Canada Thistle in Bramble Plantings
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Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) is a difficult-to-manage perennial that spreads by seeds and rhizomes. Leaves are deeply lobed with spines; leaf margins and bases surround stems making stems look spiny as well. Flower heads are usually purple to pink. Root systems may extend more than 10 feet deep.
Canada thistle seedling.
(Photo: LL Berry, Bugwood.org)
Canada thistle foliage.
(Photo: Mary Ellen (Mel) Harte, Bugwood.org)
Canada thistle flowers.
(Photo: Leslie Dietz, Bugwood.org)
Management:
- Avoid cultivation, which spreads rhizomes.
- Cut or mow plants to help reduce root reserves and starve plants.
- Apply spot applications of herbicides when shoots are at least 10 inches tall and before flowers open (when plants are most susceptible to herbicides).
