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Wisconsin DNR warns invasive plants are getting an early start

By ASSOCIATED PRESS Friday, March 30, 2012 - 8:08 a.m.

MADISON—The state Department of Natural Resources says the recent warm weather has given invasive plants an early start.
DNR plant specialists say people should especially keep an eye out for garlic mustard, a plant that smells like garlic and has four small white petals. The plant can completely take over entire forest floors, displacing trilliums and other wildflowers.
The DNR says landowners and land managers accustomed to pulling up garlic mustard in April and May may have to start earlier. The plant’s seed pods likely will mature by mid-May.

The agency says pulled plants need to buried, burned or sent to a landfill. If they’re left out in the woods or piled in a driveway they’ll continue to grow and produce seeds.

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(5)

fool_on_the_hill
Mar 30, 2012 at 12:06 p.m.
Suggest removal

Garlic mustard is very green and flourishing very nicely right now. If in doubt, twist a leaf between your fingers and sniff for the distinct aroma of garlic. If the ground is soft AND if you pull very s-l-o-w-l-y, plants will usually come out intact. It's a learned skill. Garlic mustard is a biennial, which means plants don't present flowers and seeds until their second growth year, then that particular plant dies. So, you can just snip off and collect the seed-bearing top of each plant to reduce the volume of waste you'll need to destroy. If you are already too overwhelmed by garlic mustard, just accept defeat and that particular area of growth will self-extinguish after a few years.

thekai
Mar 30, 2012 at 10:31 a.m.
Suggest removal

Thanks Tim, your link got me one step closer to what I think this article is missing. How about some pictures?

http://www.ipaw.org/definition.aspx

Shopierehuh
Mar 30, 2012 at 9:25 a.m.
Suggest removal

Don't feed the troll.

tthompson
Mar 30, 2012 at 9:24 a.m.
Suggest removal

http://www.ipaw.org/

Sigma40
Mar 30, 2012 at 8:21 a.m.
Suggest removal

So why dont we rename the DNR to the DMR, Department of Manipulated Resources? They seem to want to control everything, animal population, plants, ..etc. There is nothing "natural" about them.

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