Invasive plant management occurs throughout the year and depends on the growth habit and lifecycle of the species.



department of agriculture


Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page [ [link removed] ].

April 1, 2024

April Weed of the Month: Annual Treatment Cycle for Invasive Plant Species

Invasive plant management occurs throughout the year and depends on the growth habit and lifecycle of the species.

"*Maya Sarkar, Minnesota Department of Agriculture*"

Its been a warm winter in Minnesota and our plant life is celebrating spring early this year. While it's still fairly quiet in the plant world compared to our main summer growing season, it?s a great time to get started on controlling some invasive plant species.

Invasive plant management occurs throughout the year and depends on the growth, habit, and lifecycle of the species. Plant types include woody, herbaceous annual, herbaceous biennial, or herbaceous perennial plants.


* Spring is a great time to pull garlic mustard before it seeds. It?s also a good time to use prescribed fire to burn invasive plants before many native prairie plants emerge.
* Summer months are ideal for controlling plants that are accessible and actively growing but haven?t produced seed yet, such as spotted knapweed.
* Fall is a good time to spray herbaceous biennials and perennials because they will move herbicide along with carbohydrates into their roots as they store energy for spring emergence.
* In the winter, while herbaceous plants are dormant it can be advantageous to cut and treat woody vines, such as roundleaf bittersweet.

While accessibility is one planning factor for treatment, there are numerous other considerations, including:


* Knowing which treatment method will be most effective depending on the lifecycle stage of the plant.
* Spraying outside of the plant?s bloom window to avoid spraying pollinators. Another way to avoid pollinators is to spray early in the morning before pollinators are active.
* Having the correct materials, equipment, and sufficient time to complete a treatment thoroughly.

The following is a helpful general treatment guideline for the seasons when it comes to general characteristics of an invasive species, including growth, habit, and lifecycle.

Chart with four seasons with best weed management techniques in each [ [link removed] ]

Each season has unique weed management techniques that can be used to control noxious weeds.?

*Download photo [ [link removed] ]*

________________________________________________________________________



*Additional online resources:*


* Plant Growth Form - Penn State Extension [ [link removed] ]
* University of Wisconsin Extension [ [link removed] ]
* Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources [ [link removed] ]
* Winter Invasive Plant Control ? Penn State Extension [ [link removed] ]

________________________________________________________________________



*MEDIA:*?For more information on Weed of the Month, contact Brittany Raveill, MDA Communications,[email protected]?or 651-201-6131






Stay Connected with the?Minnesota Department of Agriculture: ? Facebook [ [link removed] ] Twitter [ [link removed] ] Youtube [ [link removed] ] Flickr [ [link removed] ] Flickr [ [link removed] ] Govdelivery [ [link removed] ] ?

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES:
Manage Subscriptions [ [link removed] ]??|??Unsubscribe All [ [link removed] ]??|??Help [ [link removed] ]



?

________________________________________________________________________

This email was sent to [email protected] using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: Minnesota Department of Agriculture ?625 Robert Street N ? Saint Paul, MN 55155 GovDelivery logo [ [link removed] ]


body .abe-column-block {min-height: 5px;} table.gd_combo_table img {margin-left:7px; margin-right:7px;} table.gd_combo_table div.govd_image_display img, table.gd_combo_table td.gd_combo_image_cell img {margin-left:0px; margin-right:0px;}