Memorial Day

This morning I fought another battle in the Mullein War.  Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is a biennial native to Europe, North Africa and Asia, and probably introduced into North America by someone who thought their garden could not be complete without it.  No brass ring.  No cigar.  This is an obnoxious, unattractive weed which I'm trying to eliminate, at least on my property.

Mullein with its flower stalk bolted.
(Wikimedia photo.)

Mullein likes disturbed soil and lots of light.  It was not in evidence prior to construction, so I assume it came in last summer with the topsoil spread over my sandy, rocky soil.  A few plants emerged toward summer's end, most of them small, but a few large.

Hairy and silvery, mullein looks like Lamb's Ear, but not so pretty.  It sends up a flower stalk which reaches 5-6 feet and bears small yellow flowers.  After the flowers die, the stalk dries out, sheds seeds, and then persists through winter.  New plants emerge from these seeds, which can lie dormant in the soil for quite some time.  I assume that is why the information says that individuals can be "easily" removed manually, but killing off the entire population is difficult.

Most of my mullein looks like this.  Imagine this with a
6+ inch taproot, in rocky ground.

Of greater concern is the weed's location.  Most of the mullein is in the open area east of my garage, which is where my septic drain field is located.  Mullein has a vigorous taproot, in addition to fine roots which spread laterally.  Left unchecked, I think the roots would clog my septic field.  So I've spent about four hours thus far removing the plants, one by one, with a shovel.  To be sure, they are not "easily" removed, in spite of what experts may say, especially when you have to dig through so much rock!  About half the colony is gone now, and I'll continue working on the remainder this week.

On a happier note, my hummingbird feeder has been deployed for a week or so now, and I have two Ruby-Throated hummers which are using it.  The male is still around, but if last year is an indication, he will skip town shortly.

We've had a lot of boat traffic on Lake Esau this Memorial Day Weekend — a small collection of ski boats, plus several Skidoo-type personal watercraft (aka "lake lice").  I expect the lake will return to its state of relative (for summer) quiet tomorrow.  Happy Memorial Day! •••