and flowers from June to September.

Wild Onion and Wild Garlic

•Wild onion and wild garlic are both winter perennials. •Both wild onion and wild garlic spread by bulbs, seed and bulblets. •Both plants flower from April through June.

Virginia Buttonweed

Virginia Buttonweed is a prostrate-growing perennial with branching hairy stems. Virginia buttonweed spreads by seed and plant segments.

White Clover

White Clover is a perennial with trifoliate leaves, stems that root at the nodes, and white flowers.

Oxalis

•Oxalis. A perennial with trifoliate leaves and yellow flowers. •Individual flowers consist of 5 yellow petals. •The roots are long, slender rhizomes occur with a fibrous root system.•Spreads by seed and roots

Purslane Annual Each plant is

capable of producing 240,000 seeds which are viable for up to 40 years.

It is found in gardens and bare ground from June to October.

Speedwell

Speedwell is a winter annual that germinates in mid-fall.

Wild Geranium

Wild Geranium, also called Carolina geranium, is a semi-erect winter annual. The seed forms in a fruit capsule that forms a "storks bill".

Wild Violet

Wild Violet is a winter perennial, growing 2 - 5 inches tall. It can have a tap root or a fibrous root system, and also can produce rooting stolons and rhizomes.The flowers of wild violet range from white to blue to purple and appear from March to June. Wild violet flowers are pansy-like with three lower petals and two lateral petals on long single flower stalks.

1st Qtr Fall Horticulture Plants

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Today: Plant potatoes Cut potatoes into golf ball

sized pieces Each piece must have at

least 2 eyes Dig a trench 6-8” deep Place seed potatoes 15”

apart Cover with 3-4” soil

Hilling potatoes When potatoes sprout above

soil line, fill the rest of the way When plants are 8-10” tall, hill

up the soil around them Potatoes should never be

exposed to sunlight Turn green & become poisonous

Potatoes begin to form when plant sets flowers