DAME’S-ROCKET – by John C. Benham, Weed Inspector,Wellington County
Some people have been wondering what
those patches of mauve flowers along the roadsides are. Most people call them “some kind” of
phlox.
If the flowers have five-petals
they likely will be phlox but if they have four-petals they are Dame’s-rocket. They are beautiful showy flowers that were
brought over from Europe as an ornamental but now has adapted to our conditions
and flourished.
Dame’s-rocket is a perennial reproducing
only by seed. They grow three to
four-feet tall with mauve to pink to white flowers in damp soils in
uncultivated areas.
They flower May to
August. Since they are a member of the
mustard family the seedpods are similar to the rest of the mustards, one to
four-inch long slightly constricted between the seeds.
They are not on the noxious weed list.
