Article Contributed on: 5/27/2007 8:19:34 AM
This wonderful, wet spring we are all enjoying has really caused the plants to get up and grow! Seldom have I witnessed such a spring as this one.
Unfortunately, the noxious weeds we have are enjoying the moisture, too. Knapweed is reaching record heights, the thistles are loving it, the toad flax is happy.
What I am really noticing, though, is the Leafy Spurge. It's boomtown out there for this stuff.
Leafy Spurge is a member of the Euphorbia family, which includes a number of ornamental plants. To call this plant aggressive would be to risk understatement.
Back when I was employed by the Castle Pines HOA, I became pretty involved in weed management. I went to seminars, earned my herbicide license, and became totally depressed by the whole subject.
There's no real stopping these things. Their range grows by leaps and bounds every season.
When I was Grounds Superintendent, Castle Pines had only a few patches of Leafy Spurge. Now it's everywhere.
It arrives in contaminated soils, by hitching a ride in the root balls of trees dug where spurge is present, on trucks and trailers, and seemingly by magic.
All the construction we are experiencing disturbs the soil and is an open invitation to noxious weeds to take root and grow.
You can identify Leafy Spurge by it's yellowish green flowers and bracts. Upon breaking off a stem you will find a milky colored sap. That's the giveaway.
What to do? If it is on your property, good luck. Keep pulling it. Be ruthless. Some newer forms of herbicides give pretty good results, but you will need a licensed contractor to apply it. The typical, over the counter herbicides, including 2,4,D and Roundup, are pretty much a waste of time.
I have come to the conclusion the spread of noxious weeds is a by product of our lifestyle and ease of movement about the planet. Where plants (and animals) were once limited by natural barriers, today's global travel and economy has enabled them to hitch rides all over the world with relative ease.
We are witnessing, in my opinion, a homogenizing of the planet. Good, bad, or indifferent, these foreign weeds are not going away.
Goats will eat leafy spurge, and they are used in areas with a lot of infestation. There are folks out there that travel around with their goats, setting up temporary fences around a plot of spurge. There is also a beetle that, after much testing, has been introduced with some success. They feed on spurge.
For most of us, though, once you find it, the best option is to just keep pulling........ or buy a goat!
Here is a link to a good web site if you would like to read more about this weedy pest.
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/eues1.htm