Does Garlic Mustard effect maple tree health?

[red dorakeen]

So I’ve been spending more time in the woodlot lately and it seems like if it isn’t one invasive weed it’s another. The garlic mustard covers just about the entire forest floor.

I read that garlic mustard is “allelopathic, producing chemicals that inhibit the growth of other plants and mychorrizal fungi needed for healthy tree growth and tree seedling survival”.

So I wonder how adverse an effect garlic mustard has on the maple trees. It would be about impossible to eradicate it. Every time I hit a dead plant I can hear hundreds of seeds get planted for next year.

Also, with the loss of so many ash trees from EAB I notice some Japanese Stiltgrass (? I think) invading. I’m guessing it’s taking advantage of a little sun opened up by the dead ash.

[MapleMark753]

Hey, I'm not any kind of plant expert, but I'll respond some... We have garlic mustard too, quite a bit of it in some areas. So far it looks to have had zero effect on the maple trees. Healthy trees, no dieback, etc... even on small trees say one to three inches diameter. On an effect on actual seedlings I can't say cuz I haven't looked. I'd say it could block sunlight from seedlings, or crowd them out, but don't know for sure.
I probably read the same articles about it that you did, some of them look like just cut and paste, exact same verbage type deals where I'm not sure if the underlying info is accurate or not. So, dunno.
Regarding the Stiltgrass, could it be a type of sedge insttead? My check for that is just pick a couple stems of whatever and roll it between my fingers a bit. If it rolls smoothly its probably grass, if it bumps along not really rolling, it may be a sedge. Sedge stems are triangular I think not round like a grass.
anyway, take care, Mark

[red dorakeen]

From what reading I've done on the Garlic Mustard it such a strong competitor that it severely reduces the diversity of the undergrowth.

I get good sap from the trees but I think for general health of the woodlot I'll experiment with pulling them in the spring from some areas.

They're edible when very young.