We frequently receive requests for control of alfalfa which is also a simple perennial. Repeated tillage three or more inches deep and symplastically translocated herbicides provide effective control. Creeping perennials reproduce by seeds and vegetative structures. They are capable of surviving in nearly all management systems. Yellow nutsedge, quackgrass, johnsongrass, wirestem, nimblewill, bermudagrass, Canada thistle, ground ivy, hemp dogbane, milkweeds, and bindweeds are serious creeping perennials.
Vegetative structures provide numerous survival and competitive advantages to a creeping perennial.
In fact, a single disturbance usually stimulates growth from perennial vegetative structures. Inactive seeds and dormant buds generally are not killed by herbicides. Germinating seeds and actively developing buds are vulnerable. Underground vegetative structures should be permitted to expend energy in shoot growth and develop adequate top growth for carbohydrate export underground before they become vulnerable to herbicide treatments. Most creeping perennials become more resistant to control after flowering.