Getting Rid Of Wild Garlic

Wild Garlic is a "cool season" perennial weed common in the Southeast. Although it is a close relative to the types of cultivated in your garden, Wild Garlic is very undesirable when it starts appearing in your turf. Wild Garlic has slender, hollow, tubular leaves and will produce small, greenish-white flowers. You will recognize Wild Garlic by the distinctive garlic aroma when you crush a bulb. Wild garlic reproduces by seeds, aerial bulbils, and through their underground, tuberous root system.This perennial will first appear in the Fall and survive until late Spring. It will go dormant when the weather gets warm, making it only a problem during the cooler months of the year. Getting rid of Wild Garlic is hard to do, unless you dig it all out. For small problems, this is the best solution. The best weed control is to remove all the roots and bulbs.For larger infestations of Wild Garlic, there are herbicides available. However, because the wild garlic has a tough outer-casing on its' leaves, herbicides have a difficult time sticking to them. Herbicides will damage, control, and reduce Wild Garlic, but will not complete eradication. Wild Garlic should be dug out whenever possible, and if caught at first appearance, will not become a major problem.