Marestail/Horseweed in Strawberry Plantings
Return to Weeds
Marestail/horseweed (Conyza canandensis) is a biennial weed that can reach heights of 3 to 6 feet. Seeds germinate throughout spring and early summer; plants mature and set seed the same year. Late-season plants overwinter in the rosette stage. One plant may release 200,000 seeds that disperse easily by wind.
Marestail growth habit.
(Photo: Robert Videki, Doronicum Kft., Bugwood.org)
Marestail growth habit.
(Photo: John Strang, University of Kentucky)
Marestail flowers.
(Photo: Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte, Bugwood.org)
Management:
- Cultivate at renovation.
- Apply pre-emergent herbicides to prevent seed germination.
- Burn-down herbicides during seedling or rosette stages destroy young plants.
- Glyphosate-resistant marestail is becoming more common.
