Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Dame’s Rocket – flower or weed
Oh such pretty flowers blooming in ditches, along railroad tracks and in large stretches of farm yards. Oh but what evil those beauties bring upon us. Dame’s Rocket looks like a native phlox but it’s not!
It is an invasive species of the mustard family that has spread like gangbusters throughout the Upper Midwest. It is on the ERADICATE list for Minnesota and RESTRICTED in Wisconsin. South Dakota’s not too thrilled with it either.
It’s thought that Dame’s Rocket was first introduced by gardeners. It has historically been included in wildflower seed mixes, including mixes that purport to contain only native seeds.
Once sown, the annual or biennial plants can eventually come to dominate and spread beyond their intended area thanks to their prolific seed pods.
Dame’s Rocket may be confused for a native phlox, but phlox all have 5-petaled flowers where Dame’s Rocket has 4 petals. It’s prolific blooms produce tons of sees and form massive colonies, typically setting foot in disturbed soils. That means it outcompetes our native species.
Yes, it’s really quite pretty but it can take out our woodland areas pushing out those native species that are connected to our area’s ecosystems.
Note: This and other mustards (family Brassicaceae) produce chemical compounds when cells are damaged that are toxic to most animals, fungi and bacteria. Click on the link for more information.