[MAIPC] re garlic mustard

[Diana Carter]

I have always understood that GM is a biennial. Could anyone discuss that?  If it is a true biennial, then wouldn’t the remaining plant just die?  As long as seed heads have been removed, won’t that eliminate the reproduction?

I don’t like the idea of leaving GM in the woods because of its allelopathic properties but I understand the need sometimes. 

Diana Carter

On Apr 16, 2021, at 9:43 PM, Pia van de Venne <pia.parkprotector at gmail.com> wrote:


Hello,
I am surprised that almost nobody has mentioned that cut off or broken garlic mustard grows back with roots that are 1-2 inches thick, long spreading roots that break off in the soil and when you miss the one side root which is 5 inch long it will grow again. 
 Big and small plants will grow back into huge and big plants. When they have been pulled and broken twice the plant gets so large that you need a shovel to get it out..This year the GM is incredible here in Western PA.
In our area we cannot leave the plants on the trail or on a log in a pile. Some of them will grow again. If you spread them out on a log or rock before they get seeds, they can dry up. and either bagged after that or just left in the woods on that log or rock.

Leaving bags with the entire pulled plants on the trail to pick up later is possible:: they will rot in the bag, or they dry up and the bag becomes lighter.

I also ask regular hikers to carry a couple of bags down the trail to the dumpster.
We also put barrels on several trails for hikers to put their GM in. A couple of volunteer collects those every week. 
Pia van de Venne

_______________________________________________
MAIPC mailing list
MAIPC at lists.maipc.org
http://lists.maipc.org/listinfo.cgi/maipc-maipc.org