Late fall is a great time to trim butterfly bush plants before the seeds fly away. Seeds can move 40 miles away on the wind and take root everywhere from roadsides to pristine rivers. The blooms have mostly lost their… Read More ›
Weed of the Month
Buffalobur – September 2017 Weed of the Month
Native to Mexico and the Midwestern United States, buffalobur (Solanum rostratum) is an annoying—and painful—regulated Class C noxious weed in King County. While we’re just a truck ride from its native range, this plant has effectively spread all over the… Read More ›
Garden Loosestrife – August 2017 Weed of the Month
What plant is so tough that it can outcompete common cattail (Typha latifolia), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), and even Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) along King County’s shores? Garden loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris), a Class B noxious weed from Eurasia, has managed… Read More ›
Tansy Ragwort – July 2017 Weed of the Month
Cows and horses don’t seek out poisonous plants like tansy ragwort. But it’s hard for them to avoid exposure when the weeds take over their pastures, or line the trails where they are ridden. Although tansy ragwort is bitter and… Read More ›
Spotted Knapweed – June 2017 Weed of the Month
What’s five feet tall, has pink or purple flowers with spotted bracts, and costs the state of Montana $42 million each year? If you answered spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), you’re right! A native to grassland steppes between central Europe and… Read More ›
Shiny Geranium – April 2017 Weed of the Month
With shiny geranium, appearances are deceiving. Don’t let the plant’s small size or delicate pink flowers fool you. To quote Ed Alverson, a botanist from Oregon who has extensive experience battling shiny geranium, “this is pretty much the most diabolical… Read More ›
Gorse – March 2017 Weed of the Month
Gorse is one of the earliest and most conspicuous noxious weeds to flower in King County, adding a little color to the otherwise dull-looking hillsides. Unfortunately, along with the attractive blooms comes a huge, thorny, invasive bush that is a… Read More ›
English Ivy – January 2017 Weed of the Month
During the winter months in the Pacific Northwest, English ivy stands out even more than usual. Although some people enjoy the evergreen look of it on fences and tree trunks, English ivy is also at its worst in the winter… Read More ›
Invasive Knotweed – October 2016 Weed of the Month
When people ask for the worst noxious weed in King County, invasive knotweed is on the top of the list. It has so many of the qualities that make invasive plants troublesome. It grows and spreads rapidly, out-competes most other plants, is… Read More ›
Policeman’s Helmet – July 2016 Weed of the Month
In 1839, seeds of Impatiens glandulifera were sent from their native home in western Himalaya to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, England. Within 15 years, populations had escaped and naturalized into the English countryside. By the 1900’s, the… Read More ›
