Bass on Bass

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

THE WEED WHO WOULD BE KING

Though it looks somewhat benign, this baby Creeping Charlie plant could completely take over the lawn in less than 2 years! This is just a baby from seed. It'll grow leaves 3-4 times this size. I've been battling this little monster in my back yard for 5-6 years. I've applied properly diluted Borax countless times, attempting to keep my warfare "organic", per the instructions found on the University Of Minnesota Ag. Dept. site for eliminating this scourge. The leaves would go brown at the edges within a week after application but not many plants actually died. Late last summer I gave up on "Organic" methods and went "heavy chemistry" on it. I applied Scotts +2. It worked.
"Well, what are we looking at here then" you may ask. Again, it's just a baby from seed.  Besides spreading like wildfire via BOTH root and surface runners this garbage plant also  blooms and sets seeds it drops to the ground. The flowers are deceptively lovely little "trumpet like" purple things. Lawns that are fully infested with this weed are looking a pretty blue-purple right now. Thus is the devious nature of the would be KING CHARLES.

2 comments:

Willyvon1 said...

Believe it or not some people cultivate this excrement of the plant world.
http://www.ehow.com/about_5246680_creeping-charlie-plant-care.html

Willyvon1 said...

It turns out it spreads via surface runners exclusively. My applications of corn gluten restrict the plant's progress because just like it's effect of stopping weed seeds from setting roots when they try to sprout, it prevents the Creeping Charlie runners from doing so, thereby restricting how far it can spread.