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GREATjU RIVERlRIPW GREENING Birds -foot trefoil can be hand -pulled in areas where it has only very low cover and the soils are light. Severing the tap root as deep as possible with a shovel or parsnip predator can kill the plant. Prescribed fire is not recommended as the sole management strategy as it increases seed germination; however, it can be part of an integrated approach to increase effectiveness of other methods. A spring burn will remove thatch, exposing the soil and stimulating germination from the seed bank. Such timing will increase the effectiveness of herbicide applications and accelerate the depletion of the seed bank. Chemical Triclopyr applied to fast growing plants before flowering, or glyphosate applied in spring before or during flowering will kill birds -foot trefoil. Clopyralid, a broadleaf herbicide selective for members of the aster and legume families, can also be used to control birds -foot trefoil. Follow-up applications will be required over several years to manage new plants establishing from the seed bank. Long-term Management Maintaining a healthy diverse, plant community that limits light to the soil is the best defense against invasion by birds -foot trefoil. Birds -foot Trefoil April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec - Mar Burn Foliar Herbicide Mow Don't mow Flowering Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria, L. virgatum) Description Introduced as an ornamental to North America from Europe and Asia, purple loosestrife is now an invasive species in wetlands, lakeshores, and ditches. It replaces native vegetation in the habitats it invades, forming dense stands with low wildlife food or cover value. Plants are 2-7 feet tall, with an upright habit. Leaves are slender, oblong -oval and downy, with smooth margins. Leaves are arranged in opposite pairs or whorls of 3. Stems are variously 4, 5, or 6-sided and feel grooved to the touch. Reddish -purple, 5-7-petaled flowers are produced in terminal spikes, with flowering from lateral stems as well. Flowering occurs in mid -summer. Purple loosestrife produces as many as 2 million seeds per plant each year. Seeds are efficiently dispersed by moving water and by animals. Purple loosestrife root systems consist of fibrous roots as well as rhizomes, allowing it to spread vegetatively as well as by seed. Mechanical Hand -pulling or digging purple loosestrife is not recommended. Any pieces of the roots that are missed when a plant is removed by pulling or digging can resprout. Mowing could be used to reduce seed inputs, but is often not practical due to the wet site conditions that loosestrife is typically found in. Follow-up treatments will be needed to control the resprouts.