Are you a gardening person? Then, you must be familiar with gardeners’ tough times dealing with weeds. Weeds are unwanted and unplanned plants thriving in your garden and tend to destroy their integrity.
Weeds would have been simpler to deal with if they would not compete with other desirable plants for space, nutrients, sunlight, and water. But weeds are too simple to handle, especially if they are noxious.
You can find weeds invading your garden, not native to your country. Isn’t it why we call them weeds? The same holds true if you are native to Colorado and find weeds of foreign origin in your garden, mainly from Europe or Asia.
Here, your garden is most likely at risk, and you must eliminate those weeds before they interfere with your gardening plans.
Hence, to help you in the process, we have brought you a list of the most common weeds in Colorado (with pictures).
Some of these weeds can be toxic, while some are edible. You can also find the characteristics and removal methods of the weeds and get ready to defend your garden.
1. Knotweed
| Family | Polygonaceae |
| Edible | Yes. Used for medicinal purposes |
| Toxicity | No |
Knotweed is one of the most common weeds you can come across in Colorado. It is a member of the Polygonaceae and a native to Asia. It belongs to the category of edible weeds and holds medicinal properties.
Known with many familiar names, such as Fallopia, Japanese Knotweed, Japonica, and Persicaria, this weed comes under the class B noxious perennial weeds.
It can be highly invasive to your garden as it propagates through rhizomes and develops a deep root system, thus making itself difficult to remove.
You can identify knotweed by its 16 feet height by the end of the summer. It can also be differentiated from other weeds with its tiny flowers colored white to pink.
Though it can outgrow other plants in your garden, you can use its medicinal properties to treat cough or sore throat.
2. Dandelions
| Family | Asteraceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Dandelions have a reputation for growing in almost every garden worldwide, especially in Colorado. They are famous for their bright, yellow flowers that usually blend with other yellow plants in your garden.
But you must not get distracted by pretty dandelion flowers as they can grow aggressively and get too established to be removed easily. Belonging to the Asteraceae family, Dandelions have edible parts, including leaves, roots, and flowers.
Dandelion flowers produce seeds residing amid green leaves with broad widths. The seeds are responsible for their aggressive growth as they are easily carried away by the wind.
Hence, the only way to handle this weed is to remove it before seeding or dig it off its roots. However, you must be careful handling it as it can be allergic.
3. Lambs Quarters
| Family | Amaranthaceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Lambs Quarters is another edible weed belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. It is also intentionally grown across many regions as a green leafy vegetable under various names, such as wild spinach, Melde, fat-hen, goosefoot, etc.
However, its invasive and outgrowing nature makes it a weed in Colorado. Lambs Quarters grow up to 150 cm, making it a challenge for other vegetables growing in your garden. Hence, you must plant it alone if you look forward to using it as wild spinach.
In any case, you can find it originating in your garden by early spring, which should be a sign for you to remove it before it establishes itself with a deep root.
You might need to hand weed it more than once without leaving behind any of its parts, lest it should regrow.
Also Read:- 10 Best Weed and Feed for Your Garden
4. Purslane
| Family | Portulacaceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Purslane is one of the most common weeds if we are exploring the list of edible ones. It belongs to the Portulacaceae and comes with a lemon-like taste.
Unlike other edible weeds, Purslane is a storehouse of Omega-3 fatty acids, which makes it a delicacy in many places.
Repeated hand weeding is one of the most effective ways to eliminate Purslane. It propagates through seeding and has aggressive growth by producing over 200,000 seeds.
Hence, unless you are growing Purslane intentionally as an edible plant, you must remove it before it begins to seed.
Also Read About: Recognize The 11 Common Weeds in New Jersey (NJ) with Pictures
5. Purple Loosestrife
| Family | Lythraceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Purple Loosestrife is the most beautiful weed among different types of weeds in Colorado. It is because of its big purple flowers that make quite a show. But all that glitters is not gold, and this Colorado weed proves it the best.
Once established, it is a highly invasive weed most challenging to remove from gardens and lawns. It expands through seeding by producing over 300,000 of them annually.
The seeds are tough survivors and do not rot quickly, thus keeping the threat of Purple Loosestrife alive in your garden.
Hence, considering its aggressive nature, you must use the best of your gardening strategies to remove it. You can do so by pulling it off the root using a hand or a shovel.
However, if the growth is too much to be handled through mechanical weeding, you must go for herbicides containing glyphosate.
6. Kochia
| Family | Amaranthaceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Kochia is one of the most common weeds found in Colorado. Its ability to survive tough soil conditions makes its growth unstoppable. It is also popular as Kochia scoparia for being the most notorious and invasive weed.
Kochia can grow up to 5 feet, appearing in early spring. During the early stages, it has a shallow taproot, thus making it easier to pull out. Hence, early spring is also the best time to remove it by pulling it off the ground.
However, if you fail to remove it during its emerging stages and the growth becomes uncontrollable, you can try the pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicide methods.
7. Canada Thistle
| Family | Asteraceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Canada Thistle is a popular pink flowering weed found in Colorado. It belongs to the Asteraceae family and is a perennial flowering weed. Though it is also an edible weed, it can be toxic to a few animals, such as horses, due to nitrate production.
Its pink flowers are a point of attraction for pollinators, including hoverflies which help it to spread aggressively. It tends to spread its root far away from its original place, which hinders the growth of other desirable plants in your garden.
The best time to go for herbicides is spring and summer. Hence, you must get rid of Canada Thistle by hand weeding as soon as you discover it. You can also spray post-emergent herbicides to limit its growth to a great extent.
8. Curly Dock
| Family | Polygonaceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Curly Dock is a must-have name in the list of weeds found in Colorado. It is an edible weed due to its richness in vitamins A and C.
However, you must remove the oxalic acid present in it by cooking before consumption. It can also be toxic if consumed in higher amounts.
Curly Dock is most commonly found in various places besides gardens. It is a result of its deep taproot that helps it establish itself well in the ground.
Hence, it can be difficult to remove by hand weeding as there are chances of some parts being left on the ground. Thus, you must dig it off completely by roots using a shovel and make sure nothing remains behind.
9. Cypress Spurge
| Family | Euphorbiaceae |
| Edible | Yes |
| Toxicity | No |
Cypress Spurge is also a common weed found in Colorado. It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, bearing pretty yellow flowers. Unlike many other Colorado weeds, it is, however, a non-edible weed.
Cypress Spurge is known to have toxic effects on many animals, such as horses. You can find it growing in many soil conditions. However, it prefers well-drained and dry soil with ample sunlight.
Being unaffected by diseases and pests, this Colorado weed is too tricky to eliminate. Hence, you must remove it by pulling it off the ground or spraying herbicides as early as possible.
FAQ’s
The most common removal method for Colorado weeds is hand weeding unless they have a deep taproot.
Yes, Dandelions, and Cypress Spurge are the Colorado weeds that produce yellow flowers. They can easily blend with other yellow flowering plants in your garden.
You must remove such weeds before their seeding period begins to cut off the spread of seeds altogether.
Though most of the Colorado weeds are edible, Purslane, Curly Dock, and Lamb Quarters are among the most popular ones.
Purslane mimics a lemony flavor among the edible weeds found in Colorado.
Conclusion
Colorado is home to many noxious weeds. It harbors different weeds native to foreign lands, invading its gardens. Though most of those weeds are edible, they are still aggressive enough to be left thriving in lawns and gardens. Not to forget, some of them can also be toxic to animals.
Hence, you can now identify the most common weeds found in Colorado and use the most effective ways to remove them permanently.