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skip1909

Is this garlic mustard? (NJ)

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago

This is just north of the Pinelands in NJ, but there are a lot of deciduous trees here.


the last picture might be a different type of plant

Comments (5)

  • 10 years ago

    The last picture is henbit - I forget the latin name; pull it up before it goes to seed, but it's a annoyance as best.

    Your other pictures MAY be garlic mustard or they MAY be violets. Do the leaves smell like garlic when you crush them in your hand? Either way, there are way too many seedlings there, even if they were desirable plants. I'd pull them or cultivate the area to get rid of them, or most of them, if they're not gm.

    Skip1909 thanked lisanti07028
  • 10 years ago

    The last one is Lamium purpureum, Red Deadnettle rather Lamium amplexicaule, Henbit. Not that it makes much difference. You probably don't want either in cultivated beds.

    All the other pictures appear to be Garlic mustard. If you crush a leaf you'll get the garlic smell. No smell = not GM.

    Skip1909 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I moved in over the fall and this is the first time I'm taking a closer look at what is growing. I was hoping the plant in the last picture was something native but it is also an invasive. The dead nettle and garlic mustard are both popping up all over the yard. I have 0.8 acre and the second and third pictures are from the back of the lot. I have already pulled a couple bushels of the GM from the rest of the yard but there is a lot more growing along the property line.

  • 10 years ago

    Sorry, floral! Either way, they're annoying as all get out. To the OP - the gm does not seem to be long-established, so they should be easy to pull up (unlike an established plant, which you'll need a spade for). Try cultivating to rip them up and let them dry in the sun , if you've got a lot of area to cover; that should take care of most of them, and you can go back and hand-pull the ones you missed. Good luck with your work! If we were close enough to lend a hand, we would. When we're done with our own freaking dead nettle!

    Skip1909 thanked lisanti07028
  • 10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    If you have a lot of GM, at this point in the year it's easiest to wait until they send up flower spikes (early May). With a small enough area, you can then pull them and the roots will be a lot weaker than this stage where they're growing close to the ground. They actually pull out quite easily when in flower. Just make sure you bag them and throw in the trash because they can quickly set seed.

    If you have a very large area, you can also wait until they flower and then take a string trimmer and shred the plants down as close to the ground as possible. They're biennials that will die after they flower, so the goal is to keep them from setting seed. Whether you pull or you use a trimmer, you'll need to do this every year for awhile because seeds from prior years will continue to sprout.