DAME’S-ROCKET – by John C. Benham, Weed Inspector,Wellington County

If the flowers have five-petals
they likely will be phlox but if they have four-petals they are Dame’s-rocket. They are beautiful showy flowers that were
brought over from Europe as an ornamental but now has adapted to our conditions
and flourished.
Dame’s-rocket is a perennial reproducing
only by seed. They grow three to
four-feet tall with mauve to pink to white flowers in damp soils in
uncultivated areas.
They flower May to
August. Since they are a member of the
mustard family the seedpods are similar to the rest of the mustards, one to
four-inch long slightly constricted between the seeds.
They are not on the noxious weed list.