By Kym Pokorny for The Oregonian, April 11th, 2020
They float in the wind, get shaken off pets and wildlife, travel the world stuck to luggage or clothes and hitch rides by plane, ship, train, truck and car. Invasive weeds enter backyards in multiple ways and once there can cause havoc.
“With some of these weeds, you have to fight them forever,” said Ed Peachey, a weed specialist for Oregon State University Extension Service. “Many times, it’s more a process of controlling them rather than eradicating them.”
The first line of defense, Peachey said, is to get familiar with your weeds. Whether they are annual or perennial plants can determine the approach to curbing them. Annuals spread by seed and die when the weather gets cold, but the seed remain viable in the soil for years. Some examples are sharp point fluvellin, velvetleaf, puncturevine, horseweed, western bittercress and oxalis.
Perennial weeds thrive year after year with root systems that may be tough to eradicate. They can spread by seed, but some of the more difficult perennials also spread with creeping root systems. These super aggressive weeds include blackberry, Scotch broom, bindweed (also known as invasive morning glory), horsetail, English ivy, poison oak and old man’s beard (also known as traveler’s joy; an invasive species of clematis).
Read more about how to fight invasive weeds HERE.
