Yellow Toadflax Noxious Weed

There are dedicated growers of rare flowering plants that create highly specialized environments for their most delicate possessions. It’s not uncommon for these growers to spend hundreds of dollars to ensure these plants are never jostled, even by normal footfall, lest their treasured plants wither and die. Meanwhile, in Colorado, the yellow toadflax has been placed on Colorado noxious weed list because all it needs is an animal to walk over it once and it’s almost assured to propagate new growth. A single plant can have as many as 30,000 seeds. It’s easy to imagine how even the smallest herd  of deer running through a patch of yellow toadflax can create an infestation. This makes Yellow toadflax weed control very difficult.
When the state legislature passes a law requiring eradication of a weed (true in the case of yellow toadflax), you know that plant is trouble with a capital T. Any state entity that works to control weeds focuses many of its resources on determining how to best eliminate noxious weeds.

Yellow Toadflax Weed Control Methods

Both natural removal (mowing, pulling) and biological control of yellow toadflax have been studied with disappointing results. In the case of natural removal, the window of opportunity is very small with new growth. Because seeds are produced early and can survive in dormancy for up to 10 years, natural attempts to eliminate the weeds usually only result in further propagation. Introducing insect enemies likewise requires precise timing because individual insect species feed on different part of the plant at different times in its growth cycle.
When the effectiveness of chemical control is compared to the effectiveness of natural and biological removal methods, chemical control remains what the Colorado State University Extension reports as the most successful in controlling yellow toadflax. Very specific combinations of herbicides have been closely studied and a precise herbicide cocktail may be the only option for complete eradication in a specific area.
If you have yellow toadflax on your property, contact SprayTech, Colorado commercial and residential weed control experts, at 720-248-0000 to discuss Yellow toadflax weed control options.