Is this ragweed? - Ask Extension
Is this ragweed? There are several large, some huge - plants of this type coming up in my mom's garden. There's never been anything like it there ...
Knowledgebase
Is this ragweed? #634710
Asked May 12, 2020, 7:16 PM EDT
Is this ragweed? There are several large, some huge - plants of this type coming up in my mom's garden. There's never been anything like it there before. Looking online the closest picture I could find was ragweed.
Thank you for your help.
Thank you for your help.
Larimer County Colorado
Expert Response
Hello,
Identifying plants can be difficult via photos, and without complete certainty, my best guess is this is poison hemlock. The leaves look like it and it appears to have red spots along the petioles (stems) of the leaves. I couldn't zoom in enough, but it does look spotty.
If the garden is near open space or even a ditch, it could be this weed. But here's the thing: if it is poison hemlock, it's extremely poisonous, so it's one you'd want to remove.
There's another (harmless) plant that looks similar, Queen Anne's lace. I would take some time and really carefully examine the plant and compare them to photos online.
If you remove it, be sure to wear gloves (and launder them and all of your clothing after) and throw it in the trash.
You could wait for a bloom, which would provide you with more a positive ID.
Identifying plants can be difficult via photos, and without complete certainty, my best guess is this is poison hemlock. The leaves look like it and it appears to have red spots along the petioles (stems) of the leaves. I couldn't zoom in enough, but it does look spotty.
If the garden is near open space or even a ditch, it could be this weed. But here's the thing: if it is poison hemlock, it's extremely poisonous, so it's one you'd want to remove.
There's another (harmless) plant that looks similar, Queen Anne's lace. I would take some time and really carefully examine the plant and compare them to photos online.
If you remove it, be sure to wear gloves (and launder them and all of your clothing after) and throw it in the trash.
You could wait for a bloom, which would provide you with more a positive ID.
Hi Alison,
Thank you for your reply. I was stunned about this. I looked again, and read about both plants - this is indeed poison hemlock. No hairs on the stem - Queen Anne's lace, but definite red spots and streaks on the stems. One of these plants is already 3 feet high!
She lives in the old part of town in Longmont. It seems really strange that it just appeared (she's lived in that house most of her 83 years.) Several of the plants are right along the fence, so perhaps the seeds were dropped by birds?
I am so glad I didn't use my usually technique of just ripping the plants out of the ground with my bare hands! I passed on the info to a couple of her close neighbors in case they have it in their yard as well.
Again, thank you for your reply, and for offering this service.
Thank you for your reply. I was stunned about this. I looked again, and read about both plants - this is indeed poison hemlock. No hairs on the stem - Queen Anne's lace, but definite red spots and streaks on the stems. One of these plants is already 3 feet high!
She lives in the old part of town in Longmont. It seems really strange that it just appeared (she's lived in that house most of her 83 years.) Several of the plants are right along the fence, so perhaps the seeds were dropped by birds?
I am so glad I didn't use my usually technique of just ripping the plants out of the ground with my bare hands! I passed on the info to a couple of her close neighbors in case they have it in their yard as well.
Again, thank you for your reply, and for offering this service.
This plant grows so quickly! It's pretty amazing it put on all that growth just this spring. Interesting about your mom's location. I don't know if birds move the seed? Regardless, I'm glad you were able to make an ID. Take care!
