“Free Weeds
U Pick 'Em”
~Author Unknown
It's the time of year when the weeds seem to grow faster than they can be pulled! While each year brings familiar culprits, a variety of new ones often crop up too. The University of California has several terrific internet resources for identifying weeds and how to manage them. Here are two particularly useful websites for identifying weeds.
University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program Weed Gallery
The University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program has developed the “Weed Gallery,” which contains images and identification tips for more than 150 common weeds. A description of the Weed Gallery and how to use it is found here: http://www.ucanr.org/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=16708. If you think you know the name of a weed, you can search a list of weeds using common or scientific names to quickly access photos to confirm the plant's identification. If you don't know what the weed is, the gallery will help identify the plant using visual characteristics such as broadleaf, grass, sedge, or aquatic plant. The gallery has descriptions to help you select the starting point. The Weed Gallery can be found here: http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/weeds_intro.html?src=blog16708.
Weed Research and Information Center
The Weed Research and Information Center (WRIC) is an interdisciplinary collaboration facilitating research in weed management (https://wric.ucdavis.edu/index.htm). While it is focused on agriculture, it has some useful tools and training videos that are interesting for backyard gardeners to browse as well. The weed identification tool is particularly useful. WRIC's “Weed identification” page has a link to a national online “Weed ID Tool” (https://wric.ucdavis.edu/information/weedid.htm). Select your state, make an initial determination about whether the plant is broadleaf, grassy, or woody using the definitions provided and you're off!
Happy weeding!