Second year growth of the invasive garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). First year growth has a rosette form. Pulls up easy at this 2nd. year stage, but the underground taproot will keep on producing more and more. Been digging up the taproots for years.

two things ... first.. pulling up.. such an aggressive plant.. rarely works ... and often causes it to multiply ... you might want to rethink your effort .. until you have an ID ... i would drip roundup.. on cut stumps and insure killing it ... i try to work hard.. only once ... [unless of course.. you are sure you are getting most all of the roots on a given plant] second ... other types of vines like to hide in large ramblers.. and i am thinking poison ivy in particular ... be careful when doing such.. be sure to be able to ID such ... a call to your COUNTY extension office.. might get you a fast ID ... if its as common as you think.. or even carry in a leaf ... they may also have ideas for eradication ... ken

"I like to believe that each person can decide for themselves whether or not a plant in a given situation is threatened to a point that it would be more beneficial to move it than to leave it where it stands, whether it is in a park or on a roadside or any public property. " A roadside is not punblic property. I think it would be of interest that in many cases when only a single individual of a plant species exists that plant is left as undisturbed as possible and is propegated instead of moved, because even then moving the plant is not more beneficial (indeed, probably worse) to leavin it. Those singular individual plants in question are not, however ignored. By looking at that example, NO plant is 'threatened to a point that it would be more beneficial to move it than to leave it where it stands' unless imminent destruction in the near future is likely due to human activites. Therefore in almost any surcumstances leaving the plants is definatly the better option, but some site care such as checking and removing all weeds in the vicinity of the plants is vastly better than moving them. Also, if you cant do that site maitence (for example, not on your land)your probably not supposed to be moving plants from there anyway. Unless you have premission of course, preferably permission to maintain the site. A roadside planting is most likely secure, and with the wildflowers and garlic mustard, perirodic weeding in the imidiate vicinity of the plant population may be all that is required for the long-term presistance of that population. It is interesting to note that in certain curcumstances (for example, native wild plants transplanted to a neatly kept garden) the population of transplanted plants are unlikely to survive in the long-term because they may not reproduce. While the individual transplanted plants may survive, the establishment and long-term presistance of a self-supporting population in in doubt, altough it can and does happen, it might just as easily not because of many subtle variables affecting the growing site means establishment of said transplanted plants might be in unlikely. Without long-term presistance of a self-supporting population, it, in my mind atleast, not a resce in the sence that these plants have been removed from a population that probably needs all the individuals it it can get, and presistance in the wild is far more important, ecologicly speaking, than presistance in cultivation. Note: the terms Establishment and self-supporting population does not just mean that the species sometimes reseeds itself, altough that is a important factor in the process. In the case of this garlic mustard weeding within the viicinity of the plants on a regular basis would probably ensure theri survival in the short term, altough their long-term survival may be in doubt because, lets face it, you wont be there forever to weed. WHat might work is if you suceed in reducing garlic mustards population density in the area.

Sounds like something that might compete with a biennual like GM,but probably would be ineffective in controlling a deeply rooted perennial like jap knotweed.A single knotweed plant can cover several acres,existing as one huge clonal group,with most of its biomass existing underground as an extensive root system,Simply seeding on top of it would have little effect.Preventing that root system access to photosynthetic energy for an entire year has been my control stratagy,By placing black plastic tarps over the entire infected area for no less than 12 months and herbaciding anything that peek out from the edges Ive achieved 100% kill rate.Collecting the GM plants while they're fully loaded with their seeds before they die and drop them,to break the biennual chain,has been my method of controlling that pest.I've noticed though,that GM is usually the first seedlings to emmerge followed by jewelweed,and jewelweed outgrows GM,so I make sure that jewelweed is ubiquitious over my property,especially in areas where weeds are a problem