Josh, I noticed the same thing ,I pulled a lot of GM last year and this year I have a lot of Trout Lilly, none with flowers , so this must be only the first year or so. I need to know what that taller green plant is in front of the fern in your last picture as I have two of those plants starting now.Also I noticed that I have a lot of seedlings as I have mentioned in a posting just a couple in front of yours. Maples , Prenanthes altissima and lots of solomons plumes etc. So it must be a good reproductive year for things.....Tom

Tom-

The taller green plant is a 2nd year GM plant just coming up. It's settled in right on top of a mature trout lilly that's blooming. The GM is just starting to send up its flower stalk.

I'm still trying to identify a lot of the plants in the woods around our house. I've never seen Prenanthes, but the pictures I've found of Solomons Plumes look familiar. I'll keep an eye out for them.

It does seem to be a good year so far. The heavy rains we've had this spring have brought the wetlands to life- I've counted more trillium than in any year previous. We're slowly working on getting rid of the invasives like GM, knotweed, bittersweet, barberry, etc. and enjoying the natives that are popping up in their place.

-Josh-

You must have done a good job with last year's weeding. The only good thing I can say about GM is that it's biennial; it gives a person a whole year to get it out before it goes to seed. I'm trying to get rid of it on property owned by a homeowner's association behind my backyard. (I'm not a member.) As I was pulling GM out, I saw 1 Erythronium albidum seedling. I hope my efforts will pay off next year as abundantly as yours have. (Cruel irony: there are no trout lilies in my yard.)

Oh, I am still pulling. But its hard to make much progress when the neighbors do nothing and refuse when I ask if I can do some weeding on their side of the line...

Josh , I looked up some stuff on garlic mustard,In the first year of its life cycle, it develops a ground-hugging rosette of toothed, kidney-shaped leaves that persist through the winter in most regions. In its second year, the plant sends up one or two flower stalks, this time with toothed, triangular leaves. Growing from one to four feet high, these stalks produce numerous white blossoms in May that eventually develop into elongated seedpods.I have the kidney-shaped leaves with flower stalks forming but not the toothed ,triangular leaves as printed in internet message.Most of the last two years I spent pulling GM which must have been all adult plants. Looks like I got most.Now I'll have to go around and pull those plants that look like the one in your picture...I see the neighbors still have plenty yet,but it looks like I have a leg up on them in my woodlands..thanks Tom

Hi Josh, What good news that your intervention was successful---That will encourage the rest of us to get out there and pull! Molly

Good Job, I love trout lillys. We have been pulling GMW like crazy. We are also seeing a difference. I wish the neighbors would realize how serious the problem is and take action.
We also have Stilt grass. UGH another pain.

Josh, are any new little GM seedlings turning up in that area or ... are the thick layer of leaves enough of a deterrent? In my weeded area there is a lovely new crop of babies :o(

It's tough for me to tell if there are any GM seedlings showing up yet.. I usually start to see them later in the year. At the moment we have a lot of golden ragwort coming up. I always get this mixed up with GM, until it sends up its flower stalk. Take a look at the pictures in the link below and you'll see why :) While the ragwort is still low, the GM is easy to pick out.

Golder Ragwort:
http://www.ct-botanical-society.org/galleries/packeraaure.html

-Josh-

In our woods the violets & small flower buttercup start out looking like gm until you actually find a patch and then you quickly see the difference. If in doubt crush a leaf and smell the garlicky aroma. I felt pretty confident in my eradication program last year, until it started emerging this spring. Have found that it follows the deer trails through our property.