Mystery plant eludes identification

Q: We live on the West Side, near Interstate 40 and Unser Boulevard. There are these mystery weeds growing all over the backyard, literally taking over. They resemble a vegetable type plant, like kale. Some are low to the ground in clusters, and others are thin and up to two feet tall. Some have tiny white flowers on the ends. We would like to know what they are and the best way to get rid of them. Thanks. — C.&M. R. Albuquerque

A: I went through my copy of “Weeds of the West,” page by page, and couldn’t find an exact match.

You’re saying that some of the plants have tiny white flowers, which made me think of carrots. “Weeds of the West” does have a description of a wild carrot, but the foliage doesn’t match and the flower clusters don’t look right.

Then I thought of a wild mustard. The one we’re all familiar with is called flixweed or London rocket, but it wears yellow flowers and the foliage isn’t nearly as fern-like as the ones in your photos. So, I’m stumped as to the name of the plant.

You could uproot a piece of it and take it to one of our nurseries and perhaps they’d be able to help with an ID. Consider contacting the Master Gardeners to see if anyone there is really up on their weed IDs. If you do choose to take samplings, they must be fresh. They should have a wet paper towel wrapped around the roots and be presented in a securely closed zip-closure plastic bag. Don’t go waving an uncontrolled sample around.

You have defined this interloper as a weed, so to getting rid of it I’m going to suggest you pull, pull, pull. It’ll be lots of work but if you allow any of these creatures to continue to grow and the flowering matures to the seed-setting stage, you’ll have this weed everywhere, more than you already do. The easiest way will be to water thoroughly first and then pull and dispose of them. You might consider snipping off any flowers so they don’t advance to the seed-setting stage. I will strongly suggest that you wear gloves so if, heaven forbid, they are poisonous, you stay safe.

It looked like there were landscape plants in the area, so I will not recommend a weed killer spray. That type of herbicide can move through the soil and affect surrounding valuable plant life.

It’ll be a big chore to remove and dispose of these interlopers, but since you’ve defined them as weeds, then you have your work cut out for you. Wish I had better news or an easier way to eradicate them. I’m most curious as to what they are if you do find out.

Q: My neighbors have a mature catalpa tree in their front yard. Evidently, one of its seeds has found its way into my patio area and is growing really well, nearing 2 feet tall already. I want to move it to a better place in my yard and want to know what’s best for it. Help! — K.C., Albuquerque

A: Knowing how big your neighbor’s catalpa is, you will want to be sure the place you’ve picked will fit the tree.

Having done that, I suggest you dig a large hole to receive the youngster. Pretend you’re planting at least a 5 gallon tree. The hole needs to be 12 to 16 inches across and at least that deep, deeper will be better. The soil that has come out of the hole should be mixed with some compost at a ratio of compost to hole soil.

Now you get to dig up the youngster. Water first to make the digging easier. Twelve inches around should be wide enough but don’t be disheartened if you have to go wider. Make sure you dig deep too, aiming all the while to not injure the roots.

Have a tarp laid out so as little as possible of the soil encasing the roots is lost. You’re looking to dig up a ball, essentially.

Once dug up, get the tree to the new hole. Push some of the amended soil into the hole and then place it in the hole. Measuring is paramount because you don’t want to plant it deeper than it was originally, so if you have to push more amended soil beneath it to get to the correct level, so be it.

Once the correct level is determined, push in the balance of the amended soil to fill in any gaps or space. Use any leftover soil to create a moat wall along the outer edge of the planting hole. Slowly fill the moat with water and the tree should settle in.

I always recommend a dose of liquid root stimulator be applied after the initial watering. Keep the tree watered, filling the moat daily for upwards to ten days, then gradually wean it back to water once every ten days through the summer. It will show you if it needs water more often, so be ready to rescue it.

Yes, you can move your free tree, just do it sooner rather than later, OK?

Happy Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.