Integrated Pest Management
Common Groundsel
Senecio vulgaris
Common groundsel (Robert Videki, Bugwood.org)
Common groundsel (Carol, Wikimedia Commons)
Description
- upright growth (6 inches – 1-1/2 feet tall) with fleshy, ribbed stems that are often purplish
- stems are hollow and leaves are arranged alternately along stems; mature leaves are deeply lobed and fleshy
- flowers are long and cylindrical; yellow petals peak out of vase-shaped green sepals like a tube of lipstick; sepals peel back to reveal a dandelion-like, globe-shaped seed head
Location
- commonly grows in planting beds but can sometimes be found in lawn areas
Life Cycle
- winter annual with seeds that germinate in early to mid-spring and again in autumn
- flower production occurs 5 to 6 weeks after germination and seeds mature 5 to 11 days after flowering; mature seeds are immediately viable
IPM Recommendations
- Hand-pull plants in planting beds prior to seed maturation.
- Shallow tillage or hoeing will control young plants in planting beds.
- Apply a mulch layer 3 inches deep on planting beds to reduce seed germination.
- Apply an appropriate post-emergent broadleaf herbicide directly to target weeds.