Wild carrot (Queen Anne’s lace) may not seem like a problem now, but with its tenacious growth habits, it can become a big problem. We’ve outlined how to identify and control it.
Wild carrot (Daucus carota), also known as Queen Anne’s lace, is a herbaceous biennial in the carrot family that can grow between 2 and 4 feet in height. Its stem is roughly hairy, upright and stiff, with fernlike leaves that germinate in the spring. Additionally, its leaves increase in size toward the base of the stem and have a carrotlike odor, hence its name.
This invasive plant is best known for its flowers, which are tiny, are white and bloom in flat-topped clusters with a dark purple center. Its small, brown fruits have hooked spines that can attach to both clothing and animal fur, which aids in its dispersal. Some plants will flower and set seed during the first year of growth, but most will overwinter without flowering. While wintering, it anchors with a deep taproot that sends up tall flowers and stalks in the second year.
Native to Europe and southwestern Asia, wild carrot arrived in North America with European settlers. It grows predominantly in disturbed dry grasslands, fields, meadows, pastures, ditches and roadsides. Wild carrot also often invades open waste ground, competing for resources with native grasses and forbs. Additionally, this plant can be a threat to recovering grasslands and prairies due to its fast maturity and ability to grow larger than many native species.
Wild carrot and other species in the carrot family, including poison hemlock and wild parsnip, have proven difficult to control in the past. Now, DuraCor® herbicide provides control of especially tough-to-control weeds, like wild carrot. Treat wild carrot with 12 to 16 fluid ounces of DuraCor per acre when the weed is actively growing and treatment conditions are favorable; 16 fluid ounces of DuraCor per acre is the common use rate.
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™ ® Trademarks of Corteva Agriscience and its affiliated companies. Under normal field conditions, DuraCor® is nonvolatile. DuraCor has no grazing or haying restrictions for any class of livestock, including lactating dairy cows, horses (including lactating mares) and meat animals prior to slaughter. Label precautions apply to forage treated with DuraCor and to manure and urine from animals that have consumed treated forage. DuraCor is not registered for sale or use in all states. Contact your state pesticide regulatory agency to determine if a product is registered for sale or use in your state. Consult the label for full details. Always read and follow label directions. ® 2021 Corteva.
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