Gardener infuriated after discovering 'enemy' in their yard: 'Save yourself'

Looks can surely be deceiving in the plant world. When it comes to an ordinary-looking one called hedge parsley, you'd best not underestimate how much it can haunt your world.

A wary gardener posted to the r/AustinGardening subreddit, urgently cautioning gardeners not to underestimate the threat.

Their post features several images starting with one labeling the plant as "ENEMY." Others show it on the ground and right after being picked.

"Your yearly reminder that this plant … is a horrible weed that will spawn sticker burs in a month that will be all over your socks, your kids, your dog, etc.," they wrote. "Pull it now and save yourself the aggravation!"

The original poster is far from alone in contending with the invasive and explosive weed, as TexasMonthly noted. Once hedge parsley takes hold, it can crowd out native plants and disturb high-quality plant communities, per the State of Indiana Cooperative Invasives Management.

That made the directive simple for the OP. Their advice was to kill the plant on sight, and fellow Redditors shared their own battles with a hedge parsley infiltration.

One recalled how their entire backyard was covered with it, but they'd slowly cut down its prominence over the years by filling multiple trash bags.

"This year only half a trash bag," they wrote. "... Only ~15 hours hand weeding … /Cry."

Commenters were also sure to mention that homeowners should be extra diligent to get all the roots. While one commenter said they used a hori hori garden knife, another cautioned that hand-pulling might be the way to ensure that leftover roots didn't come back to haunt them.

The OP's advice was well-needed for some and cathartic for others. Some commenters revealed they didn't know the dangers of what they were dealing with, while others were well-aware but felt seen.

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One exclaimed: "Was just wondering if I had a fun parsley surprise growing! Thank you!"

"Oh man this has been alllll over my yard this year, I hadn't seen it before and suddenly now it's everywhere!" another shared.

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