Curly or bitter dock - Ask Extension
Hello. I have a patch of dock growing on the edge of the woods behind my house. It is much larger than it was last summer. I know it's considered a we...
Knowledgebase
Curly or bitter dock #866938
Asked May 03, 2024, 4:35 PM EDT
Hello. I have a patch of dock growing on the edge of the woods behind my house. It is much larger than it was last summer. I know it's considered a weed, but is it invasive? Should I be pulling this up and discarding it when I see it? Will it spread farther into the wooded area and crowd out other native plants? I will say the squirrels love playing in it. Thank you for your help.
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
Curly Dock is listed as non-native but not invasive on the Maryland Biodiversity Project website:
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/3565
Same with bitter dock:
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/3567
If you put "Rumex" in the search bar, you will see there are over 10 species of dock listed which you can explore.
If it doesn't say "non-native" it is native by default. If it were "non-native" and "invasive", it will say so.
Sounds like the squirrels can continue to frolic.
Christine
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/3565
Same with bitter dock:
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/3567
If you put "Rumex" in the search bar, you will see there are over 10 species of dock listed which you can explore.
If it doesn't say "non-native" it is native by default. If it were "non-native" and "invasive", it will say so.
Sounds like the squirrels can continue to frolic.
Christine
