Or the Tale of the Supposedly Lovely Meadow Plant
Isn’t this a lovely green plant? Interesting, thorny and thistle-like with nectar for pollinators. Used in flower arrangements once dried. Wouldn’t you love to see this in your garden or meadow? NO! Don’t do it. If you find it, OFF WITH THEIR HEADS….
OK let me start at the beginning. About 5 years ago I saw this lovely flower growing. A friend said, “Oh we use these in flower arranging once they dry.” Great, so once my garden grows in, I can use this flower in arrangements (of course I never seem to cut flowers and make arrangements though).
The next year there were a couple more and a ton of weeds in every nook and cranny of the back gardens. They looked like the picture below. I was overrun, but by what?
No one knew, and I couldn’t find information on the weed anywhere. It was about 3 years ago that I began to see more of this plant in the meadow and more weeds in the garden although I had pulled so many (which was not fun since it has a long tap-root and I hurt my shoulder getting rid of them).
Common Teasel, an Unruly Weed
Then I discovered, 2 years ago, the plant was a Common Teasel or Dipsacus fullonum subsp. sylvestris. And 
that all the weeds I was finding were the teasel as it started to grow. So good now I know, and I’ll pull it where I see it. Wrong. That may help get rid of a first year plant, but everyone that was missed grew 6 feet tall and flowered the second year spreading 2000 seeds into every space around the mother plant while the mother plant died. So those tall teasel I pulled had already done their damage. And my meadow was inundated with one year old plants in yucky clay soil.
Well what could I do? I tried pulling them, but there were so many so I dug them and turned them over. That will kill them. WRONG! They just grew back and now this year we have a third of the meadow being overtaken by this plant.
Learning About Common Teasel
So it was time to learn a lot more about Common Teasel to thwart it. This plant was brought over in the early 1700s from Europe by wool manufacturers. They used the dried seed head to “tease” the wool cloth. In Europe, the seeds are a winter food for birds, and are often grown in gardens to attract birds. How interesting, but I need to kill this thug.
Common Teasel is considered invasive in many states, but not here in NY where it was once cultivated. It likes to grow in sun in wet to dry soil that is heavily disturbed like a roadside or my meadow which was excavated twice before we seeded it. They can be found in many open areas flowering from June to October. But don’t be mistaken it is invasive if it finds your garden, and a big threat to native plants.
See, Common Teasel creates a monoculture in no time and takes over crowding out all natives like those in my meadow. Seeds can be dispersed by birds, water, wind and highway equipment as the plants are mowed, especially in the late fall after the seeds mature. And seeds remain viable for up to 2 years so they may not appear right away.
So what is the best way to take care of Common Teasel if you see it?
In natural areas they 
suggest cutting, digging and burning. I would never burn an area, but we have been digging them up. What we discovered though is we dug them up too late after the seed matured or dispersed. If you can’t get them when they are a small one year plant, then wait until they send up a bud. Cut the bud off before it flowers and throw them away, especially if the flowers have opened. Seeds can even mature on flowering heads even after cut off so beware!
Of course you will have to keep on the lookout for the flower buds throughout the season. We go on a teasel hunt every week to take care of the ones that got away. And be careful because teasel are spiny and the leaves and stems can cut right through clothes and gloves.
Of course mine are growing in the midst of some nasty non-native thistle that needs to be pulled too, but that is for another day. And I am prepared to keep vigil for the next several years if necessary.
So now that we have several areas of the meadow that are completely bare, what will we do? First, we are spreading compost to make the soil more inviting for native plants. Then I hope to plant many volunteer Obedient plant and Joe Pye (pictured left) as well as spreading swamp milkweed and common milkweed seed. We may even try a few other flowers like helenium, cow parsnip, liatris, prairie smoke, fasle indigo, fireweed, culver’s root, coreopsis, shooting stars…oh the list could go on and on. For now I am mulling it over and making a plan.
And as we look at other weedy thugs that may be taking over areas of the meadow, we will do battle to reclaim them one section at a time.
“Only God can make a tree, but I’m in charge of seeds and weeds!” ~Author Unknown
© 2012, Donna Donabella. All rights reserved. This article is the property of BeautifulWildlifeGarden.com If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Donna Donabella
Donna, I feel your pain, we don’t have teasel but we do have thistle which sounds just as bad. Gorgeous bee-friendly flowers that everybody admires but if you don’t root them out the first year you see them, you’ll be battling them forever. And like teasel they HURT! Interesting that teasel was used for teasing/carding wool!
Ellen Sousa recently posted..Mulch – Use What You’ve Got!
The thistle is my next big battle Ellen. It is amazing when people think oh what harm can a plant do…
Good to know since I tend to let things grow. I have some young cup plants which I’ve read on more than one occasion can really take over a bed. So far they are behaving for me. I will dig up the volunteers … perhaps in back of a meadow they would be welcome? Be happy to mail a couple to you. I love to watch the insects drink from them. I bet they would give that Teasel a run for it.
thevioletfern recently posted..What’s Blooming: Bee Balminess
Kathy I would love some of those …thx
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Simply The Best-July
Sometimes lately I feel totally overwhelmed by the invasives. I felt like we were making some headway against garlic mustard, when I found out that the ferny looking stuff that is simply everywhere this year is one of the hedge parsleys. Sigh…
I know Susan. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get ahead of the invasives, but I have decided not to give up on some of these. I admire your tenacity in keeping up the fight
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Simply The Best-July
We have thistle and it is a pain removing it from our property. Every year I dig them up and put them on the burn pile. The numbers are diminishing but it is still a yearly task.
Mary Pellerito recently posted..Don’t Cut Down That Tree, Just Yet
It is a lot of work Mary but like you I am determined to diminish them every year.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Simply The Best-July
Donna,
Great profile of this invasive Teasel, it’s not a problem here in MN (yet). Your new combination of Joe Pye, Milkweed and Obedient Plant sounds like a great alternative. Isn’t it nice to have some seedlings to move around as our landscapes mature to fill in voids like this?
Heather
Heather recently posted..Hoary Vervain Insect Visitors
Thx Heather. I think the Joe, milkweed and Obedient will give it some different plants and color for later summer/fall…lots of heliopsis, goldenrod, rudbeckia and some coneflower in bloom now.
Donna Donabella recently posted..Simply The Best-July
Oh my..I will have to go look for this one…Michelle
Rambling Woods recently posted..Am I Raising a Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillar?
Yes Michelle you should keep watch with your meadow in WNY. You do not want this one in your meadow.
Donna Donabella recently posted..Simply The Best-July
Sounds like you have your well thought out battle plans set. With you leading the charge, I’m sure said teasel will have met it’s match. Seems here in Florida we are lucky to not have to deal with this meadow-hog. We’re rootin for ya!
Loret T. Setters recently posted..As one disappears another moves in
Thx Loret…you are lucky…I will be on my weekly tesel hunt this weekend…can’t wait to seed and plant the open areas now!
Donna Donabella recently posted..Simply The Best-July
Hi–I enjoyed your article, but I have to say I love teasel. It’s a beautiful plant, in my opinion! True, I don’t have a meadow on my property, or I might feel differently. I do, though, have a swath of land that I let grow “wild”–hopefully, native, and I have a gigantic teasel there. I don’t see much point in removing it because they grow wild all over my area–Appalachian Mountains of Maryland. I also love them in dried arrangements, which is one of my favorite things to do–go out and pick all the winter weeds to appreciate their “bone” structure, and teasel is one of the best. So, I do feel for you, and I’m sorry teasel is taking over some areas from the natives, but the plant is dear to my heart. The seedheads are also used by crafters to make cute little hedgehogs–not really my taste, but cute Christmas ornaments and such.
Glad you enjoyed the post Mary. I also loved teasel until slowly it took over not only my meadow but my garden too. Mary it is not just a problem in my area but in your area as well which is why it is growing wild all over. It is also why it is considered highly invasive because it is a threat to natives in many wild areas across the country. It creates a monoculture squeezing out all plants in its path like in your wild area. Without those native plants many butterflies and other insects, birds and other critters lose the plants they rely on. Our critters are counting on us to help them by removing these invasive weeds. Otherwise who will do it if we don’t.
My post is a warning for folks who do have it in their wild areas. Everyone has to make their own decision about keeping it and running the risk. I know I have had to remove many beloved plants that I found were invasive in order to restore the habitat of my garden and land that I share with the critters. Good luck with your wild area.
Donna Donabella recently posted..Dog Days of Summer Harvest
You’ve got some very good points there, Donna, and you’re right–I’d hate to see it crowd out the goldenrod, asters, and other beauties in my little meadow garden, so I guess I’ll have to do some removal next spring. I can always get it from wild areas if I want to do my arrangements. I also love Japanese knot weed, which can also serve as emergency food, but I’ve had to work on eradicating it as well, because it’s quite fiercely invasive in moist yards such as mine. Unfortunately, a stand of it grows on the non-developed property next door. So I won’t add teasel to the mix, I promise!
Mary I was glad to see you had found my reply and followed up. It can become exhausting keeping up with all the invasives we find in our beloved gardens especially our meadows. Teasel moved to the wild area behind me now and is still crowding my meadow but we will keep at it. Good luck with the teasel and hoping you have caught it earlier than I did. I know your meadow and all the critters that love it will thank you.
Donna Donabella recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-November 2012
Hi Donna. We have a few teasel too – so pretty, but thugs! I’ve managed to keep them in check and reduce the number, but I still get a few come up every year! Even in drought their leaves are lush and full of moisture… shame they are so invasive!
Cathy recently posted..Raspberry Ripples, Vanilla Beans, and a Haiku
So nice to see you here Cathy. Yes it is a shame they are thugs and thugs for you too. I don’t think you can get rid of them all but just keeping them in check is a weekly chore…it is a shame!
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Gardens Eye Journal-August 2012
Oh—I understand all too well! We had the same trouble with MINT! Thirty five years ago, we had bought a house and started working on the gardens! The only plants we had were a row of dead lilacs, and a peony that didn’t bloom. We needed some plants for this small parcel of land, and we took anything free we could get! Some friend said “Well, if you like, you can have some mint plants, but they are invasive.” “Oh, that would be great!” We took several plants. (We had no clue what “invasive” meant). Well, we found out! To this day — thirty five years later and we are still finding mint here and there. I like the mint tea that I can make — but it is not worth letting it get out of hand!
Oh boy mint is so aggressive. I think all gardeners make this mistake and I still have it growing in a few spots I have to control since I will ever be able to get rid of it…but I love it in those areas. Of course I have no choice and the good thing is that it is native.
Donna@Gardens Eye View recently posted..Bloom Day a Bust-Almost