6

I have a weed growing in parts of my yard that grows really fast and tends to take over unmown patches if I'm not attentive. My house in central North Carolina came with a wildflower garden that this stuff has come to dominate. In the winter it turns brown and dies back. It doesn't flower, and the leaves are on the soft, flexible side and not prickly at all. Very uniform green color.

The picture below is actually a still from a short video I took. At the time I thought that would give a better sense of depth. I took this in October and have only gotten around to asking the question now (sorry about that), so I can't take a better picture right now since it's all withered and brown.

Update: I have added a clearer picture. I noticed that my video starts with a clearer shot, so I captured that and added it. It's smaller since I didn't want to include the "play" button in the middle.

Picture of grassy weed Picture of grassy weed

Mark Foskey
  • 251
  • 1
  • 6
  • Hi! Thanks for joining us! Could you please post a close-up of a leaf, both sides would be great. Your details are great, but a few more might help. Is the plant smooth, or are there any prickly things on the vine part, or the leaves? Also, does it ever flower? If so, do you have a picture of a bloom? If not, a good description of what it the flowers look like, what time of the year it blooms, and for how long, would be great. This picture is a bit blurry. Don't worry, many of mine are too, but a clearer one might help with the identification. Thanks! – Sue Saddest Farewell TGO GL Dec 18 '16 at 17:43
  • @Sue Do you see how much more sane it would be to ask for this at the time they ask a question? And allow more than one picture. How crazy is that rule? Especially on this site? Huggs. – stormy Dec 18 '16 at 23:50

2 Answers2

6

I posted this on Facebook also and a local friend identified it as Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum). From pictures on the web it looks like the right ID, but I would be interested to hear if anyone thinks something else is more likely.

Mark Foskey
  • 251
  • 1
  • 6
  • Mark I do believe you are right...excellent ID. With such a blurry picture it is impossible to know for sure but I think you and your friend (nice to have reliable resources) are correct! – stormy Dec 19 '16 at 01:38
  • I found his little video that was much clearer and couldn't see the splotch for Lady's thumb at all. I really think you've got this ID! – stormy Dec 19 '16 at 01:41
  • 1
    Recognized it at first glance. You're right. This is an invasive species I've been fighting for a long time – J. Musser Dec 19 '16 at 01:53
-1

Try as I might I am unable to see much detail. A first guess would be Lady's thumb...Lady's thumb or persicaria Can you see a dark splotch in the middle of the leaf? Please send a clearer picture, a close up, what are the flowers like or can you find remnants of flowers/seed? If this is Persicaria don't worry. You'll never be able to eliminate this plant but easy to control using environmental/manual tricks such as starving this plant. Just weed wack it down BEFORE it goes to seed. Every time you feel like firing up your weed wacker wack any new growth down. You should also be dumping decomposed organic mulch on your beds/soil regularly. 2" will prohibit any germination of any weed seeds. Have to be aware about the thickness of mulch over some plant roots. If you don't have a weed wacker or line trimmer you should get one. Gas powered please, not electric. And definitely should have a gas powered blower! These two tools should be in everyone's garage who has a landscape. Life out of doors is so vastly more meaningful and fun.

By the way, I don't use bark mulch, ever. I use an incredible decomposed mulch made from human poo, sawdust and controlled composting. I've found this isn't available or common. If bark mulch is all there is for you, chose the finest ground bark mulch.

stormy
  • 40,098
  • 3
  • 31
  • 75