How to Get Rid of Hairy Bittercress Weeds | Weed Control Tips

Written by Hillary Thompson | Mar 5, 2021 5:00:00 AM

March's weed is Cardamine hirsuta (hairy bittercress) a common edible weed in the mustard family. You'll find it growing in wet, sparse lawns and wet soils in general.

Hairy bittercress is kinda cute. Can a weed be cute? Watch our Weed of the Month from our Lawn Tips Live recorded live at our Greenville, SC store to learn more so you can determine its cuteness for yourself.

Viewing Tip: Increase the volume and the playback speed according to your preferences. Volume control is the speaker icon on the lower left; playback speed is the gear button on the lower right.

Hairy Bittercress ID Features:

Grows in a basal rosette from one center point, with "branches" (they are really pinnately compound leaves) radiating to form 2 to 4" diameter clumps
Small, white flowers; small-but-noticeable because they're held above the foliage
The fruits are green tubular pods that mature to brown and are held upright above the foliage - a great architecture for seed dispersal (which can be up to 1,000/plant). They are often flowering and fruiting at the same time.

See more pictures on the NCSU Extension webpage for hairy bittercress.

The picture above shows a 2" diameter, young hairy bittercress; this pic shows a 4" diameter, older plant. Note all the tiny flowers and seed pods on one plant. It's bursting with life!

This little cutie can go to seed even when very small (especially as day length increases), which is not cute behavior at all. There's probably a lot of hairy bittercress in your neighborhood as it loves disturbed soils that are common in new home development, gardening, road work, and utility work (especially in wet or damp areas).

Here is the little white flower that puts hairy bittercress in the mustard family, the Brassica family. You can also see the brownish pod that will burst to send seeds flying.

Eat it or Treat it

Hairy bittercress is an annual weed in the mustard family. Can you believe it, another edible weed?! The flavor is strong, like you'd expect out of a mustard relative. If you choose not to take a test nibble to see if you want to include it in your salad, then there are three paths for eradication.

Prevention:

In September spread pre-emergent herbicide to prevent germination of winter weeds, such as hairy bittercress (same goes for weeds from previous tips: annual poa, chickweed).
Hairy bittercress is easy to prevent with thick layers of mulch in your beds or by cultivating a thick, healthy lawn.

Manual:

Hand pull hairy bittercress - it's super fun and satisfying to hand weed. Much like annual poa, it's easy to yank up a clump and you get it all at once, so no worries about something sprouting back.
Mow to keep larger plants from going to seed, but remember it can flower when diminutive and below mowing height (this vexing behavior reinforces how pre-emergent prevention is the best for of weed control).

Chemical:

It is easy to kill with post-emergent herbicide for broadleaf weeds. We have products!

Hairy bittercress is highly visible in dormant warm-season lawns, as seen here with flowers and fruit on it.

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