On a sunny day in Snoqualmie with Mount Si in the background, 40 EarthCorps crew members donned their safety gear and got hands-on training in noxious weed control from the King County Noxious Weed Control Program. This enthusiastic group of… Read More ›
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 ›
Ever wondered about that giant stand of bamboo-like plants in your backyard, or community garden, or creek edge, that just keeps getting bigger each year? Have you spent months, or years, or even decades struggling to get rid of it?… Read More ›
On a cold and rainy May morning, I walk with Weed Specialist Karen Peterson along the bluffs at the west edge of Seattle’s Discovery Park. As usual, we’re here to control weeds—in this case, a large stand of Scotch broom (Cytisus… Read More ›
Watch out this spring for poison-hemlock (Conium maculatum), a common noxious weed that’s toxic to people and animals. The stems of young poison-hemlock look like those of carrots and other members of the carrot family, but eating any part of… Read More ›
Registration is open for King County’s popular noxious weed workshops being offered this May. Vegetation management crews, landscape professionals, stewardship volunteers and others can choose between three sessions of this all-day seminar on noxious weed control offered on May 3, May 10… Read More ›
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 ›
King County weed specialists recently responded to a report of a new forest invader called small-flowered jewelweed found along Novelty Hill Rd just east of Redmond Ridge. This central Asian species is a widespread invasive plant in European forests, but… Read More ›
Buffalobur makes an occasional appearance in King County this time of year. It comes up in late summer when many other plants have already gone to seed or dried up in the heat. Buffalobur’s spiny leaves and flowers harm animals trying… Read More ›
If it seems like there’s more tansy ragwort in your neighborhood this year, you aren’t alone. Tansy ragwort plants are larger and more numerous just about everywhere in King County. County weed specialists report seeing tansy ragwort in places it… Read More ›
