{"id":29832,"date":"2024-09-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/?p=29832"},"modified":"2025-02-13T16:07:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T20:07:50","slug":"what-the-fluff-purdue-landscape-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/what-the-fluff-purdue-landscape-report\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Fluff?! – Purdue Landscape Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report<\/a>: As summer comes to a close, plants are rapidly releasing seeds and the most noticeable are the flying fluffy type. Thistles, asters and milkweed are just a few of the summer-flowering plants that depend on the wind to disperse their seeds, sometimes carrying them miles away to potentially suitable locations, though seeds typically land within a few meters of the mother plant. This may not be a concern if it\u2019s a desirable plant, but can become extremely problematic when that seed comes from Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense<\/em>) (Fig. 1).<\/p>\n

\"Canada<\/a>

Figure 1. Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), growing amongst common ivy (Hedera helix), produces a fluffy seed that is dispersed by wind.<\/p><\/div>\n

Canada thistle is found on the list of Indiana Noxious Weeds (IC 15-16-7-2), which mandates that landowners take necessary steps to control and contain the spread of this highly invasive species. Formal enforcement of this Indiana Code falls to Township Trustees, though weed control is a responsibility that is often overlooked. Landowners and homeowners shouldn\u2019t wait for a notice, or knock at the door, from a Township Trustee to begin controlling Canada thistle. It\u2019s listed as a noxious weed for good reason.<\/p>\n

Canada thistle is a perennial plant that can reproduce from seed or rhizomes making it difficult to control and contain. Each plant can produce thousands of wind-blown seeds that may remain viable for up to 20 years in the soil. Rhizomes are horizontal underground stems that can grow several feet and put out new shoots (Fig. 2). To add insult to injury, if a rhizome is cut or tilled, a separate plant may grow from each piece of rhizome.<\/p>\n

Mechanical and cultural control options for Canada thistle are limited and may reduce plant density, but are not effective at eradicating large, established populations in a landscape. A new population, without an established root system, may be controlled with frequent mowing to deplete food reserves and prevent seed production.Small, isolated populations may be controlled with hand-pulling, but this will need to be repeated every few weeks.<\/p>\n

\"Canada<\/a>

Figure 2. Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) reproduces by growing horizontal underground stems called rhizomes. Rhizomes can send up new shoots several feet from the mother plant.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chemical control options include pre- and post-emergent herbicides and, in many cases, applications of both types are needed for complete eradication. A pre-emergent herbicide, with an active ingredient of dichlobenil, is effective at preventing seed from germinating, but will not control established plants. A post-emergent herbicide with the active ingredient of clopyralid is the most effective option for home gardeners. Clopyralid is a selective herbicide for broadleaf weeds, but most vegetable and ornamental plants are susceptible. Precautions should be taken to avoid off-target damage. Read and understand the herbicide label before use. The label is the law.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the method used, complete control of an established Canada thistle population will take persistence over multiple seasons. If the fluffy seed is beginning to fly from your thistle patch, it will likely take many more seasons to rid the garden of this pest, but it is possible. To win the battle against Canada thistle, it takes serious grit and an effective herbicide, or a good realtor.<\/p>\n

View the original article here: What the Fluff?!<\/a><\/p>\n

Subscribe and receive the newsletter:\u00a0Purdue Landscape Report Newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Resources:
\n<\/strong>ID That Tree<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel
\nFind an Arborist<\/a>\u00a0video, Trees are Good-International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)
\nA Woodland Management Moment<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel (Against Invasives, Garlic Mustard, Autumn Olive)
\nWoodland Stewardship for Landowners<\/a>, Playlist, Purdue Extension \u2013 FNR YouTube Channel (Common Buckthorn, Japanese Barberry)
\nPlanting Your Tree<\/a>, Video, The Education Store
\nTree Installation<\/a>, The Education Store
\nIndiana Invasive Species Council<\/a>
\nIndiana Department of Natural Resources: Invasive Species<\/a>
\nPurdue Extension Pond and Wildlife Management Website<\/a>
\nControl of Canada Thistle in CRP and Other Noncrop Acreage<\/a>, The Ed Store
\nInvasive Thistles<\/a>
\nReport Invasive Species<\/a>, Purdue Invasive Species
\nUnderstanding and Controlling Thistle in the Nursery and Landscape<\/a>, Purdue Landscape Report
\nSubscribe<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Purdue Extension-FNR YouTube Channel<\/p>\n

Karen Mitchell<\/a>, Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist
\nPurdue Horticulture & Landscape Architecture<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Purdue Landscape Report: As summer comes to a close, plants are rapidly releasing seeds and the most noticeable are the flying fluffy type. Thistles, asters and milkweed are just a few of the summer-flowering plants that depend on the wind to disperse their seeds, sometimes carrying them miles away to potentially suitable locations, though seeds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,48,49,53,54,622],"tags":[1145,566,998,67,263,426,72],"class_list":["post-29832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forestry","category-invasiveplantspecies","category-plants","category-urbanforestry","category-wildlife","category-woodlands","tag-chemicals","tag-forests","tag-herbicide","tag-plants","tag-seed","tag-summer","tag-wildlife","audience-for-enthusiasts","audience-for-homeowners","audience-for-landowners","audience-for-professionals"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-18 07:44:02","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29832"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31887,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29832\/revisions\/31887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/fnr\/extension\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}