Summary

Before Spraying

After Spraying

One Year Later

Prairie Coreopsis

Bird’s-Foot Trefoil (Update, I Misidentified This Plant)

Discussion

Earlier Posts on Subject

Before Spraying

A view of the native plant garden behind the visitor center before spraying.

Another view of the native plant garden behind the visitor center before spraying.

After Spraying

View of the native plant garden behind the visitor center, from the side, after having been sprayed with herbicide in the spring of 2023.

View of the native plant garden behind the visitor center July 13th of 2023 following having been sprayed with herbicide earlier that Spring.

One Year Later

Native plant garden on April 14th, about a year after having been sprayed with herbicide.

A closer view.

An even closer view.

Prairie Coreopsis

Prairie coreopsis (Coreopsis palmata) sprayed with herbicide last spring.

The same prairie coreopsis on April 14th a little over one year after spraying. A few shoots that received the least amount of spraying survived. Mostly what is visible is a spring annual, small flower bittercress (Cardamine parviflora).

Bird’s-Foot Trefoil

I had eliminated bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) from this garden. This garden did not have bird’s-foot trefoil for several years. One year after spraying, a large bird’s-foot trefoil has already established. This plant likely established from seed that came from the prairie reconstruction on the opposite side of the trail from this garden. In the prairie reconstruction, bird’s-foot trefoil and crown vetch are sprayed annually with Transline. However, both these invasive species are always back in the same location the following year.

Update: I saw this plant blooming and it is not bird’s-foot trefoil. It is black medic (Medicago lupulina) or one of the yellow hop clovers. Being wrong in this case makes me happy. My work to eliminate bird’s-foot trefoil is still proving successful all these years later. At least I was able to eliminate bird’s-foot trefoil and crown vetch from this garden even if it was mostly destroyed when it was sprayed with herbicide.

Discussion

Not long after spraying herbicide, the field thistle (Cirsium arvense) had already returned. One year after spraying herbicide, creeping Charlie, (Glechoma hederacea), has spread across the entire garden. Bird’s-foot trefoil, which I had eliminated from this garden has now re-established. One year after spraying this garden with herbicide, most of the native plants were killed and weeds I had worked so hard to reduce or eliminate are now back. Some weeds are already in even greater numbers than before the spraying occurred.

Earlier Posts on the Subject

Death to a Native Plant Garden 5/6/2023

Death to a Native Plant Garden Revisited 7/13/2023