Thank you ! Was going to purchase because of this: A list of good plants for tough sites (from UM Extension). I'm glad I investigated further.

This is the first infestation I've found in Ramsey County MN; near the intersection of County road D, Bellaire Ave and I694.

This is quite sad how negatively you speak of valeriana officinalis. Yes it is not native to MN, but it was brought here for a reason, it has many different amazing medicinal benefits! It's use was recorded by Hippocrates in Ancient Greek and Rome times. Valerian is a powerful nervine, stimulant, carminative, and antispasmodic. The plant alleviates pain and promotes sleep. A lot of people rely on this plant. If you find some please don't pick it, let the herbal community know so it can be properly cared for.

Alek, yes, we do speak very negatively about Valeriana officinalis. We are not unaware of its herbal uses, but humans are not the only living creatures on this planet. It is our responsibility to protect our native insects, birds and other wildlife. Invasive species such as Valeriana officinalis can pose significant threats to the delicate balance in nature by crowding out the native plants our native insects depend on to survive and thrive. When plant biodiversity declines, so do insects, then birds, then on up the food chain. We all lose in the end.

So I'm sorry, but if we find this plant in the wild, we will not save it, but continue to exterminate it when we can so that our native ecosystems are not degraded more than they already are.

If herbalists are bringing such plants into this country and allowing them to run amok, they have a role in the destruction of our natural areas. You should not condone this, but should learn to appreciate and restore the balance of nature and prevent such destruction in the future. Seems to me that would be a perfectly logical thing for a "naturalist" to do!

If you must have such plants, I ask you to be accountable for your actions and learn to propagate them responsibly so they cannot do harm to the non-human populations of this planet.

Alek was only requesting that in cases of infestation that the person contact the herbal community whom would probably be more than happy to dig it up and let others know. If we go along with the upsetting the delicate balance emergency eradication measures, maybe we ought to hike ourselves back to England, Ireland, Italy etc and give the Indians back their Garden of Eden. Not to mention Genetic modification, herbicides, fracking etc. etc.

It has exploded this year on our land outside of Duluth. I don't know how we are going to control it as it is everywhere. St. Johns Wort, Tansy, and Valerian are squeezing out everything else. Come on Herbalists! Yours for free.

Valerian has simply exploded in population here in Duluth these past two years, blanketing every roadside it seems. I never thought I would see something out-compete the tansy, but the valerian is doing so very handily. I don't think that an army of herbalists could make the slightest dent in the valerian population, but I'd be pleased to see them try! I can't keep it out of our gardens!

Volunteers and I just found a handful of mature plants and numerous seedlings along a footpath in Hilloway Park and within the best population of showy orchis known in Minnetonka. We dug out all that we found. Even the seedlings need to be dug--makes garlic mustard pulling seem easy. Yikes.

We have this on the edges of our yard in Duluth, and it is quite common on roadsides, as you have noted. A landscaping consultant we had brought in a few years ago told us it was Joe Pye weed, but I noticed the leaves don't look like Joe Pye weed. Thanks for the info!

There is a patch around 30x60 feet at the Koschak Farm Wildlife Management Area near Ely. I wish someone would eradicate it before it gets any larger.

I am a non-Minnesotan just back from vacationing in your state (second week of September). Saw colonies of this plant at multiple parks and pull-offs north of Duluth. I am still baffled by the nature of the diffuse purple pseudo-Joe-Pye structure at the top. Is this an inflorescence or an infructescence? Some had very tiny white flowers, but I saw no evidence of fruit, or perhaps didn't recognize it as such.

Found this in Fergus Falls growing in a couple of back yards.

I became aware of this plant around 1970 at my mom and dad's house near Snively Road in Duluth. It caught my attention because it was always popping up here and there in flower gardens. Its tiny flowers have a recognizable fragrance that I find disagreeable or annoying. I looked the plant up and identified it as an intruder in this country, so I frequently uprooted it and threw it on the lawn to die in the sun. I eventually was told by a friend of mine who happened to be a Siamese cat, that those partially dried Valerian roots lying on the lawn, smell VERY GOOD to cats. They roll around on them, smell them, and act playfully enjoyably intoxicated.

Many plants in full bloom in our wetland and horse pasture. Had a bit of trouble identifying it, thinking it may be queen ann's lace or poison hemlock.

At the Superior NF, we make garden valerian a priority target species for invasive plant treatments. It is currently relegated to only a handful of infestations but I worry greatly how much damage this plant will do as it continues to spread. I truly believe it is worse than tansy in many aspects. Unfortunately, we've located 2 very small populations at BW entry points recently (Seagull Lake and Brule Lake). I've been able to successfully treat these populations and will continue to monitor the area for more but I worry about their wind dispersed seeds escaping into the wilderness and disrupting the balance of natural ecosystems in one of the greatest wilderness in North America. I hope people become more aware of the dangers of this plant before the issue exponentiates past the point of no return.

Just saw this in the summer in the "bush"--knew it was not Queen Anne's lace but looked similiar--Thought it must have escaped from someone's flower garden but it was definitely taking over along the bush roadsides.

only came upon your site because I was looking for seeds for Valerian--to plant so i could harvest the roots for use in live mouse traps--apparently it attracts rodents. Another reason not to have it around home! So now i know where to go and dig it up. had a bit of snow already today--Sept 6.

I made the mistake of planting this Valerian in one of my botanical gardens here in rural Pope County. I had no idea it could/would spread and reseed like it does here in Minnesota. We had them growing in Montana when I was a kid, and they did not reseed and spread like wildfire, as they do here. I got the hint very quickly however, and consulted this website. The information contained here, helped me make a fast decision, and the plant is no longer in my gardens. As much as I love the fragrance of the flowers, and the medicinal effects of the roots, it just isn't worth it in the long run. This non-native may be pretty, attractive to pollinators, and smell great (except for the roots, which smell of dirty socks and jocks), but it takes over, and reseeds everywhere. And I mean everywhere! It took me a good long time to find and eradicate all the new seedling plants. Glad I did, or this Valerian would be all over Pope County and beyond by now.

I noticed the pink flowers poking through our natural wildflowers and used this website to identify the plant. Good thing I did to find out it was invasive. I haven't seen any more flowers but will keep an eye out

Just spotted three plants on my property away from the roadway. I have been very alert this year to plants as the Water Hemlock near and on our property has flourished in this weather. Glad to see it isn't poisonous but should be removed. Will get rid of it this weekend.

Just came across this flower near the airport.

I have a 90 acre tree farm which also has approximately one acre of dedicated pollinator meadow. I actively support milkweed and other pollinator plants that bees and butterflies thrive off of. I welcome the presence of dandelions in the earlier part of the growing season and valerian populations mid summer through fall. Once was just grass to mow is now a source of nutrition for valuation insect populations. It is interesting that neither the valerian or dandelions are growing in the dedicated pollinator meadow but just in what use to be a very large area of crabgrass that had to be continually mowed which created air pollution and unnecessary fossil fuel usage.

John, I wish your valerian could be contained to your property, but unfortunately, that isn't likely to happen. BTW, recent studies have shown that dandelions are not really very nutritious for our native pollinators. Native plants would be better.

There's a ton of this in my area north of Duluth, including on my property. I'm wondering if anyone knows: if I cut the flowering heads off before they seed, will that be sufficient to gradually diminish their presence? There's way too much of them to be able to reasonably pull them all out by the roots, and I don't want to spray them since they are intermingled with a ton of healthy native plants.

Evan, anything you can do to prevent seed production is good, but expect it to take several years for the seed bank to be depleted. Patience and diligence are necessary. Good luck with it.

I started seeing this along my road a couple summers ago. Last year I realized that it was increasing rapidly and I tried to eradicate it on my property and road ditch, but it was basically hopeless. Now this year it is going crazy in the road ditch and along a small intermittent creek through my property, probably in part by seeds carried downstream. I'm also seeing it along the highways and gravel roads in thick patches nearly everywhere I go in the area. I tried cutting off the flower heads but it comes back in a matter of days with a new one, although not as tall and robust. I think it's only a matter of time before this plant will be everywhere.

I learned about this plant about 3 years ago, and that it is widespread in highway 61 ditches north of Duluth. It is easy to find - obviously an invasive spp. Ironically, two years ago I found one growing on my pasture/meadow adjacent to my house north of Grand Marais. I can't remember exactly, but I believe I cut the flowering top, bagged it, and put it in the trash. I then sprayed or pulled the remaining plant. This year there were 6 plants in the same area. Again, I cut and disposed of the flowers and sprayed the plants. So many invasives are affecting our ecosystem now. But, I didn't expect to be introduced to an invasive spp. near Duluth and by pure happenstance find it growing on my property in Grand Marais a year later; then finding it already spreading, even with initial eradication measures, two years later. I will continue to destroy this plant, and I am worried about the future of our ecosystems everywhere - like we need more to worry about concerning the viability of our world.