Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is on the loose in wetland areas on Center and Pike lakes in Warsaw.
"People have left it because they think it's pretty," said Neal Carlson, a Center Lake resident and member of the Center Lake Association.
And it is pretty, growing 2 to 7 feet tall with a profusion of purple blooms on tall spikes. It also chokes out the native plants and can take over a vast amount of area in a short time. Mature plants can produce up to 2.5 million seeds per year.
Carlson said people should work at destroying the plant before it destroys the wetlands diversity. Once established, a purple loosestrife colony out-competes native vegetation. Wildlife leaves the area because food source plants are reduced. The loss of native plants reduces the wetland's ability to trap sediment and filter water.
"It's not a big widespread problem, but there are some areas where it's more of a problem than others," said Darci Zolman of the Kosciusko County Soil and Water District. "Our lake associations are doing a good job of keeping it under control."
The plant blooms from July to early September. Eradication can be done manually for small clusters or with an wetlands-approved herbicide and with biological control.
Young plants can be pulled by hand. Older plants must be dug, ensuring that roots are removed. The smallest root section left in the ground will produce a new plant.
Herbicides geared for wetlands are handled by many county retailers. Some companies specialize in aquatic control.
Biological controls have been established at some sites by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Two small leaf-eating beetles - Galerucella calmariensis and G. pusila - spend their life cycles tied to purple loosestrife. The larvae feed on growing tips then move down the plant to mature leaves. Adult beetles continue to eat the plant as they lay eggs.
Sales of the invasive species have been banned in Indiana along with any variety of Lythrum, including plants sold as Lythrum virgatum or the horticultural varieties of "Morden Gleam" and "Morden Pink."
The plants were introduced from Europe intentionally because of their medicinal qualities, and by accident, carried here in ships' ballast in the early 1800s.
