Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) was introduced to North America from Europe in the mid-1800s for erosion control and as an edible herb. The leaves release a tell-tale garlicky aroma when crushed.
Why is it a problem? Most of the dozens of insect species that eat it did not also travel across the Atlantic, so the plants grow largely unchecked. Garlic mustard emerges early in spring and gets a head start on many native plants and tree seedlings, often crowding them out by blocking sunlight and gobbling up moisture and nutrients. Even worse, toxins released from its roots wreak havoc with soil fungi that are key to healthy forests.
Garlic mustard is a biennial with a rosette form in its first year of growth; in its second year, it bolts and flowers. A few weeks later, it sheds thousands of tiny seeds that travel on the wind and stay viable for years.
Previous Columns
- Garden Gems: Standing Sentry to Belmont’s Horticultural Past
- Garden Gems: When Less Is More
- Garden Gems: Why and How to Tackle Black Swallow-wort
The good news is that it’s one of the few invasive plant species that can be successfully controlled by pulling. Please be on the lookout for garlic mustard in your own yard, and follow these tips for removal:
• Pull early spring through mid-May, before it goes to seed.
• Tug gently at the base of the plant after it rains to get the entire taproot.
• Bag it and throw it out with the garbage for incineration; do not compost or put in yard waste.
• Keep at it! It may take two to five years of dedicated pulling to get rid of it in a confined area.
You might also like to join your Belmont neighbors in a community effort to eradicate garlic mustard and other invasive plants at the 11th Annual Lone Tree Hill Volunteer Day.
The event is on Saturday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to noon, rain or shine. There is no sign-up necessary; just show up at South Pleasant Street, with parking available in the large parking lot next to Artefact. Another activity planned for that day is planting Eastern white pines, with volunteers meeting at the Mill Street parking lot.
Jenny has been gardening in Belmont since 2001 and became a member of the Belmont Garden Club in 2019. From 2010 – 2013 she was the volunteer editor for the Belmont Farmers’ Market newsletter, “Roots & Sprouts.”
