FOR 10 BIG ONES - Your Advice On This Weed...?

Question

It's a giant weed. About 10-15 in height.

It's kind of thory (not the hard thorns) has a soft green skin. The thorns look like needles all over it (very thin and soft, but hurt whne you touch it). This weed doesn't have hard skin.

I want to pull it out, but I'm not sure how far in the ground it will be. How far are the roots in the ground do you guys think? And should I pull it out (I want to)?

Answer 1

If it is a weed, and even if it is some otherwise decorative plant, and it is not suitable for the location, of course pull it out. Do it before it goes to seed and you have a yard full of 15 inch thorny dilemmas.  

How deep the roots go is impossible to say, but a guess would be rather shallow.  Many fast growing weeds must put out a wide ball of roots to get water quickly from the surface, but do not have the strength or time to put down deep tap roots.  (your mileage may vary)  but to ensure getting the most of the root you can, you could try soaking the soil before pulling (its neighboring flowers will like that anyway).  And then with your small garden trowel loosen the soil all the way around it.  Put on your gloves and tug gently. If the roots are in a base ball sized clump, it should come up easily.  If it has a deep root you may need to pull firmly, or even chop it off deep in the ground with the shovel.

Answer 2

ACK!  It sounds like thistle to me.  Look up thistle and see if that's it.  The thorns are very thin, and look like fuzz, but hurts when you touch it and stays in, much like touching fiberglass insulation.

If that's it, no, the roots are not shallow.  You'll have to wait til right after a good rain, and use very thick gloves.  Be sure to grasp the plant as low as you possibly can, being certain to have every single leaf up in your gloved hand before pulling.  If you don't pull up the tap root (the long, thick main root), it'll just grow back, laughing at you for even trying!  Note please that cutting the tap root doesn't work on thistles.  It must be pulled out completely.

A good strong weed killer will help.  I hated these weeds so much that I really didn't care if I killed the grass around it, but they do have some good ones out that promise not to kill the grass.

Our yard got so infested with these weeds a couple of years ago.  If you let them grow, they can get very high.  I don't know if your 10-15 is inches or feet, but ours (that were not in a mowing part of the yard) got to 4-6 feet high with very thick stalks.  They flower, but then the flowers turn to - like dandelions - where the slightest breeze would send the seeds floating into the air and before you know it, your yard will be covered in them!  For us, it got so bad that we couldn't walk barefoot in the yard and the dogs would tread very lightly because it hurt their paws, and we ended up having to hire a lawn service to get rid of them.  We are finally thistle free, HOORAY!!!

Good luck with these horrible, nasty things!

Answer 3

It's a bull nettle..the root is about 1 foot to 2 feet deep..the main taproot..

http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im...

It will eventually flower and drop more seed...remove it