Source
r/lawncare•
CBruce

Mature Polkweed

We moved into our new home last month, and now that most of the major interior renovations are done we're looking at taming the yard. This batch of what I think is massive Polkweed has been an eyesore for weeks, and I'm finally digging in and seeing what kind of landscaping was intended back here.

Look at the size of these things:

That's a 6' privacy fence, so these guys (the plants, not the boys) have grown to about 7'-8' tall. The base of the stalks are 1-1/5 inches thick. The pics just don't do it justice. These things are massive and there were 7 or 8 thick clusters of them growing all along the back fenceline for about 30 feet. All buried amongst bittersweet nightshade and a huge patch of thorny plants that we think might have been raspberry bushes.

Just wanted to share these pics with you guys as a cautionary tale. I don't know how long this yard has been allowed to grow wild, but we've already put weeks of work into just weed, bug, & pest control to try and reclaim it.

Posted Jul 9, 2018, 2:57 PM UTC · edited

810
bronze_mallard•

The gents look super excited to dig in :D I have a pretty good pile o compost going, some couple hundred yards, Pokeweed heaven. Their tuber root can get pretty massive like. Cantaloupe/blue ribbon county fair sweet potato size. Good luck, once trimmed, keep up on the new shoots.

3
PabloSantiago•

I know you didn't ask for chemical options, but someone else may stumble across this in the future... I've tried glyphosphate, tenacity, 2,4d amine and triclopyr and it seems a combo of 2,4d and triclopyr works fastest and seems most permanent. Pulling them is really tough because of the previously mentioned root systems. Good luck! Make sure you don't spray them when it's too hot or your just burn the foliage without systemically destroying them to the root.

2
CBruceOP•

Yeah, I've blanketed other parts of the yard to deal with the much smaller ones. We've also had a lot of rain as of late in central Illinois, so I had a lot of luck uprooting them by hand hand.

But these had become so substantial that we couldn't even sort out what was intended to be growing back here along this fence. I just felled them like timber and intend to dig up the root systems when I have a clear area to work in.

3
twitch1982•

Do Pokemon hide in pokeweed?

2
redyrytnow•

Hope you know that this plant is extremely toxic. https://www.google.com/search?q=pokeweed+poison&rlz=1C1GIGM_enUS523US523&oq=Pokeweed&aqs=chrome.2.0l6.5315j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

1
twitch1982•

Only if you eat it. Don't eat random bushes.

5
CBruceOP•

Yup. Though apparently not the leaves of the juevenille plants:
https://delishably.com/vegetable-dishes/Poke-Sallet-Poke-Salad-Recipe-How-to-Handle-Harvest-and-Prepare-the-Poisonous-Pokeweed

I think I'll just stick with store-bought veggies....

1
nycbrew•

I have a healthy plot of pokeweed in my yard (behind my 6' privacy fence so I don't see it from my part of the yard until it is really out of hand). I use glyphosphate to knock it back early in the season. I bought some 2,4d but haven't tried it yet. Once they get out of hand (like you have there) I hit the stalks with a machete, it makes quick work of them. Just watch out, the berries get everywhere, and make new plants.

1
CBruceOP•

Sooooo many berries

1
loodog•

Absolute unit

1