By Linda Habeck, Corvallis
It’s another banner year for hoary alyssum along the roadsides, and in fields and pastures.
I first started researching hoary alyssum in 2007 when I saw it growing along the county roads. I found great information on -line from the Michigan State Extension, Van Buren County. It’s there that I learned that alyssum is toxic to horses. You can also find information at htpps://extension.wsu.edu/whitman/2013/11/hoary-alyssum/. Since that time I’ve tried to educate people and I’ve worked very hard at trying to keep alyssum from overtaking my pastures and hay field. Unfortunately, the ratio of conscientious land owners to those who lack education of this invasive weed, or are too lazy to do anything, or just don’t care is much higher. Add in the absentee land owners and the ratio is even more lop-sided.
The weed ordinance in Ravalli County doesn’t seem to exist unless a complaint is lodged against those allowing noxious weeds to propagate on their property. There is also reluctance in lodging a complaint against a neighbor which allows the weed to grow at an even faster rate.
When a complaint is filed, the county weed department contacts the land owner and either the land owner addresses the problem or the weed department sprays it and the cost is added to the taxes. There is also language in buy/sell agreements that state that a real estate agent is to disclose to prospective buyers if there are noxious weeds on the property they are purchasing, but it doesn’t seem that the information is very forthcoming, and so it goes. If you call the County Weed Department at 777-5842 and ask them to address the weeds along the roadway in front of your property, they are more likely to get to it sooner, rather than later.
I encourage you to contact your neighbors, join together and make a group effort in your neighborhood to combat alyssum. Because alyssum has been allowed to go rampant for so many years, unless you have a very, very small batch of it, chemical sprays are your best option. There currently are no biological control agents that can be used. You can research on-line the best herbicide to use. Commercial weed sprayers generally have a minimum fee, but perhaps if they can work on several parcels in the same area, it may be more cost effective for all. You can spray it or pull it, but don’t mow it. That only spreads it. Each plant can produce over 2,500 seeds which are viable in the ground for 9 years. Because of the length of viability in the ground, ridding your property of hoary alyssum is NOT a one shot deal. Wherever you find it, you can go back in 2 weeks and find more. To be effective in achieving eradication, this is an every year commitment. Small plants are rosettes, quickly growing and flowering thus producing more seeds.
Forage, whether ingested in pasture or hay containing 30% or more of alyssum is toxic to horses. Larger quantities can lead to death. Perhaps when horses become the victim of people’s ignorance or laziness, landowners will wake up and smell the coffee.