Yellow Toadflax – Weedy Wednesday!
Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Have you ever admired yellow toadflax? It’s butter-yellow two-toned flower that blooms in clusters and creates a beautiful landscape that waves in the wind like an ocean. Did you also know that just below those beautiful flowers, there’s a ruthless invasion underway.
Yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris) is an ornamental plant that broke out and began invading any soil it could find. Although it favours disturbed sites it can even invade open forests! Once yellow toadflax invades a field or pasture, it will choke out any competition reducing crop yields.
When it comes to propagation, yellow toadflax doesn’t mess around. Each plant hides a 10ft wide root system that can sprout new seedings every few inches. Root fragments as small as ½ inch can regenerate a plant. Seedlings as young as 2 weeks old can create new sprouts making every fight against yellow toadflax a race against time. Yellow toadflax also produces seeds that can wait up to 10 years before sprouting, but there is a glimmer of hope, less than 10% of seeds will germinate.
The easiest way to deal with yellow toadflax is to prevent an infestation. Yellow toadflax often disguises itself in wildflower mixes. Be on the lookout for the names: common toadflax, butter-and-eggs, or spurned snapdragon and don’t buy mixes without a list of contents including Latin names. If you see yellow toadflax on your property, clean off any stowaway seeds before they have the chance to sprout. Keep an eye out for new plants and pull them as fast as possible.
Once yellow toadflax establishes itself, get ready for a long, hard fight, even a well-managed infestation can take 3 years to fully go away. Hand pulling can work but only if you get all the roots. More than likely, you’ll have to go back and pull it out numerous times. Mowing is a valuable tool too because it can starve the roots, but this must be done routinely because once the toadflax makes seeds, you’ll only be helping the infestation. Tilling every 3-4 weeks will disrupt growth and keep the toadflax under control, but this also will not get rid of it.
Herbicides are incredibly helpful in the fight against yellow toadflax. Tordon 22K and Grazon are the best herbicides to use against yellow toadflax but always follow the label. To maximize the usefulness of your allies, timing is key. Spray yellow toadflax when it’s still growing, at the pre-bud stage or overfall when the plants are taking in nutrients for overwinter.
As with any weed, combining control methods and using an integrated weed management approach will make control easier and help to eradicate the weeds quicker.
Want to find out more about yellow toadflax? The Alberta Invasive Species Council and Rocky View County both have fact sheets available on their websites for yellow toadflax and many more. The Association of Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen (AAAF) also has a helpful booklet on weed identification. Act now to safeguard your land against invasive weeds!
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Agriculture