Poison hemlock has seemingly popped up everywhere, including most highway fence rows.
Poison hemlock is a member of the wild carrot family, and is common along roadsides, waterways, and in cultivated areas. It resembles anise or wild parsley, and is classified in the family Umbelliferae, the parsley family. All parts of this plant are poisonous: leaves, stems, roots, and fruits. Poison hemlock contains volatile alkaloids that have been used as a poison since ancient times. The famous incident of Socrates' death in Athens in 329 BC occurred when he was given the juice of poison hemlock to drink.
How can you identify it? Look closely at the stem of any plant you may suspect of being poison hemlock. The stem is hollow, smooth (not hairy) and marked with purple streaks and blotches. These blotches and streaks on a green hollow hairless stem, and the mottled purple spots, are definite identifiers of the plant. The finely divided leaves, fern-like, resemble Queen Anne's lace. Flowers are lacy and white, appearing from late May to August.
Poison hemlock is a biennial. It grows from seeds. During the first year, it produces a rosette of fern-like leaves close to the ground. The second season it bolts to form the tall, erect, flowering stems which can be from four to eight feet tall. The white flowers develop into green, ridged seed capsules which turn brown when the seeds mature. The leaves and flowers smell distinctive, a "mousey" odor.
Poison hemlock must be removed. Do not allow this weed to go to seed. Wear gloves when handling it. Don't put it into the compost. Dead stalks can remain poisonous for two or three seasons. Don't incinerate it. Don't inhale the smoke. The herbicide 2,4-D applied to the early stages of growth will kill it.
Lawn-mowing height is important
Bluegrass lawns already are going dormant because of abnormally dry weather.
As June begins, we are already seeing some lawns around Fairfield and nearby counties begin to go dormant due to below-normal rainfall and the warmer-than-normal temperatures we've experienced for much of the early spring. Not knowing how dry it may get or for how long, it's important that a proactive approach is taken now with lawn care.
Mowing height is one of the primary cultural practices that can improve and maintain the health of grasses in a lawn. It is also the one cultural practice that consumes the most time in maintaining a lawn because of the frequency with which it must occur throughout the growing season. Because of its repetitiveness, some homeowners are tempted to cut grass very short in an attempt to reduce the number of times the lawn needs to be mown. Unfortunately, beyond causing it to turn brown earlier than necessary, the only other thing this may cut is the overall health and longevity of the lawn.
Most area lawns are a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and tall and fine fescues. These grasses should be cut to a height of 2.5 to 3 inches above the soil line. Grass cut to this height shades the soil, which helps to keep weeds from germinating and establishing within the lawn. This shading also helps to keep the soil temperature cooler. Mowing the grass shorter may make it more susceptible to injury from drought and disease.
Shorter grass has a smaller, shallower root system. Thus, during dry spells the grasses' restricted root system will likely limit their access to soil moisture. Having limited access to water limits the grasses' ability to sustain growth.
As a rule of thumb, remove no more than 1/3 of the total plant height in one mowing. If dry weather continues locally, consider raising the mowing height even slightly beyond 3 inches.
It is also important to regularly sharpen the mower blades. Dull and/or damaged mower blades will shred the tips of the grass blades rather than cutting them. The shredded tips of the grass blades will take on a brown to light tan color, giving an impression that the grass has been frosted or diseased. Mower blades can be sharpened with a grinding wheel and/or a file, but be careful not to over grind or file one side of the blade. This can throw off the balance of the blade, resulting in extra wear and tear on the mower engine.
To determine if the mower blade is out of balance, put a nail in the wall and hang the blade from the hole in the center of the blade. If the blade rotates such that one end pulls downward, file more off the blade on the heavy end.