April 21, 2012 — What’s going on when weed seeds act like Mexican jumping beans? Mike McGrath examines the explosive weed known as hairy bittercress. Plus: Propagating new plants from old with author Ken Druse. Plus your fabulous phone calls.

[audio: garden20120421.mp3]

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Question of the Week

About three years ago I noticed a pretty little white flower growing in my lawn. But after a few weeks, it turned into something from a science fiction movie, shooting its spikey seeds every which way if you touched it. My local garden shop identified it as a type of chickweed, and suggested I pull as much out as I could by hand. I spent many hours doing so, and all I got was a sore back. Last year I went online and correctly identified the culprit as “Hairy Bittercress”. The recommended control method was to use a spray called Spectracide, which they forgot to mention also kills the lawn. Is there anything you can suggest to rid my lawn of this nuisance? Get the answer »

Photo by Flickr user Dave