Purple loosestrife's magenta plumes make it popular with many Lawrence gardeners, but state officials may outlaw the invasive plant because of damage it does to wetlands and waterways.
The proposed loosestrife ban has some nursery operators wondering what to do about stocking the popular item.
Ann Peuser, owner of Clinton Parkway Nursery & Garden Store, 4900 Clinton Parkway, said she understands why the state is considering the ban, though spread of the plant has been much worse in other states.
"The thing with the industry is we want to know soon enough so I don't have an order for 200 of them and then have to throw them away," she said.
After studying the plant for several years, the Kansas Department of Agriculture is considering bans on two loosestrife species, the wild strain, Lythrum salicaria, the ornamental Lythrum virgatum, and their hybrids.
If approved, the ban would take effect Jan. 1, 2003, and prevent nurseries from growing or selling the plant in Kansas. State officials will meet today in Wichita and Wednesday in Lawrence to talk about the proposal.
Though the ornamental variety often is sold in nurseries is sterile, Tom Sim, manager of the state's plant protection and weed control program, said the plant can cross-pollinate with the wild strain. One plant can produce thousands of seeds, which usually are spread by water and grow rapidly in wet environments.
"It just clogs up the waterways," he said. "The areas at risk would be from farm ponds to wildlife refuges, any of the lakes, and they also would interfere with people's recreation activities. It's an invasive plant that will displace native plants."
Sim said an area can quickly become a "sea of purple," as the plant crowds out native vegetation, reducing wildlife forage. He said some states, including Minnesota, have had severe problems with wild lythrum taking over wetlands.
"The wild plant has migrated west from the East Coast and South," he said. "Nearly every state that has wild lythrum has taken action."
According to Kansas officials, 27 states, including Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado, have taken steps to prevent spread or introduction of purple loosestrife.
Brian Boyce, nursery manager at Sunrise Garden Center, 15th and New York streets, said he would support the state's ban of lythrum, but wants to know months in advance before ordering a new season's worth of perennials.
"The lythrum may open up our eyes to other plants that need to be banned," he said.
Since 1990, the state has quarantined two other plants, Grecian foxglove and a wild grass called serrated tussock.
If approved, Sim said the ban would not affect existing plants in people's gardens, but the state might encourage people to get rid of the plant. He said there are substitutes such as delphinium, foxglove, salvia and lupine.
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