Although Carolina Geranium is normally a biannual broadleaf weed, it can potentially be an annual broadleaf weed in the winter or summer. Other names for this incredibly adaptable plant are Wild Geranium, Carolina Crane’s-bill, Crane’s-bill, and Geranium carolinianum, which is also its scientific name.
Dissected
The distinctive feature of a Carolina Geranium is its vertically growing, elongated stems with base-branching branches. Its stems range in hue from greenish-pink to crimson and are heavily haired. The leaves are often divided into five segments and hairy on both sides. In sunny, dry, or low-fertility areas, Carolina geranium leaves and stems may have a reddish tint. This broadleaf weed has a short taproot and a fibrous root structure. The Carolina Geranium blooms from May to July, producing tiny clusters of five-petalled pale pink flowers. To reproduce, seeds are used.
Life Cycle
This broadleaf plant thrives in dry, open environments and is frequently found in woodlands, prairies, limestone glades, vacant fields, pastures, lawns, various waste areas, and by the sides of roads. Much of the United States and Canada are home to the growth of the Carolina Geranium.
Control
Hand removal of Geranium carolinianum is only possible before seed production. Hand pulling can disperse the seeds to additional lawn areas after they have formed. Do not attempt to remove if seeds have not yet formed; instead, ask a professional about applying broadleaf weed killer.
How are Carolina geraniums removed?
Make sure you read and abide by all label instructions prior to applying any pesticide. If protective clothing is required during the mixing and application of herbicides, the label will make that clear.
There are a number of 3-way herbicides including 2,4-D, mecoprop (MCPP), and dicamba that homeowners can use to manage Carolina geranium after it has emerged. Additionally, carfentrazone or sulfentrazone may be present in these goods. Applications can be made at any step of the life cycle, but for the best control, they should be made to stop seed growth at the seedling or immature stage.
Carolina geranium in tall fescue, bermudagrass, and zoysiagrass lawns can be spot treated using these treatments. Reduced herbicide rates may be necessary for lawns with centipedegrass or St. Augustinegrass; this information will be provided on the product label. When these chemicals are used during the turfgrass spring green-up, which is the period between dormancy and active growth in the spring, or when the weather is unusually hot and dry throughout the summer, centipedegrass and St. Augustinegrass may suffer damage. Table 1 below lists the products.
Centipedegrass and St. Augustinegrass can be controlled both pre- and post-emergently with atrazine-containing herbicides. Rain or irrigation within 2 or 3 days of treatment may reduce the effectiveness against weeds already present. However, as atrazine compounds are absorbed by seedling roots, rainfall or watering is required within 7–10 days of treatment to move the herbicide into the soil and inhibit weed seed germination. Atrazine shouldn’t be used in locations with a high water table or within two times the width of a desirable hardwood tree or shrub’s drip line. Table 1 below lists the products.
The Carolina geranium can be stopped from growing in lawns by using a variety of pre-emergent herbicides. Pre-emergent herbicides are applied in the early fall and again 8–10 weeks later to stop seed germination. Pre-emergent herbicides in granular form need to be soaked into the soil with a 1/2 inch of irrigation or rain. To stop the germination of Carolina geranium seeds, pick a pre-emergent herbicide containing isoxaben or dithiopyr. Look at Table 2 below.
It should be noted that broadleaf, post-emergent herbicides may cause damage to desirable landscape plants. Don’t let the spray touch attractive plants’ root zones to prevent damage. Applying during windy conditions is not recommended. To avoid off-target damage, keep the sprayer’s nozzle close to the ground, change the nozzle tip for a coarse spray, and cover it with a nozzle hood. Please refer to HGIC 2349, Herbicide Damage to Landscape Plants, for more details on how to prevent and spot herbicide damage to landscape plants.
Examples of post-emergent herbicides for the management of Carolina geranium in turfgrass are shown in Table 1.
Lowered label rate for zoysiagrass for use on:
What is the purpose of Carolina geranium?
The Carolina geranium, also called Carolina cranesbill and a near relative of the perennial cutleaf geranium (Geranium dissectum), is a winter annual or biennial in some regions. This hardy geranium, which only reaches a height of 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm), is easily recognized by its deeply lobed, palmate leaves, reddish-pink hairy stems, tiny pale pink to lavender five-petaled spring blooms, and long tapered seed pods that resemble a crane’s beak.
Although it is a natural wildflower in North America, the Carolina geranium is also regarded as an invasive weed. It is regarded as an endangered and threatened native species in New York and New Hampshire, and many counties have passed laws protecting it.
Carolina geranium typically grows in locations with partial shade and poor, dry, clayey, rocky soil. It rarely affects agricultural crops or ornamental plants because it often grows in unmanaged wastelands. It is considered to be an annoyance plant since it will grow in places that have been sprayed with herbicides, but this is because its many seeds have a thick covering that is impervious by many of them.
The seeds of the Carolina geranium are a vital source of food for many birds and small mammals, and the early spring blooms offer a valuable source of nectar for pollinators.
Although the Carolina geranium plant has medicinal and gastronomic uses throughout, the shallow taproot is the component most frequently utilized in herbal treatments. Because the plant contains a lot of tannins, it is naturally bitter. The natural astringent, antifungal, antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties of Carolina geranium are employed in medicine. Native Americans used it to cure arthritis, sore throats, gastrointestinal issues, wounds, and infections. Carolina geranium was used to heal eye disorders since it contains a lot of vitamin K.
Never gather native plants for use as herbs from places that may have been treated with harmful pesticides or herbicides. The safest alternative for herbal usage is to grow Carolina cranesbill in your own yard or in a pot, making sure it is not exposed to pollutants.
Carolina geranium is a simple seedling that thrives in dry, gritty soil in a partially shady area. In damp or richly fertile soils, it will not thrive. Care for Carolina cranesbills is simple as long as you don’t give the plants too much attention. It is preferable to leave them alone so that they can spread out wildly in areas where few other plants will grow.
How does a Carolina geranium appear?
The hairy, greenish-pink stems might turn more crimson when growing in an especially dry environment. The leaves are separated into five segments and have hair on top and bottom of them. Because each segment is lobed, it resembles cilantro in appearance. Flowers are either pink or white.
How do you eradicate weeds in Springs?
There are several typical lawn weeds to deal with, and they can be divided into groups based on the design of their leaves.
grassland weeds versus broadleaf weeds. Or, you can divide them into annual and perennial weeds according to when they grow.
Depending on where you live, many weeds may be more difficult to control than others. Some are only found in colder, winter-free zones, while others are more common in warm growing zones. The following are some of the most typical weeds you might run into as spring approaches:
Crabgrass (Digitaria spp.): Crabgrass is so named because of the way its leaves curl into a tight crab shape. This annual weed typically grows in patches of a lawn that are thin or barren. Its growth is aided by both excessive and insufficient watering as well as by repeatedly cutting the lawn too short. Crabgrass can either be treated with post-emergent herbicides as the weeds appear, starting in the spring, or with pre-emergence herbicides in the spring to prevent the seeds from sprouting. To fine-tune scheduling in your area, consult your local extension office or a respected garden center. The optimum time to manually remove crabgrass clumps is when the lawn is extremely damp.
Quackgrass (Elymus repens): Although it initially resembles crabgrass, quackgrass is primarily a cool-season grass that spreads by rhizomes and lacks the shallow clumping behavior of crabgrass. Perennial weeds like this can be very challenging to get rid of. The best option is frequently to carefully apply a broad-spectrum, glyphosate-based herbicide that kills the weed from the roots up, even though there are pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides that will stunt quackgrass. Hand removal of this weed is exceedingly difficult due to its deep and strong roots.
Dandelion (Taraxacum spp. ): The bright dandelion, a symbol of late spring, is a perfect example of how one homeowner’s lawn weed may be another homeowner’s wildflower. Since a single flower head left to go to seed can scatter thousands of seeds around the neighborhood, many a homeowner gets upset with their neighbors for allowing this prodigious annual plant to flourish. Some pre-emergent herbicides can stop this common weed/wildflower, but a thick spray is required. Instead, it should be carefully spot-treated with a broad-spectrum glyphosate-based plant killer or sprayed with a post-emergent herbicide. Attempt to eliminate this weed before it blooms and produces seeds.
The perennial creeping plant known as creeping Charlie (Glechoma hederacea) has small leaves in the shape of hearts and indigo-colored blooms. Most people regret the day it enters the yard, however some homeowners enjoy its beauty and let it range freely as a ground cover for shaded places. Through both self-seeding and creeping stolons, Charlie spreads swiftly. Despite having relatively shallow roots, this plant is quite difficult to pull up by hand. Although it can require numerous applications, a selective broadleaf herbicide, best delivered as a spray spot treatment, is an efficient method. Some homeowners choose to completely eradicate severely contaminated lawns with a non-selective glyphosate-based herbicide, then start fresh by sowing or sodding a new lawn. While organic gardeners are always looking for low-impact, all-natural solutions to prevent Charlie, the majority of the techniques used—like using baking soda or Borax—have not demonstrated much sustained benefit.
Wild violets (Viola spp.) are another plant that more environmentally conscious gardeners might consider to be a wildflower and decide to support rather than eradicate. It’s also true that the ground cover’s heart-shaped leaves and purple or white flowers can be rather appealing. A ground cover dominated by wild violets is not a bad option for regions where regular turf grass won’t grow. However, if you do choose to eradicate wild violets, it is preferable to do it with a spot application of a broadleaf herbicide. Violets that appear in the spring should also be treated as soon as you notice them, but fall is the best season for substantial treatment. If the ground is nicely damp, it is also simple to pull these clump-forming weeds by hand. Some people find success smearing regular dish soap on the leaves, which deprives the plant of oxygen.
Stellaria media, sometimes known as chickweed, is an invasive annual plant that grows all throughout the United States and has tiny, egg-shaped leaves and tiny white flowers. Plants that sprout in the spring can be spot-treated with a post-emergent broadleaf herbicide, while severe infestations are best treated with a pre-emergent herbicide applied in the fall. Spraying regular home white vinegar on chickweed also effectively kills it. To stop the plant from blossoming and setting seeds, keep your lawn cut short.
The annual weed known as purslane (Portulaca oleracea) has oval-shaped succulent leaves and reddish stems. Although you might observe early plants in the spring, it becomes a more serious issue in the humid, hot days of the summer. Preventing it with a granular pre-emergent herbicide is a relatively simple process, and spot-treating it with a post-emergent broadleaf herbicide will quickly kill it. Additionally, it is relatively simple to cut the plant off at the ground level, which will stop it from flowering and producing seeds. This option might be the healthiest of all because purslane is a plant with nutritional content that rivals spinach. It can be added to salads raw or served as a side dish cooked. Naturally, if you have used a herbicide in the region, it should not be collected for food.
White clover (Trifolium repens) has had a long history of changing perceptions about it. Clover used to be intentionally incorporated into lawn grass seed mixtures, but when vast suburban lawns of pure green grew fashionable, it started to be viewed as a lawn weed, and considerable efforts were made to eliminate it from lawns. For a variety of reasons, it is currently making a comeback in fashion. The pollinating bees that eat the flower pollen adore clover because it is a good low-moisture ground cover. Lawns with clover require less mowing and fertilizing because the clover plants fix nitrogen in the soil. Today, homeowners frequently overseed their lawns to add clover, which is not at all unusual. Ask the local university extension department for help prior to attempting to eradicate it. If you do choose to treat clover as a weed, the best way to do so is with a post-emergent herbicide that is sprayed locally to clover-growing areas.
What should I do about invasive geraniums?
Prevention: Because glossy geranium seeds can be transported on footwear and automobiles, extra care should be taken to wash off after entering places where this plant is present. Keep an eye out for new areas of this plant when it is in bloom (from April to July). Make sure to check all new plantings for shiny geranium, especially those with plants bought from areas with an infestation, as this weed has been discovered hitchhiking in pots of other plants bought from nurseries.
Small patches: Before they go to seed, plants can be carefully hand-pulled or dug out. Just be sure to remove as much root and stem as you can to keep the plants from sprouting again. To avoid spreading it further, place all plant material in rubbish bags rather than compost.
Larger patches: To control larger areas, cover them with a thick layer of mulch or, for best results, cover them first with cardboard before adding another layer of mulch made of wood chips. Plants can be sprayed with a broadleaf herbicide like triclopyr before flowering (late March to April) if you have a place where herbicides can be utilized (e.g. Brush B Gon). A non-selective herbicide like glyphosate (found in Roundup, for example) can be used, however it kills grass and may cause a flush of new weed seedlings after application. For site-specific control information, please refer to the herbicide labels. For more information on herbicide use, consult the PNW Weed Management Handbook. Follow the herbicide label on the product you are using and all local and state laws governing the use of herbicides. Burning multiple times throughout each growing season using a propane-powered burning tool is another option to spraying for large sites (if burning is allowed in your location). Whatever approach you use, make sure to follow up for several years to assure eradication success and seed bank depletion.