Garden Alert: Bermuda Buttercup

Well, spring has sprung, and as I walk around my little corner of the San Tomas Neighborhood, I see a lot of Bermuda Buttercup. These are cute little things with nice green leaves and lovely, bright yellow flowers. But gardeners and homeowners beware: they are a very invasive species of weed. And if you start to see them in your yard, no matter how cute they are, I recommend you get out there and start pulling them up, root and all.

You see, I learned this spring that Bermuda Buttercup is propagated by bulbs. No sissy seeds for these guys - they snake out a nice, long root system, and as the plant matures, the root develops little bulbs which become next season's harvest. In other words, they're frustratingly difficult to get rid of, and they can take over your yard and garden in no time flat.

And if you happen to be sitting there and thinking, "Well, heck, they're real pretty-like. I'll just let 'em fill up the bare patches in my garden," you are probably heading for a major confrontation with the gardener next-door. These babies spread like wildfire - right under fences and across property lines. (I know, because I'm currently fighting off my neighbor's buttercups.)

If you're feeling lazy and into using pesticides (which I certainly would never advocate), you'll be up the creek with this one. According to my online research, you can not kill them by squirting Round-Up on them, because that only kills the greenery and does nothing for that happy little root system spreading bulbs underground. The most frequently recommended technique is to get out there and dig the things up, and make sure to get as much of the root as possible, as well as the bulb from which it stems.

Let's not let this weed choke our local gardens. Let's work together to try and reduce its hold on the landscape. For more information on Bermuda Buttercup, please click here:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7444.html

Thanks, Mary. How'd you know my backyard was full of these? I mean, seriously, they were all over the back and side yards. You can get rid of them easily by using a rake to uproot them. We just weeded this weekend. (Try saying that five times fast.) Our front lawn also had tons of a different type of weed (I don't know what it's called so I'll just call it the prickly common weed since I see them a lot). We used a flathead screwdriver to pull them out by the roots. I think we pulled out at least 100 of them, and a few remain. I pulled so many out that I am still seeing weeds when I close my eyes.

I'm not big on pesticides but I'm not big on weeds either. Does anyone have an earth-friendly solution (short of pulling them out)? We also get tons of ants frequently -- literally thousands at a time. I've been using Raid until I find a better solution.

Actually I believe you're referring to a Herbicide. Roundup will kill the roots, not just the top folage. Another possible solution is Turflon Esther, it works very well on dandilions and other broadleaf weeds, like Burmuda Grass in lawns , without killiing the lawn (in all cases, read the instructions!!).

Just a note folks, we're coming into Yellow Jacket season, get those traps out now, unless you like having uninvited guests at your BBQ.

Ken

Ah yes, "herbicide"! Thanks for the correction, Ken!! I'm getting my cides mixed up!

Ken, I've been reading that Roundup will work on most weeds, but it doesn't really kill off the Bermuda Buttercup, since it doesn't hit all the way down to the bulbs, which is where the trouble starts. Have you had better luck with it in your garden, or do you find it just kills them until the following season, when they come right back? (I'm so allergic to strong chemicals these days that I prefer to just dig stuff up, but it'd be interesting to know.)

Pam, I have those little prickly guys, too. I think the trick it to catch them before they go to seed. If you ever need to borrow my spade, let me know. I don't know as if there's an earth-friendly way to kill plants/weeds. But maybe someone here will know of one...

Actually I don't have any that I know of, or if I did it's gone. Turflon Ester has no strong odor and was recently used in Jack Fischer Park.

I haven't wandered over there to see the results, it's such a long walk.

You can view a .pdf of it's lable here. http://www.montereylawngarden.com/pdf/turflon_ester_03.pdf


Ken

This post has been edited by cfam on Mar 13 2007, 12:20 PM

QUOTE (ArsNova @ Mar 13 2007, 08:49 AM)

Pam, I have those little prickly guys, too. I think the trick it to catch them before they go to seed. If you ever need to borrow my spade, let me know. I don't know as if there's an earth-friendly way to kill plants/weeds. But maybe someone here will know of one...

I have a little hand shovel too. But it seems a screwdriver is pretty effective. My friend said she has tried using a small shovel and bent it. So far the screwdriver has been pretty trusty. And I have Round-up (or an equivilent) but I was hoping to avoid chemicals.