What Does Garlic Mustard Look Like
If you have garlic mustard in your yard, not only knowing what it looks like but also being familiar with the plant’s life cycle is important for effective garlic mustard control. Garlic mustard begins its growth cycle in very early spring. In the first year, low-growing green or purple rosettes appear. The leaves are shaped like a kidney and have scalloped edges. In the spring, it’s relatively easy to identify garlic mustard by the strong pungent garlic or onion smell of the new leaves, but the odor dissipates as the season progresses. In the early to mid spring of the second year, the plant develops a (usually unbranched) flower stalk from 12 to 48 inches tall, topped with a cluster of white flowers with four small white petals that are arranged symmetrically. By June, the flowers have died and the plant goes to seed.
How to Get Rid of Garlic Mustard
If garlic mustard pops up in your yard, you need to make sure that it does not turn into a satellite infestation. As soon as you spot the weeds, remove the plants from the ground, making sure to take the entire root system with them. If the soil is loose and wet, you might be able to hand-pull them but getting the entire taproot out usually requires a garden knife or similar weeding tool. It’s also important to remove second-year, mature garlic mustard with its entire roots before it starts to flower between April and June. If you miss that point in time, you will get another chance during the short time window when the garlic mustard is done flowering and before it sets seed within a few days. If you are dealing with a large, established infestation of garlic mustard, it will take several years to control it. By removing any emerging seedlings and mature plants before they spread more seeds, you can gradually exhaust the seed bank reserves.
How to Prevent Garlic Mustard from Spreading
Do not compost the pulled plants—the seeds can remain viable even in the hot temperatures of your compost bin or pile and regenerate once that compost has been applied to your garden or landscape. It’s also a good idea not to leave the pulled plants lying around, as they may continue to develop and set seed. Always dispose of pulled plants in plastic bags. You can also burn them, but you need to do it promptly before they dry because otherwise the seed pods can burst open and disperse the seed. First-year seedlings can also be buried deeply in a location that will remain undisturbed. While large swaths of garlic mustard are most frequently found in woodlands, the plant can grow virtually anywhere, in any conditions. Areas of disturbed soil are prime territory for garlic mustard. If you dig up an area of your yard and you’ve had issues with garlic mustard in the past, don’t leave it unplanted—garlic mustard will move in quickly.