Luckily, they’re easy to control. Burdock plants flower in late summer, producing a mature composite seedhead (burrs) in the fall. Look for clusters of green or yellow bugs and spray them with a … What does a burdock look like and where does it grow? The aerial parts are a food source and the roots have strong medicinal values. The seeds are useful and interestingly, yellow dock seeds are viable for up to 80 years. 14 of 25 Faux Potted Wild Grass It produces egg-shaped, thistle-like flower heads that appear in loose clusters and eventually give rise to the familiar sticky burs with their large hooks. The first year, it doesn’t grow tall or bloom; it merely stores reserves in its roots, like a carrot (also a biennial),” he says. Like a carrot or parsnip, the tubular plant looks kind of like a zombie's nobby finger. Yellow dock is an ingredient in some herbal toothpastes. Look for a cluster of burdock plants with fairly small rosettes. Some realistic plants can cost a pretty penny, but for less than $100, you can get your hands on a lush mid-sized beauty like this burdock. Thayer says you should treat the root of the burdock a bit like you would a potato. Burdock is one plant that doesn’t have a poisonous look-alike so it is fairly safe for beginning foragers. A tall plant, Greater burdock has large, downy, heart-shaped leaves with wavy margins. If you decide to try any wild edible plants for yourself be sure and make a positive identification before you eat it. But keep in mind that unlike the potato, small is definitely better when it comes to burdock. There are few plants out there that slugs don’t like to nibble, and burdock is no exception. Greater burdock is considered to be weed, however, recently among gardeners there has been a tendency to breed it as a medicinal and vegetable plant. “Burdock is a biennial; it lives for two growing seasons. A large plant will have massive roots that will be too hard to dig out. Use your favorite slug control method to keep them at bay. If you decide to try it let us know in the comments section. At some point, every garden gets aphids. The taproot of young burdock plants can be harvested and eaten as a root vegetable.While generally out of favour in modern European cuisine, it is popular in East Asia. Found in Northern Asia and Europe, burdock root has become a staple in many cultures for its medicinal purposes. Aphids. Yellow dock has been used as a multi-purpose plant for centuries.