What better thing to do on a blustery cold January-like day in October? But add something to my blog. I've been working on a short blog on weeds since mid-August and today seems like as good a time as any to finish it. In August we could actually see the weeds; today most of them are under a new layer of snow.
When is a weed not a weed? When it is growing in your garden because it has pretty flowers, perhaps? A friend’s mother, new to the area and blissfully unaware of the destructive nature of the beast, happily transplanted some Knapweed plants to her new flowerbed. Quickly apprised of the real status of the plant she removed it from her garden, but it is nevertheless easy to see how the mistake was made. The flowers are beautiful and a large plant in full bloom is spectacular but beauty does come with a price.
Some of Montana’s noxious weeds have been introduced into this country, and state, as ornamentals or possibly for medicinal purposes, such as Tansy and supposedly Mullein. Teas made from the leaves were used to treat a varity of chest, bronchial, intestinal and other afflictions. IN the case of tansy the results were sometimes fatal and it is generally not recommended for use today. Wild Mullein has always been one of my favorite plants and is a winter food source for many birds. It is related to the showier garden mulleins. I like it for its statuesque, sculptural quality, and imagine it to be rather like a smaller skinny saguaro cactus cold hardy enough for Montana. As a child I remember being told it was very invasive and a noxious weed. Today it is not even on the Montana Noxious Weed list. Looking at the wider perspective, and considering Knapweed and Leafy Spurge, it is really a rather benign visitor.
Even if Common Tansy is in Category 1 on Montana’s Noxious Weed list I’m sure the Tansy bed along the north edge of the Kim Williams Trail near the university practice field, and south bank of the Clark Fork River, help stabilize the bank so I would like to think it is of some practical use. I like the medicinal smell of the plants, but that is also one of the reasons many people dislike it. It can be very invasive in certain locations and is difficult to remove if it establishes a foothold. But it does make a good, durable cut flower and dries reasonably well. Sulfur Cinquefoil, related to our native cinquefoils and the flowering shrub Potentilla, is also a category 1 weed in Montana. While individual flowers are pretty the plant as a whole is not apt to entice one to plant it in the garden. Fortunately it is easy to pull and responds quickly to weed killers.
Yellow Toadflax, Dalmation Toadflax (not pictured but with flowers very similar to the yellow species), and Bindweed are also in the category one designation. Again the flowers are pretty and in the case of Toadflax, may have arrived in this country as ornamentals. However, the deep roots and spreading rhizomes allow all three plants to form huge colonies that can quickly take over a part of the garden that has been ignored, or take over large areas of pasture or wildlife habitat. Bindweed takes its name from the difficulties it causes farmers when they plow a field and the miles of ambling vines bind up the plows.
Some of our native plants however, like this small fall blooming aster, are often weeded out of our gardens but given the right location are an attractive part of the landscape. Marge lives on top of a windswept hill west of Missoula which is kept mowed low to prevent the proliferation of noxious weeds, but the location seems to be perfect for the aster which put on an exceptional show this year.
For more information on Montana’s noxious weeds, how they are categorized and for control methods ask the county extension office for a copy of their small spiral-bound brochure Montana’s Noxious Weeds. Or online, check at www.weedawareness.org/weed_list.html , or at www.agr.mt.gov/weedpest/noxiousweeds.asp 
