This month, we’re focusing on the notorious spotted knapweed—an unruly guest from Eurasia. This aggressive, short-lived perennial invades pastures, roadsides, and open spaces, releasing root chemicals to outcompete other plants while spreading its seeds in the wind like confetti. By year two, it’s showing off with pink to purple blooms on its many branched stems.
Make sure to wear gloves for a hands-on removal, pulling up rosettes or upright plants, removing as much as the taproot as possible. For more information, check out the flyer below.
Hood River County’s got its fair share of knapweed varieties, with spotted, diffuse, and meadow being the top troublemakers. They might have their quirks, but they all wreak similar havoc on the environment. Can you spot the similarities and differences in these knapweed culprits that may be lurking in your landscape?
