03/14/2026
Invasive w**d highlight:
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) is a common naturalized invasive annual that continues to spread throughout the Rochester region. March is the time to fight it. It germinates in late fall and winter and remains as a rosette until flowering in early spring, as early as the first week of April. Because of this life cycle it’s often overlooked until it has already gone to seed in late April and early May.
Cardamine hirsuta is a prolific re-seeder. A single plant can contain up to 5,000 seeds in pods that contain 20-30 seeds each. These pods have evolved to explode when mature, projecting individual seeds up to 16 feet away. Due to its ability to vigorously reproduce, It is important to remove the plant from your beds prior to flowering and seed production.
The good news is that Cardamine hirsuta is easy to remove in the early spring by hand w**ding and hoeing. The root system is shallow and doesn’t re-propagate from leftovers. The leaves are edible and widely cultivated and eaten in its native range of Eastern Europe and Western Asian. The plant is rich in vitamin C, calcium and antioxidants with a mild but peppery flavor.
The 3 photos were taken today and show the evolution of the rosette before flowering.
-Matt
*Not written by Ai
