I wish I had some great ideas for you -- but I don't. I know what it's like to battle a weed that won't give up (when I was in Indiana, it was mulberry trees and nettle -- even round-up didn't faze them!). Sometimes when you repeatedly cut a weed back to the ground, it eventually depletes the roots and it dies... don't know if that would work in this case or not.

Having said that, I have to admit, I love Queen Anne's lace. Maybe not in my garden but I always used to let patches of it grow in the back of my yard (I lived in the country and let it grow along the fencerow). And I used to ride my bike past a whole field of it every summer -- the smell was amazing -- I used to stop and just breath and breath and breath -- it was heavenly.

I wish you success in getting rid of it... I really do sympathize with the battle! Good luck!!

I must admit I like Queen Anne's lace--it's so lacy! I'm letting it grow in a contained area, although I probably should have thinned it out. It's much easier to control so many of those "weeds" if you keep on top of them and pull them when they're tiny. I learn the hard way which are weeds (because I'm not originally from around here) by letting them grow. The problem is, in Illinois, I swear things grow a foot in a day sometimes. I'm trying to channel the trumpet vine I can't kill by weaving it through the back fence. But it all seems to take constant vigilance!

I love QAL. LOL. I planted it in my garden but dead head it as soon as the flower fades. :-) No more seedlings to fight. :-P

I thought mine was parsley for a while - I think I might have cooked with it a couple of times!!!! It was terrible for a while, but once I knew what it looked like I just pull it all up when it sprouts in spring, and the problem is gone. Sure scared me though when I read on the web that Hemlock looks a lot like it - I wondered for a while I I'd cooked with THAT!

Lol, Dan. I used to think MINE was Hemlock, since I have such a severe reaction to it. For a while I couldn't find any info online about having allergic reaction to QAL, only Hemlock, so I assumed...
There is a difference, one of them has hairy stalks, one is smooth, but I can't remember which is which right now.
It's had its way with me again this summer - it's taken over my flower garden. :( This time of year all of my energy gets spent in my veggie garden and my flowers are left to fend for themselves. They lost the battle again this year.

I think when my veggies are done, I will try the RoundUp suggestion. If nothing else, maybe it will slow down the QAL next spring, and I can do RoundUp again then, on the new ones.

LOL !! I just ordered some QAL seed on ebay tonight.

Oh Sprout....you know not what you have done! LOL!

A nice alternative to QAL might be Angelica acutiloba (if you can find it)....I just picked some up for half price at a local nursery....

Here is a link that might be useful: Angelica acutiloba

Are you talking about wild salsify or QAL? When a foot long root was mentioned, my ears picked up. How tall does this get? Wild salsify can get 9 ft tall, my QAL gets about 3 ft. I keep it deadheaded, but even then it doesn't spread far. The other wild thing is worse than kudsu.

I pull QAL out of my vegie and flower gardens. And I wish it wasn't so prolific there. Am trying to pull it out before it drops all its seeds when I find it in a garden.

But I admit I think it is lovely, and like it growing in my wild and prairie areas. Once I took a bouquet of it to a Patti Smith concert. I was about 15 people back, and towards the end I was trying to get to the front to give her my flowers. People parted like when Moses was at the Red Sea to let me through to give her the flowers. I was thinking it was pretty funny, since it was Queen Anne's Lace which most people consider to be a weed. BUT, the bouquet was really gorgeous and elegant, basically a very tight bunching of many flowers. Obviously I am not allergic to it, I guess that makes a difference, too.

I have also transplanted goldenrod from one yard to another, so that probably makes me a nut. I did laugh at seeing QAL seeds on ebay earlier. Considered saving seeds and selling them myself, since I do sell some seeds on ebay. Was going to sell some small daisy-like plant seeds on ebay, too, but looking for an exact species name discovered them to be scentless chamomile, which is a noxious weed in many places. Being a good environmentalist I can't bring myself to sell noxious weed seeds!

Marcia

the bane of my gardens also, it grows right in my plants and the rock walls around the garden so I can't get at the roots. Even if you can, not only are the roots deep but they seem to spread in a web producing many plants from 1 root system. I'll try the round up glove method. But i'll be busy, it seems to come back as fast as you can kill it. Let it go a couple weeks and it'll dwarf your desired plants and fill up the whole garden. Hate it.

I hit mine with roundup - you only need a small, small amount right at the base of the plant when it first comes up - the next year it was 90 percent gone. I still get some popping up from time to time, but in small amounts and I just keep hitting it with roundup.

Also, you can make a jam with queen anne's lace - it's OK.

This is a host plant for swallowtail butterfly caterpillars, if that makes you feel any better...?

Here is a link that might be useful: A good butterfly brief from Iowa State

I'm not sure why you're shocked that people want to plant this weed. I'm actually quite jealous you have such an established lot of it growing! I realize you probably aren't interested in it's medicinal properties, but it's quite the herb! Perhaps if you weren't already aware, maybe now you'll have a better appreciation of it and a possible use for it. If not, well then at least you know why people like myself would want to grow it. I have struggled with trying to find natural alternatives for birth control (the synthetic hormones in the pill have very serious side effects) and am happy to have finally found something viable. I hope it becomes less of a nightmare for you either way. I can understand how unwanted plants in the garden can bring unrivaled amounts of stress!

Cheers! Meg

The wild carrot is an aromatic herb that acts as a diuretic, soothes the digestive tract and stimulates the uterus. A wonderfully cleansing medicine, it supports the liver, stimulates the flow of urine and the removal of waste by the kidneys. An infusion is used in the treatment of various complaints including digestive disorders, kidney and bladder diseases and in the treatment of dropsy.
An infusion of the leaves has been used to counter cystitis and kidney stone formation, and to diminish stones that have already formed. Carrot leaves contain significant amounts of porphyrins, which stimulate the pituitary gland and lead to the release of increased levels of sex hormones.

The plant is harvested in July and dried for later use. A warm water infusion of the flowers has been used in the treatment of diabetes. The grated raw root, especially of the cultivated forms, is used as a remedy for threadworms. The root is also used to encourage delayed menstruation.
The root of the wild plant can induce uterine contractions and so should not be used by pregnant women.

An infusion is used in the treatment of oedema, flatulent indigestion and menstrual problems. The seed is a traditional 'morning after' contraceptive and there is some evidence to uphold this belief. It requires further investigation. Carrot seeds can be abortifacient and so should not be used by pregnant women.

Ancient folk lore said that to cure epileptic seizures you should eat the dark coloured middle flower of Queen Annes Lace. The flower is also used in ancient rituals an spells, for women to increase fertility and for men to increase potency and sexual desire!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Wild Carrot - Queen Annes Lace

I have long been very interested in herbal medicine, especially using native plants, and those imported very early here. But it sounds like you have been reading very widely, and perhaps less than critically....

This is not the place to discuss this, but I did want to mention that if you are looking at Daucus carota as a birth control method, this would probably be a very bad idea. Possibly even less reliable that the very old-fashioned and very unreliable "rhythm method"....

> Have you considered roundup?

YIKES!!!! Use that poison only if you want to contaminate the ground and anything that's near it for years to come (there is a reason you should wear rubber gloves around it - it's toxic to plants, animals, people, and water). Think about all the plants the water around that area can run to if there's a downpour of rain. Or if you have pets, the area where they walk. While the runoff may not be enough to kill neighboring plants, it's certainly enough to contaminate them. Exposure to that stuff causes nerve and liver damage. There are study after study showing the dangers of using roundup. But you don't have to take my word for it...just google roundup and nerve damage. There are many scientific studies that back this up.

you should contact a local spinning and weaving guild the QAL produces a natural dye that makes wool a light yellowish-green color

Here where I live in Iowa the ditches are full of it. Think Bird (planted) it in my flower beds. But have bee able to kep it pulled out so far. Still have some. I also thought it was wild dill when it started.

My son was clearing around a fence and this has caused the nasty rash you described. May i ask what you treated it with and how long it lasts. Thanks a million

Ohmygosh. I have just been through the worst with Queen Anne's Lace