Dame’s Rocket
This wildflower looks like Phlox but it’s easy to tell them apart. Start pulling Dame’s Rocket flower petals with ‘She Loves Me’ and you’ll find ‘She Loves Me Not’ when you get to the last one. Your garden phlox will always love you because it’s odd. Dame’s Rocket has 4 flower petals compared to the 5 of Phlox.
Hesperis matronalis
click image for a larger size (1024 x 768) suitable to use as descktop wallpaper
Dame’s Rocket is an invasive alien wildflower that has escaped from garden settings. No spaceships where involved in their dispersal, it is native to Europe and was brought over to the new world to be used as an ornamental plant. Their aggressive nature is actually a family trait. When it goes to seed Dane’s Rocket gives away it’s family identity. The long seed pods mark it as a member of the mustard family. It is a prolific self seeder and can quickly form dense stands that crowd out native plants.
Flower colors range from deep purple, lavender, pink and white. Dame’s Rocket is a fairly common sight along roadsides in St. Lawrence County, NY. These were spotted along the Black Lake Road in the Town of Morristown.
I caution anyone who wants to stop along Black Lake to get a close look, take photos or collect seed to watch where they go. Poison Ivy hides in the unmowed areas along the road.
At one time Dame’s Rocket seeds were included in ‘wildflower’ mixes. Since Dames Rocket is considered a noxious weed by many states I certainly hope they’re no longer added to the mix.
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May 31st, 2009 at 10:22 am
I love the widespread of roadside flowers. They really decorated the neighbourhood.
May 31st, 2009 at 12:14 pm
People still plant lots of that around here and I see it creeping into the fields around their homes. I wonder if anyone ever looks at the big picture and sees some things for what they are. Invasive with a capital I.
May 31st, 2009 at 1:15 pm
They really are nice … weeds or wild or invasive…
~ bangchik
May 31st, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Today, I went for a long walk through one of Toronto’s protected green spaces. In some areas, the size of fields, there there three things growing: Dame’s rocket, garlic mustard and dog-strangling vine. The dame’s rocket at least has the benefit of beauty (and fragrance)… when planted in a garden. We have to be careful what we plant when we’re living next door to nature.
May 31st, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Being a sucker for anything that smells good and attracts butterflies, I have this in my garden. I’m even guilty of going out there with a flashlight to get a good whiff of it’s fragrance. Apparently it likes to attract night fliers. Like any prolific seeder it has to be cut back after flowering for the good of everyone
May 31st, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Thanks for posting this. I could not remember the name of this flower for the life of me. We actually encourage patches of these flowers to grow at the edge of the gardens. Somebody once gave me some seeds and it was a nice all purple strain. It eventually died out and we are back to the mixed colors.
Nice photos. BTW. Keep up the good work.
May 31st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
It’s such a beautiful flower–invasive or not. One of my favorite flowers–Heavenly Blue Morning Glories happens to belong to a banned species in Arizona. Makes me want it more!
Aiyana
May 31st, 2009 at 6:59 pm
That is really pretty. I wouldn’t mind it taking over my garden(-:
May 31st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
It sure is lovely for being an alien. There’s another, daintier, pink-purple flower taking over the fields around Ithaca. Almost like a dianthus in shape with 4 or 5 flowers per stem. It makes a hazy cloud in a field and it really gorgeous. It’s not loosestrife, but I’m worried it will be an invader too. Hoping you’ll do a post on it–so far you’ve helped me figure out names for wild things I didn’t know names for, like the horsetail. Thanks a lot!
May 31st, 2009 at 9:41 pm
No matter what the problems with it, they are nice looking little flowers.
June 1st, 2009 at 12:06 am
There are so many things in this world that are beautiful but dangerous! This plant has such pretty blooms!
June 1st, 2009 at 11:34 am
Thanks for the post about invasives. We need to be reminded that we should take care about the plants we transport, buy, and transplant to our little corner of the world. It is pretty..and I like the clue about how to tell that it is different than phlox.
June 4th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
I think Dame’s Rocket is beautiful! It smells as good as phlox too, but blooms much earlier. Too bad it has such a bad reputation…I’d love to sow some up here. Maybe it wouldn’t be obnoxious in this climate, many plants aren’t invasive for me when they are elsewhere. I won’t risk being part of the problem though….*sigh*
June 4th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Great site and awsome picture – I’m going to try and get some new pictures form my garden this weekend!
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:57 am
I live in Walden, Vermont and have large areas of field to work with. I love dames rocket and bought a pound of this seed last summer to add some color to our fields. This year I have ONE dames rocket flower. I am so disappointed. Does any one know why my dames rocket won’t grow? It is certainly not invading our area. My goal is to fill a large area with the purple and white color. I saw a hill side that was covered, and I mean covered with this flower and I think that it is one of the most beautiful spots on earth. I am trying to accomplish the same here.
May 25th, 2010 at 8:36 am
I live in Ohio and would love to know of a source that would enable me to plant dames rocket in my wooded ravine – short of stopping by the side of the road and diging it up.
Thanks,
Marsha