Information on garlic mustard is available from The Nature Conservancy. Visit www.nature.org/vermont and click on the link in the right hand column for the Wise on Weeds (WOW!) program. Below is a recent article on garlic mustard that was published in a few local papers in Vermont. If anyone is in Montpelier and wants to see garlic mustard there is a patch behind Angelo's Pizzeria next to the railway tracks, and on Cliff Street as you make the last right turn to head into the park look to your left and the steep bank in front of the white house. --Emily Boedecker; The Nature Conservancy

Garlic Mustard Plant First to Profit, Last to Leave

While winter lingered in Vermont and we experienced the snowiest April on record native plants wisely kept their heads down. However one particular invasive herb, introduced by settlers in the mid-1800's, is playing by a different set of rules. Garlic mustard, identified by The Nature Conservancy's Wise-On-Weeds (WOW!) program as one of the top ten invaders of our woodlands, stays green all winter and can even begin photosynthesizing under a light snow pack. It releases a natural herbicide into the soil, stifling growth of other plants, and in its second year each garlic mustard plant produces hundreds of tiny seeds which are easily spread by wind, animals and humans.

At first glance a carpet of white garlic mustard flowers is a welcome sign of spring, yet on further investigation we discover that native wildflowers like hepatica, trillium and jack-in-the-pulpit are no longer found in the same woodland groves. Native butterflies including the mustard white and the rare West Virginia white seek out mustard plants on which to lay their eggs. Sadly when a butterfly mistakenly selects an invasive garlic mustard plant rather than native mustard species like toothwort, the young caterpillar will find the leaves inedible and never reach maturity.

Garlic mustard has a two year life cycle, and is easy to identify in its second year when the distinctive tall stalks of flowers and seed pods form. One of the earliest bloomers, it stands between 1ft and 4ft tall and is topped with many small white flowers about ¼ inch across. The four petals form the shape of a cross. First year plants form a rosette of leaves just a few inches tall and are more easily missed.

Precautions are in order to remove this tough plant from your garden or the woods. First pull it up before it goes to seed, taking care to remove the distinctive S-curve in the tap root. In dry conditions a dandelion digger can be a useful tool to get the full root. Leave too much root in the ground and it will sprout a new plant, flower and set seed all before summer is over. Then place the plants in a black plastic bag and leave it outside for a month. This will kill off those persistent seeds which would continue to form and be viable if the plant is just tossed on the compost pile, and by bagging the plant the natural herbicide will not leach into the soil while it decomposes.

Seeds are easily transported in mud on your boots, on clothing and in fur, so take a brush to your boots and your dog's fur to avoid transporting seeds to new areas

Keep visiting the site in subsequent years, at first to remove new plants sprouting from leftover seeds in the soil and afterwards to see the native herbs, ferns and flowers gradually return. If you are removing the plant from a garden setting wild blue phlox (upright form) or Vermont's own native foam flower are wonderful alternatives

The Wise-On-Weeds program is reaching out to residents in the Champlain valley, helping gardeners and landowners recognize, remove and replace invasive plants. Taking action in your own backyard improves habitat for native plants, trees, insects and birds, and helps protect Vermont's natural areas. For more information on WOW! gardening contact Sara Kuebbing at 802-229-4425 x120 or skuebbing@tnc.org. This is the first in a series of articles on the top ten invaders in Vermont .

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