It’s Purple Loosestrife – and no, you can’t buy it!
That sounded a bit harsh, that title, didn’t it?
Unfortunately it’s the truth…ok, let me explain further…every year at this time of the season a perennial that is outside our front gate bursts forth with color, and everybody that comes in to pay us a visit wants to know what it is and how much it costs.
Well, what it is is Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). Ok, that’s that part answered, but why can’t you buy it?
The sale of Purple Loosestrife has been banned in many states, including here in North Carolina, so even if we wanted to sell it to you (which we don’t) it would be illegal for us to do so.
Why has it been banned?
Purple Loosestrife is regarded as a noxious, invasive weed. While it seems relatively harmless sitting outside our little garden center, a different story occurs when it gets near waterways. It basically chokes out all native species and forms a thick, almost impenetrable “forest”. This, of course, leads to depleted resources for local wildlife and in turn depletes the wildlife population, and for those reasons we are perfectly happy to go along with the State’s stand in banning it from retail sale.
A simple google search on the term “purple loosestrife” will give you tons of information on this plant, but here’s a couple of extracts:
The plant can form dense, impenetrable stands that are unsuitable as cover, food or nesting sites for a wide range of native wetland animals, including ducks, geese, rails, bitterns, muskrats, frogs, toads and turtles. Many rare and endangered wetland plants and animals also are at risk.
L. salicaria is a herbaceous, wetland perennial that grows in a wide range of habitats. Established plants can reach heights of 2m with 30-50 stems forming wide-topped crowns that dominate the herbaceous canopy. One mature plant can produce more than 2 million seeds annually. Seeds are easily dispersed by water and in mud adhered to aquatic wildlife, livestock and people.
Liatris spicata
A good alternative to use that will help you achieve a similar look is Liatris. While this plant may not get quite as grand looking as Loosestrife, it does have some pretty flower spikes in the Summer, and it will still put on a good show for you.
Add to that the fact that it’s actually beneficial for wildlife and non-invasive, and all of a sudden it seems like a much better choice, don’t you think!
Tags: flowers, invasive species, weeds, wildlife
My son is doing a project on the purple loosestrife plant and is trying to find out where you can still buy it. Do you have any information? thank you
I know a few years ago Long Island was one of the few places that still sold it, but I think they’ve stopped selling it now too.
Apart from that I’m not sure of any states that still are legally allowed to sell it Suzanne.
What all does your son need to do for his project?
He needs to find out if it is still possible to buy purple loosestrife which you answered.He also needs to know ways to control it so if you know antything please post. Thank you for your help.
Sincerly,
Jake
Some states have been using a particular beetle to try to eradicate it. This seems to be the most effective means apart from mechanical removal.
The name of the beetle is Galerucella.
Here’s a good link for reading some more about it:
http://www.sacomaine.org/departments/publicworks/proj-loosestrife.shtml