22
votes
How true is the idea that weeding your vegetable garden is necessary?
The stealing nutrients narrative is, in the general case, true.
There are certain plant combinations which work well together, a classic example being "the 3 sisters" of corn, beans, and, ...
- 3,579
16
votes
Accepted
What is this monster thistle-like weed?
After a bit of research, I believe my suspicion was correct. It seems to me that you have Tall Blue Lettuce (Lactuca biennis).
Wikipedia article:
Lactuca biennis is a North American species of ...
- 3,046
16
votes
Accepted
Please identify this green jello organism
Not doing well with searches involving your location, but it looks very like "Nostoc Commune" which is a cyanobacterium.
Image from the linked Ohio State University web page. Limiting ...
- 23.2k
14
votes
Why are weeds growing with my new seeds?
Weed seeds in the soil won't be affected by a contact or systemic (such as glyphosate) weedkiller that acts on green leaves. Regular mowing will get rid of some of the taller weeds. Otherwise, wait ...
- 3,822
14
votes
How do I stop my neighbor's invasive weed (now a very large tree) from continuously invading my property?
In order to determine how best to control the tree, we need to identify it, if possible. I think I've identified your problem as a Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). It's native to China and ...
- 18.6k
13
votes
Accepted
What is this plant in my lawn?
It's creeping buttercup, Ranunculus repens.
It's highly invasive and quite difficult to eradicate, especially in a lawn. I don't know what country you're in, but you need a lawn weedkiller treatment ...
- 132k
13
votes
What is this plant in my lawn?
Bamboo is correct...Ranunculus. I have to add that there is a reason your buttercup is very happy. Too much water. I would start training my lawn by watering deeply and not watering again until the ...
- 40.2k
11
votes
How true is the idea that weeding your vegetable garden is necessary?
It really depends on what you're growing, how you're growing it, what you expect from your garden, how big the weeds are, how close they are to your plant, how many weeds there are, how fertile your ...
- 18k
10
votes
Is this part of my bougainvillea or a weed?
It looks like a mint or a very closely related labitae. Even the flower spike looks like mint. Is the stem squarish?
In any case it is certainly not part of your bougainvillea.
- 6,356
10
votes
Accepted
What kind of grass is this, and how can I keep it out of my garden
With those long underground rhizomes (the thick white runners you see) and upright growth this appears to be quackgrass (Elymus repens).
Unfortunately, controlling it isn't much easier with that bit ...
- 5,849
10
votes
Accepted
What do I do once my weeds turn brown?
You have to wait 3 weeks or whatever is on the label to overseed. Exactly what did you use for herbicide? Obviously broadleaf weed killer. The only reason you even have that problem is because your ...
- 40.2k
10
votes
Accepted
Identification - Plant growing next to my bonsai?
The small sprouts, and the grass like cereal plant (which I can't identify 100%, but which does resemble Carex, not something you particularly want), are weeds because they're growing somewhere you ...
- 132k
10
votes
Please identify this green jello organism
Wow. Thanks to the links provided by @Ecnerwal, I found that Nostoc Commune and related goops are truly fascinating organisms. A few random facts that deserve to be recorded here in an answer:
It’s a ...
- 385
10
votes
Accepted
How to get rid of bluebells without digging, glyphosate, or covering them with plastic bags
I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your blue flowers are Scilla sibirica. These are naturalized in many parts of the northern midwestern and eastern US States and, I believe, in southern ...
- 18.6k
9
votes
Accepted
What is this bee(?)-attracting wildflower?
This is a poppy - a Papaver. Note the four petals and in the center of the flowers the characteristic thick ovaries with the crown-shaped top. Later, the dried capsule will open at the crown and ...
- 16.3k
9
votes
Accepted
What is the grassy-looking plant at the base of my blueberry bush?
That's weeds, it is some kind of grass. Seedlings of blueberries look more like this (first picture).
You can pull the weeds out of there, they compete with nutrients available in the soil.
- 13.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Is this part of my bougainvillea or a weed?
After some further research, and with the help of @Escoce's and @Bamboo's answers, I believe this is a Sweet Almond Bush.
Family: Verbenaceae
Genus: Aloysia
Species: Virgata
©Dave's Garden / http:/...
- 252
8
votes
How can I tell if this is a weed?
Based on the shape of the leaves, It looks like something in the Brassicaceae Family, more specifically probably the Genus Brassica. Although that is far from certain without knowing your location and ...
- 1,760
8
votes
Accepted
Need help identifying this plant
This is Equisetum arvense, the field horsetail or common horsetail. It is a herbaceous perennial plant, native throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. ~Wikipedia
...
- 3,046
8
votes
Weed Identification
I planted some Oxalis deppei in the garden at my university last year and it looked just like your plant. It had little dark pink flowers and spread like crazy, from 15 bulbs planted in spring I got ...
- 5,406
8
votes
What weed covering should I use under my mulch?
You cannot use plastic - it will waterlog after rain. Weed fabric allows water and air through, whereas plastic does not. You can buy heavier duty weed fabric, so you might consider that, but most ...
- 132k
8
votes
Accepted
What plant is this? A weed?
It's an ornamental, Acanthus, or Acanthus mollis. Its fancy shaped leaves look so familiar because this plant is the prototype for the stylized "foliage" that you see in classical artwork & ...
- 3,639
8
votes
Accepted
Garden weed or something else
Looks like Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis. Bindweed has large flowers, grows as a vine, and smaller leaves than Lily of the Valley.
- 858
8
votes
Why are weeds growing with my new seeds?
I used to live near a retired professional gardener who had worked in English "stately home" gardens where lawns (acres of them) were a key feature.
One of his pieces of advice was "...
- 11.4k
8
votes
Can mowing weeds cause them to spread?
Highly unlikely that your mulching mower is causing cuttings to grow. The cut weed parts won't have good soil contact and will dry out and die. Weeds that have gone to seed stand a better chance of ...
- 23.2k
7
votes
What are these weeds & how can I prevent them?
The first photo is pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, a perennial plant native to North America. I would not recommend you eat this plant unless you know exactly how to prepare it to remove it's toxins. ...
- 1,145
7
votes
How can I tell if this is a weed?
You can tell it's a weed if you didn't plant it and if you don't want it (whether it's a nice plant or not).
It looks a lot like arugula to me, but it looks rougher. It's possibly edible, and is very ...
- 18k
7
votes
Accepted
How to replace lawn with rock garden
Simply putting down rock will not stop vegetation growth.
To attempt to eliminate all vegitation growth you need to:
Remove the sod and top soil
Spray the area with pre-emergent vegitation stopper ...
- 186
7
votes
What do I do once my weeds turn brown?
You can rake them out or leave them there. I would not pull them out because doing so will disturb the soil underneath and get more unwanted seeds to sprout into more weeds. In terms of reapplying ...
- 7,894
7
votes
Accepted
What is this weed and how do I kill it without killing the grass?
It does look like wild violets, and they are difficult to eradicate, but triclopyr, or any other lawn weedkiller that purports to kill these, is much more effective used in autumn, see here https://...
- 132k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible