06/17/2026
🌿 Scotch Thistle Alert – Help Protect Our Community! 🌿
Have you spotted a large, gray-green thistle with spiny leaves and purple flowers growing along roadsides, vacant lots, or pastures? It may be Scotch Thistle (Onopordum acanthium), an invasive w**d that can grow up to 12 feet tall and form dense stands that are difficult for people, livestock, and wildlife to move through.
🔍 How to Identify Scotch Thistle:
✔️ Woolly gray-green leaves with sharp spines
✔️ White to purple flowers at the ends of branches
✔️ Thick, branched stems covered with gray hairs
✔️ Can grow extremely tall and spread rapidly by seed
🛠️ Control Methods:
• Small plants can be dug up by severing the root below the soil surface.
• Mowing may help reduce seed production if done at the correct growth stage, but it is not a complete control method.
• Mature flower heads should be carefully disposed of, as they often contain viable seeds.
⚠️ Early detection and removal are key to preventing Scotch Thistle from spreading throughout our community.
For more information on identification and control methods, contact the Nevada Department of Agriculture or visit their resources on noxious w**d management.
Let's work together to keep Spring Creek beautiful and healthy! 🌱
