The heads seem more red than usual this year. Ruby red instead of pink.
I have 35 gallons of them with around 10 plants left to dig.
I have 35 gallons of them with around 10 plants left to dig.
My older son’s wife’s family introduced thistle by accident to the US ! Seems her ancestors that migrated from Eastern Europe near the Russian border in the 1800’s brought with them wheat seeds to plant that had Russian thistle seeds in it too. After planting ther seeds a couple of years on the plain of eastern Montana they began seeing tumbleweed/thistle sprout up with their. Well the rest is history as our country has it all over the west now.
As Russian migrants they are hard working Americans today and very patriotic. This claim to fame however has never left their history
As Russian migrants they are hard working Americans today and very patriotic. This claim to fame however has never left their history
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Next time you’re around them, please give them all wedgies and tell’em thanks a lot for the thistles. The gift that keeps on giving.
That must not be the same plant.
Those are Scotch Thistles, not Russian looking at the flower and taking a pic with my plant ID app.
It's a noxious weed in Ok. Closely related to the Musk Thistle.
a shot of broad leaf killer takes them out easily. No need to dig.
Don't let them bloom or they will be everywhere.
It's a noxious weed in Ok. Closely related to the Musk Thistle.
a shot of broad leaf killer takes them out easily. No need to dig.
Don't let them bloom or they will be everywhere.
Yeah that's a different kind of thistle.
What spreads them a lot is buying hay from others that don't give a crap what they bale.
We never had a single thistle until 10 or so years ago. My driveway runs along where the neighbor put round bales to feed the cows.
In that one little spot, a couple dozen musk thistle plants showed up. The next year after blooming, about 40 acres were infested and the year after with the rancher not doing a danged thing to control them, it exploded to hundreds of acres all up and down the river
Neighbor finally had to go out there and spray as the plants can get 6' tall, and I threatened to turn him in as it's illegal to let them propagate.
I'm getting ready to notify the county commissioner that they are in violation now as the road sides along our road are infested and getting ready to bloom.
Oklahoma Noxious Weed Law Title 2. Agricultural Code §3-220. Noxious weeds - Eradication A. 1. The plants musk thistle (Carduus nutans L.), Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium L.), and Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) are designated as noxious weeds. The Legislature finds that these thistles are a public nuisance in all counties across this state. 2. It shall be the duty of every landowner in each county to treat, control, or eradicate all Canada, musk, or Scotch thistles growing on the landowner’s land every year as shall be sufficient to prevent these thistles from going to seed. 3. The Department of Transportation, the boards of county commissioners, and any other public, private, or corporate entity who shall maintain rights-of-way in the State of Oklahoma shall be responsible for removing any thistle infestation that occurs within their jurisdiction. 4. Failure of the landowner to treat, eradicate, or control all musk, Canada, or Scotch thistle may result in a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation per day. 5. Upon written complaint, the State Department of Agriculture shall inspect the typ
We never had a single thistle until 10 or so years ago. My driveway runs along where the neighbor put round bales to feed the cows.
In that one little spot, a couple dozen musk thistle plants showed up. The next year after blooming, about 40 acres were infested and the year after with the rancher not doing a danged thing to control them, it exploded to hundreds of acres all up and down the river
Neighbor finally had to go out there and spray as the plants can get 6' tall, and I threatened to turn him in as it's illegal to let them propagate.
I'm getting ready to notify the county commissioner that they are in violation now as the road sides along our road are infested and getting ready to bloom.
Oklahoma Noxious Weed Law Title 2. Agricultural Code §3-220. Noxious weeds - Eradication A. 1. The plants musk thistle (Carduus nutans L.), Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium L.), and Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) are designated as noxious weeds. The Legislature finds that these thistles are a public nuisance in all counties across this state. 2. It shall be the duty of every landowner in each county to treat, control, or eradicate all Canada, musk, or Scotch thistles growing on the landowner’s land every year as shall be sufficient to prevent these thistles from going to seed. 3. The Department of Transportation, the boards of county commissioners, and any other public, private, or corporate entity who shall maintain rights-of-way in the State of Oklahoma shall be responsible for removing any thistle infestation that occurs within their jurisdiction. 4. Failure of the landowner to treat, eradicate, or control all musk, Canada, or Scotch thistle may result in a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation per day. 5. Upon written complaint, the State Department of Agriculture shall inspect the typ
That looks like a nodding thistle (also called a musk thistle, IIRC). I hate those SOBs with the fire of a thousand suns--I spent years trying to eliminate them from my hay field. The state of Oklahoma hates them, too; they're legally a noxious weed, and could get you a $1,000 fine (if that law ever got enforced, which, I understand, it never is).
If you cut them off just under ground level, the plant will die, but it's usually just as easy to pull them. If you're doing it by hand, be careful and wear thick leather gloves, because those damn needles will go right through leather. I would grab them down low and pull up a little bit to bend the needles over before grabbing tight.
Fiskars makes a standup weed puller that does a really good job on the smaller plants or when they're in the rosette stage.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030MIHAU/
