OT Weed Problem Question

Can anyone tell me what kind of weed this is in our yard that is blooming white? What can be sprayed on it to kill it?

I sprayed 2-4-D last night and it didn't phase them. It seems to be getting thicker each spring. They don't appear to have any leaves.

Thanks
John

Bethlehem flowers. Little bulb. Cultivated. Pricey. Short lived, flower goes and you mow and you won't see them. Too late, 24D will kill them...in time.

Star-of-Bethlehem
Ornithogalum umbellatum
Lily family (Liliaceae)

Description: This introduced perennial plant consists of a rosette of basal leaves spanning about 1' across. These linear leaves are about 6-12" long and ¼" across. They curve upward from the base and bend downward around the middle. There is often a white stripe in the middle of each leaf, which has smooth margins and parallel venation. From the center of the rosette, there develops one or more flowering stalks about 6-9" tall. Each stalk terminates in a cyme-like raceme of white flowers. This raceme is rather short and spreading. The lower pedicels are 1-3" long, while the upper pedicels are somewhat shorter. Both the basal leaves and flowering stalks are hairless.

Several Flowers

Each flower is about 1" across when fully open, consisting of 6 white tepals, 6 stamens, and a single pistil. Each tepal is lanceolate-oblong; there is a green stripe along its outer side. A stamen has a yellow or light brown anther at its apex, and a white filament underneath. This filament is lanceolate or narrowly triangular in shape (tapering at the top), which is a distinctive characteristic for this species. The blooming period occurs during the late spring and lasts about 2 weeks. There is a pleasant floral scent. The flowers open during the morning and usually close by noon. Each flower is replaced by a 3-celled seed capsule containing several black seeds. The root system consists of a bulb about 1" long that is ovoid. This plant reproduces by its seeds and vegetative offsets (primarily the latter). It often forms dense colonies that can exclude other species during the spring.

Basal Leaves

Cultivation: The preference is full sun to light shade, moist to mesic conditions, and a fertile loam. Growth occurs during the spring; the foliage withers away by mid-summer. This plant has few problems with pests and disease; the waxy foliage resists contact herbicides.

Range & Habitat: The Star-of-Bethlehem naturalizes occasionally in southern, central, and NE Illinois, but it is less common in the NW area of the state (see Distribution Map). It is often cultivated in flowerbeds, from which it occasionally escapes. Habitats include cemetery prairies, grassy meadows, sunny or semi-shaded banks of streams and drainage ditches, and miscellaneous waste areas. This species is usually found in degraded sites, although it can invade high quality natural habitats and displace native species of plants that bloom during the spring. The Star-of-Bethlehem is native to eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East; it was introduced into the United States as an ornamental plant.

Flowers & Buds

Faunal Associations: The primary pollinators of the flowers are probably bees. The foliage and bulbs contain toxic alkaloids that can poison livestock. The cooked bulbs are reportedly edible to humans, although suitable caution should be exercised.

Comments: The Star-of-Bethlehem is a surprisingly aggressive little plant with attractive flowers. Key features include the spreading racemes of erect flowers, and the triangular or lanceolate filaments underneath the anthers. These filaments are erect and surround the pistil. Other members of the Lily family that are somewhat similar in appearance include the Allium spp. (Onions) and Nothoscordum bivalve (False Garlic). However, False Garlic and the various species of Onions have umbels of flowers and the filaments of their flowers are thread-like. Another cultivated plant, Ornithogalum nutans (Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem), rarely escapes into the wild. It has nodding flowers on elongated racemes and each of its filaments have a pair of small teeth at the apex. The pedicels of this latter species are usually ½" or less.

First off its poisonous so do not let any animals eat it.
It will laugh at 2.4-D and even glyphosate has a rough time with it.
Digging up the bulbs may be your only resort unless you have a restricted use pesticide license to where you can get some Paraquat.

Look what my renter (Organic Farmer) left for me to deal with!
A noxious weed - White Cockle.

70 acres of it!
What would you do?

Got to be careful with paraquat. Fella came into my office one day, said that he'd been spraying paraquat with his airplane. He got too much in his body and all of his toenails fell out and his body ached all over. He said that he couldn't go back to flying until all of the chemical had left his body.

Get with your local sprayer man they can find out which action will be neded.

For what it's worth, 2,4d will no longer give a quick kill. It ain't gonna happen overnight. Wait 3 days or longer before you give up on it.

(quoted from post at 07:32:39 05/03/15)
For what it's worth, 2,4d will no longer give a quick kill. It ain't gonna happen overnight. Wait 3 days or longer before you give up on it.

Click to expand...

Yup, A slow kill is a complete kill, chemical companies have learned that a fast kill is usually incomplete.
Adding some new chemistry to your 2,4D like Clopyralid (Millennium ultra II) or Triclopyr (Garlon 3) Makes it so effective that if it isn't grass its dead. But it takes a week or so to die.
And Do Not use the grass clippings for mulch or compost or your not gonna be a happy camper

(quoted from post at 12:12:40 05/02/15) Look what my renter (Organic Farmer) left for me to deal with!
A noxious weed - White Cockle.

70 acres of it!
What would you do?

Click to expand...

As my counties weed commissioner, if I found 70 acres of a noxious weed blooming and about to set seed either you would be mowing it or I would have the county mowing it before it sets seed. If i have to do it its gets ugly involving the board of supervisors and county attorney, and any and all expenses to the county, plus administration fees, would be assessed on your property taxes.

Can I ask where you live to have a WEED commissioner? These parts if you have a weed it is land owners business and no ones else. I might want to raise that plant because I thought the white flowers were pretty.

Iowa. The Iowa Noxious weed law 317 requires all 99 counties in Iowa to appoint a Weed Commissioner. A State weed Commissioner oversee's the County Commissioners to ensure enforcement.
Basically if a weed is given Noxious status in Iowa it is illegal for that plant to go to seed on any property, it is also illegal to transport noxious weed seed in any manner including hay or seed stock. The County Weed Commissioner is an Officer of the Board of Supervisors in his county and has jurisdiction over all property within his county including private, city, state, federal, and railroad property. The Weed Commissioner is allowed to enter any property within the county but only under strict rules of enforcing the weed law. Basically I am the weed cop in my county. I give a five day compliance notification with a fine and then I am authorized to control or hire someone to control the weeds. All the expenses are put on property taxes by state law.

Most of the complaints I get are about Canada Thistle or Musk Thistle and almost every one of them is a farmer calling in a neighbor because he doesn't want them spreading to his land. Acreage owners, especially those that buy a lot of hay, don't like me very much, but thats the nature of the position.

Iowa's weed law can be read here http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/reference/weedlaw.htm