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Euphorbia is a tropical plant. They used to grow only in Africa and Madagascar. But nature is constantly evolving, so plants have settled all over the world, having managed to adapt to any climate and soil. Currently, scientists have counted more than 200 species of euphorbia. Why are plants called milkweeds? It’s all about the white poisonous juice that looks like milk.
Plants are tall, like trees, reaching a height of more than 20 meters. There are shrubs and herbs among them. Some spurges are ornamental and are grown as flowers. Among the plants there are many weeds that flooded the gardens and orchards. How to get rid of milkweed in the garden, and will be discussed further.
Description
There are many types and varieties of milkweeds. Some of them look decorative and are specially grown to decorate the site. Euphorbia garden refers to malicious weeds that need to be fought. But in order for the struggle to be effective and give a positive result, you need to know who the enemy is.
Euphorbia weed grows up to several meters. It has a thick fleshy stem and large leaves with sharp spines. The leaf shape is a triangle. The stems and leaves contain a large amount of juice. An adult weed occupies an area with a diameter of 40 cm.
The root system is branched, powerful, the roots firmly cling to the ground. The central root goes to a great depth. Therefore, the plant is not afraid of drought: the roots can always get water. Euphorbia weed you see in the photo. There are few daredevils to pull out a thorn with their bare hands.
In the heat, the plant droops with a lack of moisture, thereby reducing the area of evaporation. Under favorable conditions, it can quickly fill large spaces. Moreover, it grows successfully in any soil. Even in the swamp and rocks you can find this plant.
Propagated by seeds that ripen in large quantities and lateral shoots growing from lateral roots. Therefore, getting rid of milkweed weed is not so simple. Also, when you simply cut a plant without removing the root, it will grow new shoots. In place of one plant, a whole bush of weeds grows.
Flowering in garden weed begins in July and lasts until August. The flowers are monoecious, around them there is a calyx resembling a bedspread. The inflorescence has one female and ten male flowers. The plant has an interesting tri-nut fruit with three lobes.
This plant has small leaves with a thick, waxy coating. Attached is a photo to help identify the weed.
Some rural residents feed this weed to their pets. In its raw form, it is very dangerous. If it comes across in hay, then there is nothing to worry about, since the juice dries up.
How to get rid of milkweed
The real reality is that spurge can be found both in the wild and in vegetable gardens anywhere in the world. It’s all about his survivability and ability to adapt. He is not afraid of heat or cold. That is why the plant is called the scourge of agriculture.
In recent decades, the thickets of this weed have increased also because the area of agricultural crops has decreased: most of the fields have turned into virgin land: they are not plowed up or cultivated.
Euphorbia garden is a malicious weed, getting rid of which is too difficult. And it needs to be destroyed. Having settled on a summer resident’s plot or on a farmer’s field, the plant begins to settle in the territory, capturing it like a real aggressor.
The active growth of a garden weed begins, the photo of which is below, before other plants. Its growth bud is developing intensively. When a gardener digs up beds and fertilizes, he nourishes not only cultivated plants, but also weeds, including euphorbia.
Whatever agricultural practices you use, you will not bring out the weed if the seeds are preserved in the ground.
Ways to deal with milkweed
How to deal with a malicious plant, for example, in a potato field or in a summer cottage? After all, it can drown out potatoes and any vegetables with its numerous shoots and shoots, deprive them of food and water. With strong growth forms a green carpet. There are different ways to kill milkweed weed:
- mechanical or agrotechnical;
- application of herbicides.
But you need to harbor illusions and hope that you got rid of it forever. As a rule, a “truce” with him does not last long. After all, the seeds of a plant can get to the site from shoes, with animals.
Mechanical methods
You need to start the fight against milkweed in early spring, when the buds are just waking up on the plant. A young plant, until the root has gone to a great depth, is tedious to remove with the root, this applies not only to milkweed. If you leave a small piece of the root in the garden, then the spurge will start growing again.
You can dig a weed with a shovel, prying the root in the ground as low as possible. But it is useless to mow it, because there are offspring on the lateral roots that do not allow milkweed to wither away.
Chemical method
If the thickets of garden euphorbia occupied a large area, then it is no longer possible to do without the use of chemistry. Herbicides in the garden are used after mechanical action on the weed and digging the site. There are a large number of herbicides that destroy weeds thoroughly. These are the so-called drugs of continuous action:
- TACK;
- Napalm;
- Titus.
On the fallow site, strong herbicides can be applied several times during the summer. It really works.
There are also specially designed products that destroy spurge. You can even use it on plantings with cultivated plants, including potatoes:
- Lazurite;
- Roundup;
- Dicamba.
If the number of malicious weeds in the garden is insignificant, and you managed to pull out young plants before flowering, then the use of potent herbicides is not necessary.
On the overgrown thickets of the site, which is left under steam, you can water the spurge with an increased dose of drugs. So, you can clear the ground of weeds.
When spraying any herbicides, you need to take care of your own safety:
- work must be done in dry calm weather;
- protect the skin with tight clothing;
- face must have a mask or respirator;
- at the end of the treatment, all clothing should be removed and all exposed areas of the body should be thoroughly washed with soap;
- if the composition gets into the eyes, they are washed with water and consult a doctor.
Prevention
Destroying the euphorbia weed with the help of various means is half the battle. The main thing is to fix the result. Mulching the soil with the help of organic or inorganic means will help in this.
The dug up and processed area is covered with a thick layer of sawdust, wood chips, shavings, humus. Shelter with roofing felt, dark film (spunbond) helps a lot. The temperature under the shelter is high, the roots of the plant die, and the sprouts cannot break out.
No weeds, no chemicals:
Instead of a conclusion about the benefits of milkweed
Euphorbia is not only a green pest in vegetable gardens and gardens, it also has useful properties.
For example, Euphorbia bureaucratic (see photo) repels mice, rats, cockroaches and bedbugs. Even our grandmothers hung it in the house.
Parts of the plant, milky juice was widely used by our ancestors for the treatment of various diseases, including oncology, skin inflammation, gynecology and others. Old recipes have been preserved, but we would like people to remember: garden euphorbia and its other species (even ornamental, indoor and garden) are poisonous plants.
