Poison Hemlock Weed Control

There’s always one in every family, isn’t there? For the plant family Apiaceae, it’s poison hemlock. Other members of the family are carrots, celery, parsnip, dill, parsley, cilantro and fennel – full of nutrition, tasty additions to favorite dishes and happy with moderate growth. But poison hemlock is a tall, greedy land grabber that is, as its name implies, toxic. It’s the famous brew that ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was forced to drink as a result of his death sentence for corrupting youth with his radical ideas. That is why it is important to do poison hemlock weed control.
As most families might acknowledge when discussing their black sheep, “We have no one to blame but ourselves.” Poison hemlock was imported from Europe in the 1800s and used as an ornamental plant. The weed is a cousin to Queen Anne’s lace and the two could pass as twins, which is especially problematic because every stem, foliage, flower and root of one is toxic and the other is often included on lists of edible foraging plants.
Like all weeds, poison hemlock has a preferred climate (wet and woodsy with rich soil), but can grow just about anywhere. But hemlock does have one attribute that makes it slightly more controllable. When seeds are dropped, they usually drop very close to the parent plant. Property owners can easily mark an area where adult hemlock was discovered (and hopefully eradicated) and look for sprouts in the spring.

Poison hemlock weed control includes:

Mechanical control: hand removal of small infestations; mowing.

Chemical control: there are several pesticides available for poison hemlock weed control. They are should be applied to seedlings or small rosettes and not on fully mature plants.
Poison hemlock weed control may require repeated applications for several years to deplete seedbank. Once poison hemlock under control you should work on maintaining healthy pasture with competitive forage and proper irrigation.
If you suspect a poison hemlock infestation on your property, contact SprayTech, Colorado commercial and residential weed control experts, at 720-248-0000 to discuss weed control options.