Pretty Menace

A couple of years ago, when I was waylaid by a health problem, I noticed this pretty plant popping up in my flower garden (the saga of my flower garden is a tale for another day). When I finally got around to IDing it (thank you Virginia Native Plant Society FB page), it had flowered and seeded.  It is purple fumitory, a non-native plant with invasive tendencies. I call it a type of "shot weed," you know, the kind of plant that shoots its seeds about when you pull it when the seeds are ripe (bittercress, another invasive does this, as do impatiens, I believe). This year, I have been staging an eradication campaign to root it up before flowering and have had great success, though need to have 'constant vigilance' (a la Harry Potter and The Dark Arts).  I make regular sweeps through the garden, pulling it up (alas, I did not get the main root when I pulled up the plant in the photo) and also squishing the tiny seedlings from last years "crop."  From this experience I have learned to ID strange new plants as soon as I note them, and remove whatever is an invasive bad actor.

Pretty, but Invasive: Purple Loosestrife

On a recent trip up north, I again noticed the plant above in wetland areas, especially in the NJ wetlands. Very pretty, this plant is the highly invasive purple loosestrife,  Lythrum salicaria.  The sale of this plant is banned in many states, but I have seen it for sale at flea markets, yard sales and small-scale, charity plant sales or swaps.  AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS!  Loosestrife infestations are costly to manage, hard to eradicate and actually decrease the sites available for nesting water fowl.  (If you see this plant, differentiate it from the native Winged Loosestrife, Lythrum alatum, before you eradicate it. "As compared to the native plant, purple loosestrife has wingless stems, a larger size, and slender willow-like leaves that often have hairs" from:  http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/31778/#ixzz36FN21Y7O )
 For additional information, go to: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/weeds/aqua009.html

Update to "Pretty, but noxious"

A list of invasive plants in Virginia can be found at:

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural_heritage/documents/invlist.pdf

Another invasive (but moderately so- it is not difficult to pull) is pictured above- the obedient plant Physostegia virginiana- this plant is a native, not an exotic, and can spread quickly through a garden. It is pretty, but think about it before you buy one!
Happy gardening!