It is on Alberta Invasive Plant Council noxious weed list
Alas, as it is a top 5 bee plant
can produce 300-1,000 ...Read Morelb. honey & 500-2,000 lb. pollen per acre
BUT they are using Picloram & 2,4-D to eradicate
Viper's Bugloss used to grow profusely and beautifully at Cove Point Beach, Lusby, MD (along with native prickly pear cactus!) up til abo...Read Moreut 1990, but has nearly disappeared due to habitat destruction (instead of salty sandy weedy scrubby beachy yards, everybody now has irrigated lawns). I once tried to transplant a few to Levittown PA, but they failed to thrive (soil too clayey and wet, I think).
To my surprise I just discoverd a stand of VB on the dry, gravelly shoulder of Rt. 611 near Doylestown PA (July 2012) The plant obviously prefers truly impossible conditions, but in my experience dies when given normal plant care. If you have some you want to discourage, just baby it. If you want it to grow, plant it in un-amended gravel and sand, ignore it, and fail to water or fertilize. It'll take over and the butterflies and bees will thank you!
This plant showed up unbidden in the small conservatory close to my home in San Francisco. It has pretty blue flowers and its leaves and ...Read Morestems are covered with really abundant hair-needles. Bees do love it. But...it has grown amazingly in a short time, and even crossed a standard concrete path. It has buried a small agave. Truly this is a noxious pest plant in this site, and will be removed promptly.
Although it looks beautiful in mass as in garygardeners photo. This shows the invasiveness of the plant and can make good grazing land al...Read Moremost useless as it can give problems to some grazing animals. Hence, why it is deer proof, it is declared a noxious weed in Australia and hence the common name Patterson's Curse.
I have not found Viper's to be invasive on the very fertile and alkaline soil of the Herb Garden at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. I have a...Read Morelso found it to act more like an annual than biennial, flowering within a few months from seed. The blue is beautiful and the flowers are loved by bees.
This plant is a noxious weed in Australia. One of it's names is Patersons Curse. It spreads rapidly in hay and with stock transported to ...Read Morenew paddocks. It grows more readily in poor land with low rainfall. The presence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids contained in the plant cause cumulative chronic liver damage to stock.
Very invasive, pushing out natives Prefers gravelly, sandy soils along riparian areas which aids its spread. Extensive seed bank. It is o...Read Moren several county weed lists and being added to Idaho State weed list. Gerninates spring to fall making control laborous.
This stuff grows wild all over my yard in the Catskills. It is a gorgeous blue and very vigorous, although it is somewhat prickly. Be car...Read Moreeful handling it--it can leave little spines in your skin and cause a rash. It is invasive, and I don't put in my garden beds,but I leave it wherever it pops up and it provides a welcome splash of brilliant color.
I just love this plant! It grows as a weed in my lawn, but I moved some to the flower beds. It is a biennial, so must move the new rose...Read Morettes to where I would like the plant to grow, but it is so tolerant of abuse that most of these survive even if I break the taproot. Can't beat the true blue of the flowers, and the buds are pink, which yield to the blue when open. Given my poor, dry soil, it's one of my most reliable bloomers. Get's ugly when it's gone to seed, but I just trim it back. Enough seeds always escape to create the next batch of babies.
Murfreesboro, TN (Zone 7a) | August 2001 | neutral
Viper's Bugloss is a showy biennial of Eurasian origin, imported to the U.S., where it has naturalized in pastures and roadways.
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The plant is covered with prickly hairs. It grows on walls, old quarries and gravel pits, and is common on calcareous soils.
The name Bugloss, which is of Greek origin, signifies an Ox's Tongue, and was applied to it from the roughness and shape of the leaves.
It is on Alberta Invasive Plant Council noxious weed list
Alas, as it is a top 5 bee plant
can produce 300-1,000 ...Read More
Viper's Bugloss used to grow profusely and beautifully at Cove Point Beach, Lusby, MD (along with native prickly pear cactus!) up til abo...Read More
This plant showed up unbidden in the small conservatory close to my home in San Francisco. It has pretty blue flowers and its leaves and ...Read More
Although it looks beautiful in mass as in garygardeners photo. This shows the invasiveness of the plant and can make good grazing land al...Read More
I have not found Viper's to be invasive on the very fertile and alkaline soil of the Herb Garden at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. I have a...Read More
This plant is a noxious weed in Australia. One of it's names is Patersons Curse. It spreads rapidly in hay and with stock transported to ...Read More
Very invasive, pushing out natives Prefers gravelly, sandy soils along riparian areas which aids its spread. Extensive seed bank. It is o...Read More
This stuff grows wild all over my yard in the Catskills. It is a gorgeous blue and very vigorous, although it is somewhat prickly. Be car...Read More
I just love this plant! It grows as a weed in my lawn, but I moved some to the flower beds. It is a biennial, so must move the new rose...Read More
This plant is considered invasive (noxious weed) in 35 states.
Viper's Bugloss is a showy biennial of Eurasian origin, imported to the U.S., where it has naturalized in pastures and roadways.
<...Read More