Can you give me recommendations on how to control purple loosestrife?
Question:
Can you give me recommendations on how to control purple loosestrife?
Answer:
Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional
This is purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), the pretty, but wildly aggressive colonizer of fields, wetlands and roadsides all across Maine. The bad news is that it’s extremely difficult to control–it seeds prolifically, forms dense and resilient root mats, and thrives in a wide variety of conditions–and virtually impossible to eradicate once established. You can read more about it, including suggestions for manual removal and chemical intervention, on the State of Maine’s page on the species.