Ragtag UK
Stamp it in - Stamp it out!
Lifecycle of Ragwort
Ragwort Basics
There can't be many horse riders or owners who aren't familiar with this toxic plant with the bright yellow flowers. Many of us spend hours and hours of blood, sweat and tears trying to get rid of it for the benefit of our beloved animals, yet some landowners refuse to acknowledge the damage and distress it can cause. Click here for information about what the Law says about Ragwort.
Lifecycle
Ragwort is a Biennial plant. That is, the seed lands and germinates in a suitable location and the first year 'rosette' appears. The following year, the rosette sends up the tall stems that produce the bright yellow flowers. The seeds are produced and then shed and off they go to start life in another location on your field, or someone elses. The parent plant usually dies at the end of the season.
Each ragwort plant can produce upto 200,000 seeds. The vast majority of them will be carried on little parachute type arrangment similar to the ones we're familiar with from the good old dandelion. This means that depending on the weather, they really can travel for an awfully long way. A lot of the time they wont, and will set up home fairly close to the parent plant. Don't forget that they can also be carried on the coats of animals, in currents of water, on the soles of muddy boots and hooves. So the long and short of it that no where is immune from ragwort!
So 200,000 is lot of seeds, and no, not all of them will germinate; however, 70-80% of them will, and that is still quite a lot. Sometimes though, the conditions won't be suitable for them to set up home. Not to worry though, they can wait; and wait, and wait. Indeed, they can lie dormant until the conditions are right for 15 years, and sometimes more. How about that? Determined little blighters eh?
Ragwort tends to favour undisturbed land. You have a look next time you're out and about, you won't often see it growing in a cultivated area of crops. Grazing land is a favourite. Grazing land tends to stay as grazing land. Horses being horses have always been lazy grazers, having their favourite bits of the field and their toilet bits- Flats and Roughs, if you want to be technical. The ragwort finds if easy to set up shop in these situations. Added to that, the way the horse lives and moves encourages the dormant seeds to germinate. They paw at the ground just before rolling, bringing seed to the surface to lie in the warmth of the sun of that dusty open patch just waiting for a nice bit of English rain to start the ball rolling. The gateways, troughs and under the trees get poached in the wet weather bringing more seed up to the daylight.
Ragwort likes a bit of peace and quiet. The whole schedule of horses grazing provides just what they need.
