Scientific Name Lythrum salicaria Common Name Purple loosestrife

Perennial Flowers Consumer Hort Index - Fact Sheets

Characteristics Season summer Height 36-60 inches Hardiness USDA Hardiness Zone 3-9 Flower Color intense purplish pink Soil moist to wet soil Exposure full sun Propagation cuttings & division of cultivars, seed North Carolina Regions Not recommended nor legal to cultivate in North Carolina because of its status as a noxious weed spreading to wetland areas. Comments It is currently against the law in North Carolina and many other states to sell Purple loosestrife, because it escapes from cultivation and becomes a prolific weed in wetland areas, choking out native vegetation essential for waterfowl. Named cultivars once though to be non-invasive are now known to cross and develop strains which spread. Purple loosestrife is not recommended nor is it legal for cultivation. Origin Europe, naturalized in USA

Prepared by: orginally by Alice B. Russell, retired Extension Specialist, NC State University
                     maintained and expanded by Erv Evans, Consumer Horticulturist, NC State University

Images: ©Alice B. Russell and Erv Evans

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