Smartweed Identification – How To Control Smartweed Plants

By Jackie Carroll Smartweed is a common wildflower often found growing along roadsides and railroad tracks. This wild grain is an important food source for wildlife, but it becomes a noxious weed when it gets into garden plots and lawns. What is Smartweed? Smartweed (Polygonum pensylvanicum) is an annual broadleaf. As an annual, it reproduces through seeds that drop near the parent plant to produce new plants. The most effective control methods focus on preventing the plants from producing seeds. Before we discuss how to control smartweed, let’s take a look at a few key physical features that can help with smartweed identification. One of the first things you might notice is that the stems are divided into segments. The swollen areas that separate the segments are called “knees,” and they are covered with pale green sheaths. Smartweed leaves are shaped like lancets and may have purple blotches. The leaves

Read this article