Type: Broadleaf
Traits: Erect
Life Cycle: Biennial
Appearance: Thistle can easily be identified by the spiky purple flowers and spiny grayish green leaves. The spikes on these weeds can cause great a deal of pain if accidentally stepped on or you try to remove them without gloves. Thistles grow a deep taproot that can be difficult to remove. Each thistle can produce between 1500 and 5000 seeds. Furthermore, the weed has rhizomes that can extend 20 feet from the plant.
New plants and seedlings are easier to kill than adult plants. Digging out the thistle and rhizomes is the first step toward
getting rid of thistles. If a bloom has formed, carefully remove it from the plant and place it in a sealed bag. If you will be using a chemical herbicide, you want to chop off the top of the plant and apply a nonselective weed killer like glyphosate to the individual cut stems. Because thistle plants are extremely durable, reapplication may be needed every two weeks throughout the growing season to completely eradicate the weed.
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