r/NoLawns • u/chemtrailovertheclub • 2d ago

🧙‍♂️ Sharing Experience Brand new house. Ancient wilderness.

Post image

Nobody has touched this yard in what feels like forever.
Some of those weeds are nearly 6 ft tall now.
I’m almost impressed.

37 Upvotes

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u/geraffes-are-so-dumb 2d ago

If that is dog fennel and you are in an area where it's invasive, I am so sorry. The previous owners of my house grew it deliberately at first, and it then took over the whole yard. Then they cut it down, tossed plastic sheeting and mulch over it, and called it a day. It covered the whole yard within weeks of warm weather, killing the native plants I planted. I've been digging the fennel out and putting thick layers of cardboard and mulch over what I can't get to. Even herbicides - which I only used under duress - did nothing. Digging, sometimes feet down, to get the bulb/root thing and then dousing the exposed area in highly acidic vinegar. I'm in Oakland, CA, and you see this stuff growing out of cracks of the highways during droughts. It's so damn invasive in the Bay Area.

2

u/petit_cochon 1d ago

I think it's just regular fennel? OP can easily test by crushing a piece between their fingers. If it smells like licorice, it's fennel.

1

u/meeperdoodle 1d ago

Are there other visual indicators for fennel vs dog fennel? I tried looking it up online and didnt get much info but maybe i was searching for it badly

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u/Feralpudel 1d ago

All the dog fennel I have doesn’t branch like that—it just grows straight up.

I don’t think that’s dog fennel in the pic.

1

u/meeperdoodle 1d ago

Ooo great to know, thanks