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Want to learn how to get rid of shotweed?
When it’s cool and damp, many ask as how to get rid of shotweed. That’s because this cool season annual weeds to pop up their tenacious little heads from late winter through late fall.
Shotweed loves mild temperatures and gentle, if persistent, rains. However, despite being a weed, it can be quite lovely carpeting flower beds in a lovely brilliant spring green. But as lovely as it can be, it is still seen as a weed by many.
Each time we introduce a coaching client to shot weed, we realize it’s time to remind readers that this weed is a multi-season menace for many. And likely you’re wondering how to get rid of it. Or maybe you might actually find that shotweed is useful.
Firs, identify what is shotweed in your garden:
One of the many things I do as a professional garden coach is teach individuals about the weeds in their gardens. Knowing what a weed is and how it grows helps us understand the best ways to deal with a specific, nuisance plant. And no weeding coverage would be complete without addressing the tenacious little plant known as shotweed (Cardamine oligosperma).
Shotweed Rosette Flowering
Shotweed seems innocuous until it takes over the garden. I recall in years past telling a neighbor, “As far as weeds go, this one isn’t too horrible. See it has pretty little white flowers.”
Well, shame on me. Letting those pretty little white flowers form and go to seed just meant I was letting this weed get the best of my garden spaces. Sure, we all have to pick our battles in the garden. And we do what we can to stay on top of everything, but knowing that this is a fairly simple weed to remove means I’m going to encourage you to work at keeping it at bay.
Shotweed Seeds Ripening
What are some other names for shotweed?
Spitweed, pop-in-the-eye weed, wild cress, shotweed, Western bittercress, and little bittercress are just a few of the names you’ll hear. The “shot/spit/pop” names come from from poor souls who try to pull it as it has gone to seed. Once those seed pods ripen, the slightest breeze or touch will send tiny seeds flying all over the garden — and right into your eye.
To be clear, common names may lead to confusion. So always be sure you have fully identified your plant correcting. And to do that, botanical names might help!
Can I eat shotweed to get rid of it?
The “cress” terms for shotweed come from those who harvest it as a food crop. I’ve tasted it (after fully identifying it), and it isn’t my favorite.
But chickens love to eat shotweed. That’s because it’s a tender, fresh green that’s abundant after the dormant days of winter. Plus, at this time of year, hens are gearing up to lay eggs. And that makes them voracious!
Shotweed stem tips and flowers are slightly peppery. So, you might try it as a wild salad cress. But, as with all new wild foods, if you’re going to try it, be sure to properly identify your plant first and try only a very small amount to start and taste at your own risk. And, only gather it from uncontaminated sites. Just because one person can eat something doesn’t mean everyone can. And, just because chickens love it, doesn’t mean you will.
So, what if you just want to get rid of shotweed for good?
Well, you now know that the seeds fire off in all directions if the plant gets a chance to go to seed. So, ideally, you want to remove it from the garden before it sets seed. Unfortunately, for those of us not growing it as an edible crop, this can mean it appears in our cool-weather gardens multiple times a year.
Remember, shotweed thrives in cool weather. Seeds germinate even in winter. So young shotweed plants may begin appearing in your garden throughout winter. That means it’s important to keep an eye out for the plants’ rosette forms hiding in plain sight. And get them out your garden beds before they bloom, which can happen fast.
Tiny Shotweed
See shotweed? Pull it to get rid of it asap!
As a self-seeding annual weed, these plants germinate from seed, form a plant that forms flowers and then seeds. When the seeds are spent, the original plant dies. (Just to confuse things, there are some perennial forms of Cardamine as well.).
Fortunately, this form of Cardamine doesn’t form a deep taproot like you’ll find with Dandelions and Dockweeds. Instead, it is fairly shallow-rooted, with wide tiny roots that are easy to pull. It does have a slight taproot, but nothing difficult to remove. Plus, unlike the tough taproot weeds, if you don’t get all of the root from a shotweed plant, it isn’t likely to grow back (or multiply) from the roots.
So, if you get out there before the spring growth surge, and remove your shotweed, you’ll have a better chance of reducing its numbers.
But, keep in mind that this plant can germinate many times in our growing seasons. It only really stops when we hit the dry heat of summer. And when the heat hits, the dying plants will be spitting out new seeds. And these seeds will germinate when the weather turns cool and moist again. Or, those seeds will may come to life even sooner if they land in a shady spot that your irrigation reaches.
No pulled shotweed left behind or else:
It is important to dispose of the pulled plants completely. That means don’t be lazy and set them back on the soil. This is because if you pull this weed and set them down — even root side up — wiley shotweed often has the ability to reroot itself. Probably this is because they grow in cool, moist weather. So the damp and cool might be giving those exposed roots a fighting chance even will removed from the ground.
In Seattle and other parts of the Pacific Northwest, you’re likely to see shotweed plants in the garden starting in January – June and again September-November. But, sometimes pop-in-the-eye will appear in other months as well. Moreover, the plants can range from the size of a penny to the size of a geranium depending on time of year and its growing environment. And, yes, regardless of size, every plant has the potential to form flowers and seeds!
You can win in managing weeds!
It may sound like getting rid of shotweed is an impossible battle to win. But because shotweed is so easy to pull, it’s one weed that doesn’t require a lot of tools. You just need a sharp eye during your daily strolls through the garden and the willingness to pull a few weeds along the way. Of course, if you’ve decided at one time or other that it looks pretty and is no big deal, like I did foolishly years ago, you may need to go after it more seriously the first (and possibly second and third) time around.
Need help managing more than just shotweed?
We’ve put together several resources on ways to identify and take care of all sorts of garden weeds. Some weeds are dangerous. And, others may be edible. But, learning which is which. And, understanding the best way to deal with each may be challenging.
I hate this one with a passion! I am super vigilant about getting rid of it before it flowers/seeds but still it’s there again every year, seemingly in greater quantities. My mom calls it “popping weed” and it is the bane of her Eastside garden too. Ugh!
After a walk through my garden over the weekend, I was so disappointed to see shotweek popping up everywhere. I thought I had been so thorough last year removing the week before it went to seed. I wonder if there was latent seed in my soil, just waiting for the opportune moment to germinate and grow. I know I will steal 30 minutes here and there to hand weed it out before it goes to seed. As a contact lens wearer, I can attest that the seeds can go right into the eye and pop out a contact! Lens wearers, beware! Get it out of your garden now before seeds form!
PS Do you know that the Google ad running next to this post is one for herbicide?
It doesn’t surprise me that’s the case. If I use the keyword, they will come. Unfortunately, there’s only so much screening I can do. Hopefully folks will read the post and not just buy a random chemical!
Great post! I never knew what this weed was called. I have it too; frankly, it’s the least of my worries. It’s better than bindweed (morning glory)! And hey, it’s edible. I’ll give it a try in my next salad.
Thank you for this post and for the photos that helped me identify this weed. This is the first time I noticed this weed in the seedling state because it shot seeds when I tried to pull it out. Lucky for me it’s edible because I got several in my mouth! Ever since we stopped using chemicals on our lawn several years ago, we have more and more ‘herbs’ I never knew existed. I hate to think how far this one is going to spread.
This is perfect timing! I was planning on weeding today and now I know that in addition to bind weed, thistle, and chickweed, I have shotweed in my garden! Thanks, Robin!
Glad to help Willi. Bindweed and thistle — yuck. Those are tough ones to eradicate. Chickweed and Shotweed are easier to manage, but they never seem to stop coming up.
Good luck out there today!
Just a comment on the pictures. “Shotweed” refers to nearly all the bittercresses and all of these are hard to differentiate. I believe that these pictures are of Cardamine hirusta, “Hairy Bittercress”. I am not sure how to distinguish C. hirusta from C. oligosperma, but they are quite similar I believe, as are all the bittercresses. The Only way to tell C. hirusta from the others (excepting oligosperma, of which I do not know) is that C. hirusta has an unstraightened petiole.
It’s great in soup and salads, and pairs well with something bland, like potatoes. It’s a little fussy to clean in it’s small stages, and it gets a bit stringy as it sends up it’s flower stalk, though it can still be used in stock at that stage. There’s plenty of it when there’s hardly anything else fresh that’s edible in the garden, a little goes a goodly way, and it eating it seems like a perfect revenge.
Love these posts. I’m so glad I’m not alone in this weed infestation. I didn’t know what they were either. Called them Pea Shooters. Why aren’t the seeds edible? Maybe they’re they too hard to catch? 🙂
I discovered this plant in my garden about 5 or so years ago in eastern New York State. It most likely came in with some nursery plants. At first, I half-heartedly started picking it until I realized how invasive it can become. It really is all over the place, but in patches, so far. Now I am on a mission to at least minimize it in the gardens. Just finished picking enough to fill a 40# bird seed bag!! Off to the dump with it.
PS, I didn’t find the stuff to be particularly tasty.
I have engaged in a hand-weed eradication program for these little buggers for many years. I attend to my garden beds and my 200 foot long gravel driveway through March and April. In retrospect, I realize my efforts are actually a natural selection process: the larger plants no longer show up, but the nickel size ones abound, even though the small ones only produce one seed stalk. The little versions are harder to spot, escape being pulled, and therefore their genes are the ones that get passed on. Darwin and Lamarck were dead on!
Russell, same thing here! The littlest of them manage to hide and thrive in our garden too. Keep working away at them (and we’ll do the same)!
Thank you for this post. I had no idea what this little critter was called and wanted to know. Your post is perfect. I live in suburban New York, and I actually love this little plant. It’s flowering now and other than the crocus and scylla, it’s the first thing to flower. Our cool weather season is abysmally short, though, so it doesn’t seem to keep germinating much past March here, and thus doesn’t take over my garden in the way you describe. My problem weed is mugwort. Ugh!
Sherry, enjoy it. Wish I could trade some mugwort for this stuff!
I waited too long and now this weed has gone to seed all over my yard. Does anyone have advise on how to get them out without allowing the seeds to shoot everywhere?
Try to gather the tops/seeds by covering with your hand to keep them from popping. Unfortunately, once they’ve gotten to the seed spitting point, it can be tough to get them out without spreading the seeds in the process. Good luck! We’re battling it too…always…
I LOVE SHOTWEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is delicious and grows in the winter. I always pick it BEFORE it flowers. I love it when I find large plants! Harvest tips: Pull it up roots and all. Remove roots before washing in a bowl or rinsing in a colander. Chop it up and use in omelets, stir fries, salads and soups. It is an excellent green. One year I did not buy any lettuce while shotweed was available. It only gets really bitter when it is old an gone to flower. I just harvest a huge pile from my community gardens greenhouse that was growing in the floor!!!!!! I am eating an emmer-faro slad with shotweed, sundried tomatoes in olive oil, basalmic vinegar, garlic, pepper and salt. Topped with a bit of grated romano cheese. Excellent! EAT YOUE WEEDS!!!
Good for you Ruth. Keep enjoying nature’s harvest!