Find it
Brilliant purple flowers late summer through fall make it easy to identify this plant, which is several feet high and one or two feet wide when mature. It grows in wet areas -- wetlands and near ponds and waterways. It tolerates a wide range of soil. It prefers full sun but also grows in part shade.
Why it’s a problem
Once established, purple loosestrife may spread slowly for several years, until optimal conditions allow populations to explode. It then takes over, crowds out native species and wildlife food sources, and eventually leads to a loosestrife monoculture. It mainly spreads by seeds, transported by air, water, animals, boats and people.
What to do
Do not plant it. It's pretty, but .. all variants are invasive, even if they are advertised as not.
Remove it. Pull it out by the roots. Dig it out. Cut at the base. Dispose of without allowing seeds to disperse. Do not compost.
Control with beetles. UConn supports biological control of purple loosestrife using Galerucella leaf-eating beetles, which are beneficial insects that feed almost exclusively on this one plant. Beetle control is a very successful strategy that takes several years to achieve full effect. Anyone can raise and release the beetles and monitor their impact over time. The beetle is very susceptible to pesticides. For information on Galerucella beetle and becoming a Beetle Farmer, search for Purple Loosestrife at UConn.edu.
Resources
UConn Factsheet - includes information on two beetles and two weevils that can be used to control Purple Loosestrife: https://cipwg.uconn.edu/purple-loosestrife/
Cornell University Biological Control Factsheet - https://biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/weedfeed/Galerucella.php
UConn 1-page factsheet - download link below
Brilliant purple flowers late summer through fall make it easy to identify this plant, which is several feet high and one or two feet wide when mature. It grows in wet areas -- wetlands and near ponds and waterways. It tolerates a wide range of soil. It prefers full sun but also grows in part shade.
Why it’s a problem
Once established, purple loosestrife may spread slowly for several years, until optimal conditions allow populations to explode. It then takes over, crowds out native species and wildlife food sources, and eventually leads to a loosestrife monoculture. It mainly spreads by seeds, transported by air, water, animals, boats and people.
What to do
Do not plant it. It's pretty, but .. all variants are invasive, even if they are advertised as not.
Remove it. Pull it out by the roots. Dig it out. Cut at the base. Dispose of without allowing seeds to disperse. Do not compost.
Control with beetles. UConn supports biological control of purple loosestrife using Galerucella leaf-eating beetles, which are beneficial insects that feed almost exclusively on this one plant. Beetle control is a very successful strategy that takes several years to achieve full effect. Anyone can raise and release the beetles and monitor their impact over time. The beetle is very susceptible to pesticides. For information on Galerucella beetle and becoming a Beetle Farmer, search for Purple Loosestrife at UConn.edu.
Resources
UConn Factsheet - includes information on two beetles and two weevils that can be used to control Purple Loosestrife: https://cipwg.uconn.edu/purple-loosestrife/
Cornell University Biological Control Factsheet - https://biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/weedfeed/Galerucella.php
UConn 1-page factsheet - download link below
p._loosestrife_1-pager_uconn.pdf | |
File Size: | 78 kb |
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