The invasive weeds that can camouflage as flowers in your garden. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Common Purslane
Portulaca_oleracea
Also known as duckweed, little hogweed, or pursley
ZooFari, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Common Purslane
Portulaca_oleracea
Close up of flower by Bob Peterson
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox/NC State University/CC BY 2.0
A lot of weeds are commonly mistaken for annuals and perennials—but they can stunt the rest of your seedlings if left unchecked. Weeds can be downright dangerous in a home garden, and the most devastating varieties know how to camouflage themselves among other plants and flowers that you’ve taken the time to grow yourself.
Common purslane – or moss rose – is known to outgrow spaces quickly. To prevent it from competing with other crops in your garden, experts suggest keeping it in a segregated planter where it can be easily contained.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Amaranth is another that can quickly become unmanageable. Just like the tumbleweeds that you find in the desert, weedy amaranth will spread its seeds by breaking off at the stem and tumbling throughout your garden.
Prickly lettuce is often mistaken for wild poppies. It can actually be quite harmful to pets and animals because it contains a natural sedative that actually causes animals to be frantic if ingested.
Other invasive weeds to watch for: Trumpet vines, Field Bindweed, Tree of Heaven, and Celandine.
Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.