I couldn't find a forum devoted to weeds, although I'm sure most of us have them. With the warmer weather, they are returning with great vigor. A few are troubling: Hedge parsley (torilis arvensis) that produces those little seed pods unloved by pet owners, Velcro Plant (Galium aparine) that grows a mile a minute. The Malta thistle and Bastard cabbage are showing up in pastures and have proven impossible to eradicate. However, there are a few weeds that aren't terribly obnoxious: False dayflower (tinantia anomala) produces a pretty flower as does Horse herb and common oxalis. Can't make up my mind how I feel about Vetch; it comes up everywhere.
Anybody have some to add to the "culprit list"?

Yes... I rather like springtime weeds. Cleavers are insidious but somehow manage to disappear by summer. My pets pick up the seeds and spread the wealth.

In early spring I see henbit which has pretty blooms, nondescript chickweed, scutellaria parva whose blooms are miniscule and the wild Ruellia. Right now, the Carolina jessamine is blooming though the tree tops. Or at least it was yesterday. No doubt the overnite storms have battered the blooms for this spring.

A bit later, I love seeing the blooms from the thistle. I'm not sure which one but the bloom stalk grows tall and the bees are drawn to it. Later in spring the Indian Pink will share blooms on the edge of the woods by the pond.

I find it interesting to notice that some weeds are abundant one season and the next spring they are not to be seen. Either way, I enjoy seeing them as a sign that the winter season is done.

I think I have all of the above, but enemy #1 recently has been stinging nettle. Suddenly it is everywhere!

The henbit and wild ruella don't bother me, and I really like the thistles because they're such a good nectar source for pollinators.

But stinging nettle???? Not a fan at all! I went over to feed my neighbor's cats last week and saw a plant that I *thought* might be American Germander. I reached down and moved it to get a better look, and my hand was immediately on fire. That when I realized that it was a stinging nettle. OUCH.

Another 'unfavorite' is the thorny smilax (catbrier). Pulling it is impossible because the roots break apart - and digging it is even harder. So I resort to whacking it down all summer. Oh, and let's add tragia to that list. I've read that there are five species of this nuisance in Texas, and I think I must have four varieties. Those little hypodermic thorns really burn!
Because I don't use any herbicides on the property, the weeds are just something I have to endure. Some are easier to tolerate than others.

I think Tragia betonicifolia is what grows around here and is usually called stinging nettle. But just about anything that stings if you touch is called stinging nettle, so different plants use the same name. Here catbrier is called greenbriar or just briar. At least I think they are the same thing. Tough plants with a root nodule that gets deep. Really hard to eliminate. If you cut it down, when it puts up new stems they are good forage and edible for human consumption. For a short while the stem and thorns are soft and pliable. Doesn't last long before they are tough and the thorn are stiff and will cut sking readily. Great wildlife cover for birds and smaller mammals (Brer Rabbit knew what he was about when he begged the fox not to through himin the briar patch) and reptiles, but an aggressive, nuisance plant too often.

One of the worst here is a relatively new plant to the area - Alternanthera pungens, commonly called khakiweed. It was not here when I was growing up, but it's here now and a really unpleasant addition to the noxious weedscape. Not much is showing up here yet - not even henbit. The cold has lingered this winter, but I expect the bigger culprit is the lack of rain. Just not much growing. What is out looks stressed even as it begins to try and grow.

I don't think I'll be eating greenbriar anytime soon, but interesting information.

Have not seen any khakiweed around here (and hope I don't).

Yes, it was a very dry winter and the wildflowers look stunted. The storms last night looked promising for moisture, but most of it went east of us. Feel sorry for the folks who suffered tornado damage.

I know many people like it as a ground cover, but Horse Herb has become the bain of my existence! It is trying to take over everything and has nearly succeeded in some areas of my lawn. It keeps invading the flower beds too, and it takes so much time, effort and...yes, $$ too. I used to have a problem with oxalis but got that under control. I also have the purple oxalis which is pretty (not a weed) and is not invasive.

After the pods matured and were cracking, I returned and collected this magnificent branched speciman of Eryngium leavenworthii growing on the side of the gravel county road. I planted them for spring last year and nothing came up. Later I planted a Mangave, but that experiment failed. This spring I stirred in some additives and moved some languishing leek plants to the container. Then I had four weeds sprout that I didn't recognize. Two didn't survive but two are finally beginning to grow. Now every new leaf is developing sharp little points like a holly leaf. I'm wondering if a couple of the many, many seeds of the Eryngium have germinated. Plenty of room in the container for them and the leek too. I didn't know what to look for and if these are them, the rate of growth is extremely slow. These are not quite as big as a half dollar coin in diameter and they've been growing for weeks now. Not typical for normal weeds. Any chance you know @GrammaChar ?

@needrain
My guess is that you got your Eryngium after all! Perhaps the long period of cold aided in germination. Congratulations!

Sometimes I have a seed that doesn't sprout, so I dump the dirt for re-use. Then later a plant will grow that doesn't look like what I planted. Sure enough, it was the seed in the dirt that I gave up on. Mother Nature can be tricky that way.

Glad it worked out for you!

GrammaChar said: @needrain
My guess is that you got your Eryngium after all! Perhaps the long period of cold aided in germination. Congratulations!

Sometimes I have a seed that doesn't sprout, so I dump the dirt for re-use. Then later a plant will grow that doesn't look like what I planted. Sure enough, it was the seed in the dirt that I gave up on. Mother Nature can be tricky that way.

Glad it worked out for you!

I hope you're right! It isn't easy. There were lots and lots of seeds in those pods, so I had high expectations last year. As slow and delicate as the ones that came up this year appear to be at the young stage, I don't know how so many manage to grow as native plants. I've tried to transplant those natives multiple times, but they don't take well to transplanting. I think I only had one live and it was very puny and didn't last the season. Those purple heads are really attractive for a while. I'll just keep watching. It's a bit early for them to bolt anyway. Not seeing any in their usual spots yet. Thanks.

I've never had good luck trying to transplant wildflowers. Seems they resent our attempts to "tame" them. Even gathering ripe seed heads can be hit or miss. Birds, however, appear to do a pretty good job of spreading the plants around. Just wish the feathered friends would stop gifting me with those dad-gum tasajillo cactus...

There are some that I've transplanted successfully. Symphyotrichum oblongifolium (aster weed) was fairly easy. Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot Daisy) took a lot more patience, but ultimately was a relatively long lived success. The daisies are in part of the yard naturally, though, and are always around. Ipomopsis rubra (Cardinal Flower) was easy from seed. It still comes back after years, just doesn't always stay where I'd prefer. I can't remember its name, but there was a running flat weed that I though was cool. It went everywhere and was really hard to eradicate. Just rooted like St. Augustine grass and was then impossible to get out. A mistake. Some things that grow in the yard are just there. Nothing to do with me at all except that I try to avoid killing them. Native milkweed, Liatris, Solidago, a couple of what I think are wild digitalis. Not much success with seeds on the Eryngium, obviously, but also one I think is Tragopogon dubius (Noonflower - my name for it is (h)airballs), and I've tried Euphorbia marginata a couple of times without any success. I have some Cissus trifoliata (Cow Itch Vine among other names), but mine from seed simply hasn't done well compared to the ones that come up on their own. Clematis drummondii (Old Man's Beard) gave me some germination, but it failed to establish. Not a native in this county, but is in neighboring counties.

Your photo of the Erumgium is beautiful. But the katydid hiding under it gave me pause. Those fellows can eat a whole Dixie cup of seeds in an hour or two if they find it. I learned the hard way after going to a lot of trouble collecting the seeds. I never left any collected seeds sitting around in the open again.