Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Durham County

By Susan Sharp, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SMvolunteer of Durham County

Many NC gardeners know both the joys and the frustrations of managing landscape beds and woodland areas in the summer. If we’ve done the planting and maintenance (and if a drought hasn’t done too much damage), plants like black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), hyssop (Agastache), sage (Salvia), and Stokes’ asters (Stokesia laevis) are providing color and pollinator interest. On the edges, however, invasive summer weeds will be creeping in. Some will have grown slowly since spring seeding, while others have volatile spreading habits. Here we look at one of the most challenging: Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum).

Close-up view of Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) amongst other green foliage.

Late summer appearance of Japanese stiltgrass before flowering – optimum time to control. (Image credit: Andrea Lane CC BY-NC 4.0)

Japanese Stiltgrass – History and Current Status

There are reasons why one of the most popular Horticulture Information Leaflets on the NC State Extension publications website is the one entitled Japanese Stiltgrass Identification and Management. Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), also known as Napalese browntop or bamboograss, is a summer annual in the grass family (Poaceae) that invades both disturbed and undisturbed areas in woodland and landscape settings. Researchers first reported it in the US (Tennessee) around 1919, likely introduced as packing material for fragile items from Asian countries. It now invades at least 26 US states and multiple countries globally, and the NC Invasive Plant Council classifies it as Rank 1 – Severe Threat in NC.

A dense patch of Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) growing in a shaded woodland area, surrounded by trees and underbrush.

Japanese stiltgrass overgrowth in woodland setting (Image credit: Susan Sharp)

Identification and Growth Habit

Japanese stiltgrass germinates in early spring. Key vegetative identification characteristics include rolled vernation and a short membranous ligule¹. Additionally, the leaf blades are short and broader than most grasses, around 3 inches long and ½ inch across, often with a distinctive silvery stripe of reflective hairs along the midrib. As the season progresses, the stems grow increasingly wiry, turning color from light green to reddish purple through the summer.

Close-up of Japanese stiltgrass (_Microstegium vimineum_) stem with leaf blades with silver midrib, reddish stem and young flower spike against a light background.

Japanese stiltgrass flower in September (Image credit: Susan Sharp)

The flowers are racemes with branched spikes appearing from late August to September, but they often hide within the leaf sheaths. Seeds then easily spread by multiple means carried by awns², including wind, water, people and animals, making pre-flowering control a top priority. Plants will wilt to a light tan shade after frost, but some persist throughout the winter, especially in wooded landscapes.

Four samples of grass awns displayed in varying orientations against a blue background, with a scale bar indicating 1 cm.

Japanese stiltgrass awns for seed dispersal (Image credit: Steve Hurst. Provided by ARS Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory)

The plant prefers partially shady, moist areas but adapts readily to other conditions and most soil types. It spreads during the growing season by stolons, and each plant can disperse over 1,000 seeds that remain viable for up to four years. Gardeners now find it in woodlands, shaded to partial-sun landscapes, and low-maintenance turf throughout the southeastern US, including Durham County. Unfortunately, it provides little to no food value to animals or insect herbivores, so natural controls on its spread are minimal. If left unchecked, stiltgrass spread can overtake native landscapes in three to five years.

Stiltgrass Control and Management

Controlling Japanese stiltgrass requires persistence and good timing. Mulch is generally ineffective, but denial of light early in the season using blockers like thick cardboard can help in landscape beds. We have experimented with this approach in a home landscape bed this season and have seen less infestation. Hand pulling can help in beds – perfect for meditative weeding, but hard on the gardener’s back. For larger infestations, mowing prior to seeding can reduce spread effectively, and flame weeding works in moist sites when fire hazard is low.

A landscaped area showing a mixture of dried grass and fallen leaves along a pathway, with dense green vegetation in the background.

Roadside Japanese stiltgrass mowed in late August (Image credit: Susan Sharp)

Importantly, timing is crucial: gardeners should complete all manual/mowing control measures by mid to late August, before the flowers become visible, to prevent seed production. If removed or mowed before August, the remains can be left as mulch in woodland or shaded areas. Bag all plant debris for disposal if it’s later in summer near the flowering season.

For chemical control, herbicides that target crabgrass will generally control Japanese stiltgrass as well, both pre-emergent and post-emergent. The NC State Horticulture Information Leaflet publication provides details on proper use and timing. The NC Agricultural Chemicals Manual offers additional product-specific guidance. As always, consulting the herbicide label for usage guidance is essential.

Notes

1– In grassy plants, the ligule is a thin outgrowth found on the inner surface of a leaf where the leaf blade meets the sheath that wraps around the stem. It acts as a protective barrier against pests and other stressors for younger leaf tissue. A membraneous ligule is a thin, translucent outgrowth at the junction of the leaf blade and sheath.

2–An awn is a small, usually bristled or barbed projection often used by grassy plants to boost seed dispersal.

Resources and Additional Information

NC State Extension Plant Toolbox: Microstegium vimineum (Japanese Stiltgrass) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox

NC Invasive Plant Council on Japanese stiltgrass: Invasive Species

USDA PLANTS Database: USDA Plants Database Plant Profile General

NC State Extension Horticulture Information Leaflet: Japanese Stiltgrass Identification and Management | NC State Extension Publications

2026 North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual: 2026 North Carolina Agricultural Chemicals Manual | NC State Extension Publications

Article Short Link https://wp.me/p2nIr1-6ou

By Wendy Diaz, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SMvolunteer of Durham County

Thinking of growing creeping cucumber? Don’t get yourself in a “pickle” by growing it near your vegetable variety. During the fall of 2024, I observed a patch of green ground cover formed by a delicate creeping vine in an area that previously was covered with only pine needles and cones in my woodland garden. This part of our yard was void of vegetation because I removed forsythia bushes some years ago in an effort to plant mainly natives in my woodland garden, so I was curious about this volunteer plant.

Patch of green creeping cucumber vine (Melothria pendula) spreading on the ground in a woodland garden setting.

Patch of creeping cucumber vine (Melothria pendula) spreading on ground in woodland garden. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

Identifying the Creeping Cucumber

Rather than instantly judging it to be a weed that had to be pulled up, I did some research and identified it as Melothria pendula, a native herbaceous perennial common in the southeast.¹ I decided to leave this indigenous volunteer plant in my natural area, and I even tried to train it up the nearby rose arbor.

Green creeping cucumber vine (Melothria pendula) climbing on a white post in a garden.

Creeping cucumber vine trained to climb up rose arbor at the entrance to woodland garden natural area. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

Common names of Melothria pendula are creeping cucumber, Guadeloupe cucumber, meloncito, speckled gourd, and my favorite, mouse melon.² Creeping cucumber is a member of the cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae). It is a slender climbing vine that uses coiled tendrils as an appendage from the leaf axis to grab onto other structures or vegetation. It prefers bottomland forests, marshes and moist roadsides. Although it’s a perennial in our zone, winter severity may affect whether it returns from the same vine.

The leaves are alternate, palmately 3-to-5 lobed-shaped and resemble small ivy or grape leaves. The charming tiny (1/4 inch wide) yellow flowers have 5 shallowly notched corolla lobes held on a long pedicel which blooms from summer into fall, with peak flowering in August and September in the Piedmont.

Close-up of creeping cucumber vine (Melothria pendula) with green leaves and a small yellow flower on pine needles in woodland garden.

Close up of creeping cucumber (Melothria pendula) leaves and flower. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

The fruit is a mottled green and elliptical-shaped berry that resembles tiny watermelons (1 inch long).

Closeup of young light green creeping cucumber berries (Melothria pendula) nestled among leaves and pine needles in a woodland garden.

Closeup of creeping cucumber young berries and vine. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

The vine can grow up to 15 feet long. The light green berries can be eaten raw but may have a laxative effect especially when eaten ripe when black colored.³

Ground cover of creeping cucumber vine (Melothria pendula) featuring green, lobed leaves, light green berries and small yellow flowers on bed of leaves, pine needles and pine cones.

Creeping cucumber vine with grape-shaped leaves, tendrils, yellow flowers and small green berries. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

Creeping Cucumber and Pickleworm Pest

In 2025, the creeping cucumber vine reappeared in my garden, though not as vigorous as last year due to the lack of rain in the previous two months. Unfortunately, my new groundcover is a major host of a number of different viruses and other pests (also reservoirs of viruses during the offseason too) that harm the vegetable cucumber variety.⁴

During the end of the cucumber harvest season, pickleworms (larval stage of a moth) appeared in my small vegetable cucumbers for the first time, but I wasn’t upset because I already harvested many pounds of pristine cucumbers.

Close-up of a sliced cucumber with a young pickleworm larva burrowing into it, showing a small entry hole in the cucumber.

Young pickleworm larva (Diaphania nitidalis) (Stoll) burrowing into a young cucumber. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

Pickleworms are a tropical species and usually show up in North Carolina in August and September and cannot overwinter in our colder winters (overwintering habitats are Florida and Texas).⁵ Creeping cucumber serves as an important wild host of pickleworms; so, if you are a fan of dill pickles and Greek salad, like I am, you should pull up the creeping cucumber in order to preserve your garden variety of cucumbers.

Close-up of a green cucumber piece with fingers holding it, showing an entry hole and frass from a young pickleworm larva.

Young pickle worm with brown head. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

Young larvae are yellowish-white with black spots and brown head. Gardeners usually find the pulpy frass (fecal material) at their entrance holes in the cucumber skin.⁶

Close-up of a cucumber with a hole and frass indicating infestation by pickleworm, held in hand indoors.

Pickleworm entry hole and frass (fecal matter) on cucumber from my vegetable garden on September 5, 2025. (Image credit: Wendy Diaz)

Managing Creeping Cucumber Near Vegetable Gardens

To avoid the pickleworm and preserve my volunteer creeping cucumber ground cover, I think I will try and plant my vegetable cucumber starts in early spring this time. As a precaution, I will burn the old vegetable cucumber vines in the fall and make sure the creeping cucumber is a good distance from my raised vegetable garden for the next growing season. It is good pest management practice to remove creeping cucumber plants in areas adjacent to vegetable cucumber plants.^7,8

If I continue to have a pest problem with my cucumber fruit, I may have to give up on my native creeping cucumber ground cover and climbing vine because I do love a fresh Greek salad and dill pickles.