What's That Weed? by DK

Author:DK
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780593843055
Publisher: DK

Long, narrow-toothed leaves, ending in a triangular lobe, clasp the hairy stems, which are full of milky sap. Yellow, flask-shaped flowers are carried in open clusters.

The seed heads are loose, fluffy, and white, carried up to 23 ft (7 m) in dry weather. Seeds become viable within a week of flowering.

g ANNUALS g CONTENTS

COMMON CHICKWEED

Stellaria media

Chicken weed, white bird’s ear

Height Prostrate but up to 12 in (30 cm) at flowering

Spread More than 12 in (30 cm)

Seeds Summer and fall, 2,500 seeds per plant

Germinates Fall and winter

Where it grows Fertile cultivated ground

This bright green, white-flowered, matted ground cover plant grows lushly in summer and in winter on uncropped fertile soil that is not acidic. Although it protects bare soil it can smother overwintered vegetables. Chickweed seeds are food for birds such as mourning doves and are also eaten by insects, including some ground beetles. Its young leaves are eaten by birds and make a rather earthy winter salad, too.

An annual plant, chickweed has up to three generations per year, flowering at all seasons and producing seeds that remain viable for more than five years. It can overwhelm seedlings of garden plants, carry viruses, and rapidly build up a large and persistent soil seed bank. Common mouse-ear chickweed (Cerastium fontanum) is very similar, and is controlled in the same way.

Management

Preventing seed production and re-rooting of fragments is vital. Digging and hoeing in dry, warm weather kills young weeds but older weeds are too tangled to hoe, although raking can uproot many. Stale seedbeds are highly effective. Hand-weeding chickweed in dense plantings is effective if the root is identified and pulled up.

Oval, slightly pointed cotyledons are rapidly followed by true leaves in pairs.

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