Divide established clumps while dormant, any time from autumn to early spring. Or allow plants to self-seed and transplant the young seedlings to their planting position. Present action is aimed at containing the spread of this weed. Collect seed when brown and ripe, sow immediately into pots of moist compost, or sow where plants are to grow. loosestrife: 1 n any of numerous herbs and subshrubs of the genus Lythrum Types: Lythrum salicaria, purple loosestrife, spiked loosestrife marsh herb with a long spike of purple flowers originally of Europe but now rampant in eastern United States Lythrum hyssopifolia, grass poly, hyssop loosestrife annual with small solitary pink. Effective control of large infestations is dependent on future research. Larger infestations are not presently controllable but may be contained in some situations by pulling and/or herbicide treatment of individual plants as they spread around the periphery of dense stands. Environmental Protection Agency registered herbicides that should be applied by licensed herbicide applicators following label instructions. It is best planted in the spring and fall months, although its hardiness means it can survive being planted in mild periods in winter. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Currently, loosestrife can be controlled with Roundup on terrestrial sites and Rodeo in wetlands and over water. Purple loosestrife can grow up to a meter tall in their first year of growth, but require 2 to 5 years to reach full height. Try herbicides for large infestationsĬlusters in excess of 100 plants, up to 3 acres, and plants too large to pull out, are best controlled by herbicides. Remove all stems from the wetland area as discarded stems will sprout and create new plants. Pull plants before they flower if possible to avoid scattering seeds in the removal process. If the plants are simply broken off at the soil surface, the "root crown" will sprout new stems. Purple loosestrife threatens the delicate balance in wetlands. ![]() ![]() While pretty, it takes over and is a particular problem in sensitive areas like wetlands, which protect water quality and provide critical habitat for many animals. Pull all or as much as possible of the root system out. Purple loosestrife is an invasive plant with small, magenta flowers. Small infestations of up to 100 plants are best eliminated by hand pulling. For this reason it is very important to locate and eradicate the first plants to invade a wetland basin or habitat. Raising these helpful beetles is part of an approved biocontrol program going on across Wisconsin, and they are out in wetlands in Douglas County right now eating Purple Loosestrife plants to help reduce and control the invasive populations in our area.Purple loosestrife spreads rapidly by the very numerous seeds (300,000 per plant or more) produced annually. Loose-strife and Meadowsweet And all along the stream My care hath not forgot Crowfoots white galaxy And loves Forget-me-not: And where high grasses wave Shall great Moon-daisies blink, With Rattle and Sorrel sharp And Robins ragged pink. The WDNR welcomes reports for purple loosestrife at summer, the Douglas County Natural Resources Specialist / AIS Coordinator worked with partners to raise and release 23,000 Purple Loosestrife biocontrol beetles. ![]() Purple loosestrife’s flowers are spires (pictured on the left), but flowers of the milkweed are rounded and flat-topped umbels (pictured in the circle on the right). It is an invasive species that out-competes many native wetland. Introduced in the early 1800s to North America via ship ballast, as a medicinal herb. Not to be confused with a beautiful and important native, swamp milkweed ( Asclepias incarnata), which is also blooming now! The colors may be almost identical, especially when viewed in large patches from a distance or while moving at 70 mph along the highway. Purple Loosestrife, Lythrum salicaria, was introduced into North America in the 1800s. Purple loosestrife is an invasive wetland perennial from Europe and Asia. Purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria) is a wetland invasive plant often noticed in late summer because it’s so easy to see in bloom along roadsides, on river and lake shorelines and in wetlands.
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