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KC Weed News - May 2006 TOPICS BELOW
Orange hawkweed is scattered throughout our county and is most common in urban areas due to its use as an ornamental. In addition to the large number of sites in the Skykomish area, there are also infestations in Seattle, Burien, Renton, Woodinville, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Maple Valley, the Redmond area, North If you drive over Snoqualmie Pass in the summer, you may also notice heavy infestations around Hyak and in other mountain meadows near I-90. Orange hawkweed is indeed a troublesome plant in a yard or field, but the most serious impact may well be what it can do to sensitive alpine meadows. Orange hawkweed is well-adapted to life at higher elevations and it lacks natural enemies to keep it in check. It already has a foothold in the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and stopping its spread into mountain meadows is a priority of the US Forest Service. We can all help by controlling populations at lower elevations and by being careful about what we plant in our meadows and yards. In early to mid-May, look for the tight clusters of black, hairy buds of orange hawkweed on emerging leafless, hairy stems that are beginning to form, followed by the bright flame-colored flowers that start opening in late May to mid June and continue through the summer. When plants begin to flower, also look for new stolons covered with fuzzy white hairs. Each plant produces 4 to 8 leafy stolons that can extend up to 1 foot and form the next generation of plants. There are also several other species of hawkweed that are also a growing problem in King County. These all have yellow flowers and are tricky to identify and distinguish from other weedy members of the sunflower family. For help in identifying orange and yellow hawkweeds, please contact our noxious weed specialists. For more information, visit our web site. Because of the potential damage that orange hawkweed can do, especially in mountain meadow habitats, please contact the King County Noxious Weed Program if you spot any orange hawkweed or other species of invasive hawkweed in the county. You can also report an infestation using our online report form. Troubled by weeds? Come to one of our pasture weed workshops this June to learn how to identify and manage troublesome weeds coming up in fields, forests and fencelines. The workshop will provide information on plants that damage pasture quality and livestock health and how to manage weeds in pastures. Bring your weeds to show and tell and bring your questions to “stump a weed expert”. To register, please contact Sasha Shaw at 206-263-6468 or sasha.shaw@kingcounty.gov. Dates, Times and Locations:
Tackling knotweed can be a daunting task but the benefits are truly rewarding. Our program will be holding a hands-on training on knotweed control that will include how to use different methods, where they work best, and how to develop a coordinated knotweed management plan to improve your chances for success. We will be demonstrating control methods on real live knotweed. This workshop is being hosted by Dave Olson, a homeowner on the beautiful South Fork Snoqualmie River who is working toward his vision of a knotweed-free river. For more information or to register, contact Sasha Shaw, 206-263-6468, sasha.shaw@kingcounty.gov. The workshop is June 1, 6:30-8:00pm and it is free and open to the public. April 2006 Program offices are located at 201 S. Jackson St., Suite 600, Seattle, WA 98104. To contact a staff member at the King County Noxious Weed Control Program, please call 206-296-0290 or by reach them by email. |
| Please direct questions & comments regarding noxious weeds to Program Staff, King County Noxious Weed Control Program.
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Updated: April 5, 2006 |
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If you have ever seen orange hawkweed, I think you would agree that there are few flowers so intensely flame-colored. This plant truly deserves one of its common names, Devil’s Weed, both for its fiery colors and for its devilish behavior as a noxious weed. First reported in Washington in Spokane in 1945, it is now established and spreading in at least 19 counties in the state including our own King County. Nationally, orange hawkweed is found in 32 states and is considered one of the worst noxious weeds of New England, where it was first introduced from Europe as a garden plant. As recently as the 1990’s, orange hawkweed was being sold as a wildflower here in King County and still shows up occasionally in “meadow mix” seeds. One of the most heavily infested areas of King County is the town of Skykomish and other communities off of Highway 2. One homeowner near Skykomish told me that her yard became infested after she spread seeds from one of these “meadow mix” packages. And, of course, it only takes one infested yard to spread a plant throughout a neighborhood and into the surrounding forests and meadows. 
