Geraniums are cheerful flowers, but cutleaf geraniums are pesky weeds.
Cutleaf geraniums (Geranium dissectum) have disk-shaped, or orbicular, leaves with deep cuts, hence the name. The underside of leaves and stems may occasionally be red in color. Young plants grow in a rosette fashion. When growing in turf, these plants will stay prostrate, or low to the ground. In other locations, plants can reach 2-1/2 feet in height. The forked stem is hairy and those hairs, or trichomes, can emit fluids. Tiny pinkish-purple flowers have 5 petals and tend to appear in pairs, from March through October in California. Fruits are a 5-part carpel in the shape of a stork’s head and beak. As the seeds mature, each of the 5 parts curls back to release the seeds. Those seeds are round to oval and covered with tiny notches. If you pull up a cutleaf geranium, you will see a thin, shallow taproot with fibrous lateral roots. Cutleaf geranium lifecycle
Cutleaf geranium can grow as either an annual or biennial plant, and is commonly found in disturbed ground and abandoned areas. Each plant can produce up to 150 seeds and those seeds can remain viable for 5 to 10 years. Controlling cutleaf geranium As with most the weeds, it is best to start controlling it early, before plants have a chance to go to seed. Hoeing is the best control. Comments are closed.
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