Friday, August 16, 2013

Asters!



I've got a LOT of Western asters (Aster occidentalis) blooming in the prairie.  They are very happy here, and they were the one of the first native plant successes I had, the result being that the middle of the property has formidable mounds of them, and they have spread throughout the northern part of the property.  

In other news, it sounds like I can relax about Agoseris; it won't take over.  In fact, I am feeling bad that I may have sprayed a few of them over the last few years; it turns out that they aren't that easy to get established and that I'm pretty lucky that two have just shown up on their own.  How to pronounce it is still a mystery, however--is it "a-joe-SER-is" or "a-JAW-ser-is"?  "a-go-SER-is?" 

I have pulled about a dozen five-gallon-buckets of "China lettuce," medusahead grass, and a few other things, and after I had completely cleaned out everything, after a week there are still a few to find, including a few that have gone to seed (dang!).  Eradication of these things isn't easy.