![]() But for people who live in dry parts of western North America, the tumbleweed is, in fact, a weed that can block doors or clog waterways as they gather in piles. They’re neighborhood nuisances that create fire hazards. They also cause accidents when they roll out onto roadways.Īs it turns out, tumbleweeds are not native to the United States. They’re invasive Russian thistles that flower, die, dry up into a spiny skeletal ball, and roll. Tumbleweeds start out as any plant, attached to the soil. Seedlings, which look like blades of grass with a bright pink stem, sprout at the end of the winter.īy summer, Russian thistle plants take on their round shape and grow white, yellow or pink flowers between thorny leaves. Inside each flower, a fruit with a single seed develops. Starting in late fall, they dry out and die, their seeds nestled between prickly dried leaves. The day after Christmas this year we took our usual family road trip to grandma's through the dairy deserts. Gusts of wind easily break dead tumbleweeds from their roots. Apparently we normally avoided the wind because as we drove through a dust cloud as thick as London fog the road filled with high speed tumbleweeds, and amongst this two in particular were coming right at us-the size of the ones in that gif. A microscopic layer of cells at the base of the plant - called the abscission layer - makes a clean break possible and the plants roll away, spreading their seeds. Those goathead thorns actually start out soft, green & pliable, but once they harden up, it's pain city.Then explore the tumbleweed’s classic image in American pop culture with this tumbleweed supercut by Duncan Robson, a short video commissioned by the Columbus Museum of Art: Learn more from the Deep Look video above: Why do tumbleweeds tumble? When the rains come, an embryo coiled up inside each seed sprouts. I've seen it spread up to 3ft from the central root. Puncturevine, lays flat to the ground & grows more like a groundcover. Tumbleweeds can grow up to 6 feet tall, and will be easily blown by the wind once the central stalk is detached from the ground, they roll, or "tumble" across the ground, hence the name. ![]() I've also posted a pic of puncturevine so you can see the difference. ![]() Here's a few pics of tumbleweed, 1st the young, green plant, followed by the dry adult plant. Those goatheads can lay there for a couple years & still stay sharp & viable. It's going to take several years before you stop seeing them in your tires, shoes, feet, etc. Hit the young plants with Roundup in spring, or hit them with the brush burner. You'll need to remove those plants & apply a preemergent herbicide to keep those remaining thorns from germinating. They stick in your car tires, the soles of your shoes, your dog's paws, etc.Īnd a new plant can sprout & grow from each of those goat head shaped thorns. Those aren't part of tumbleweeds, those are from Puncture vine, AKA "Goatheads." One of the nastiest plants known to man or beast. Might take more time & more work, but it'll be chemical free & cheaper. If you don't want to use chemicals, get a jump on them in spring with a propane brush burner. Hit 'em with Roundup & Surflan Roundup is a non-selective contact herbicide, Surflan is a preemergent herbicide. Best way is to get a jump on them in the spring, while they're small, green & tender. Even with chemicals, it's an ongoing process to control them. As they tumble, seeds are spread, that's why there are often miles & miles of tumbleweeds out on the range. Tumbleweeds are always an ongoing process to control as more of them blow in/through every year. You could just burn 'em without scraping when they dry, but like I said, they burn real hot & real fast you'll have to be REALLY careful so the fire doesn't get away from you & burn something you don't want to burn, like a fence or a house or start a brushfire. ![]() ![]() If they're still green, I'd hit 'em with herbicide & then scrape, but it sounds like you want to avoid chemicals. The leftover ash can be composted or sprinkled around the yard as a soil amendment. They burn really hot & fast due to all the air/space between all those little branches. We used to just crunch 'em, pile 'em & burn 'em. You can use almost any method to remove them when dry tractor with a blade, scoop or drag will do it. Real tumbleweeds break off pretty easily when they dry out, the wind is often all it takes to break the stem. ![]()
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