Re: Wild Garlic in Louisianas

Wild garlic is a very troublesome weed.  I doubt if there are any
herbicides selective enough to kill it and not also damage or kill the
irises.  I've managed to control it just by repeated pulling.  If you keep
the tops suppressed, eventually the bulbs use up all their reserves and
die.  If you pull it in the earliest spring with a slow, firm pressure, you
can often get the bulb.

Seeds may not be the problem.  Wild garlic rarely gets the chance to bloom
and usually what appears on top of the bloom stalks are clusters of tiny
bulbs, rather than flowers.  These bulbs could be spread by animals, on
people's shoes, etc.  If you let the bulbs form in your garden, you will be
inundated by plants the next year.

You might just have to keep working away at it--forever.  Reminds me of a
quote from my dad:
"Eternal vigilance is the price of vegetables."  Or in this case, iris.

Best wishes, Bill
___________________
William A. Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943 USA
phone (804) 223-6172
FAX (804) 223-6374
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