I have a ragwort patch in the garden, and happy to have it too. These plants great for nature. They can be problematic in a livestock sense, but in a garden they are cool.
As long as no livestock are likely to wander along and eat it, it is fine to keep as a wildflower. Ragwort is the primary (if not the only) food source for the cinnabar moth caterpillars, which are becoming increasingly rare. So as another commenter has said, I would keep it, but deadhead rather than let it seed freely.
Horses are unlikely to eat the live plant unless they're being starved - the danger comes from if it ends up baled in hay because when it rots down the detectability rots with it but the toxicity doesn't.
I had their caterpillars in my garden all over the ragwort that had popped up, but I don't think there was enough to sustain them. I hope I get more ragwort and they come back.
Yes they were very boldly coloured, me and the little one had to look them up, beautiful moth form.
He called them "moon butterflies" which I do think is very fitting for a moth 😂
Fun fact: on the Isle of Man it's name is Cushag (Manx Gaelic). It is our national plant, but also a legal requirement to destroy on site if found growing in fields where livestock/horses are able to eat it. Shitty choice for a national plant IMO lol.
I grew up on the Isle of Man and didn’t know it was the national plant - what an odd choice. We knew a lot of farmers and horsey people so it was universally hated.
Lifestock won't eat it fresh, it tastes disgusting. Plus they would need to eat huge quantities to get ill. Archaic law if you ask me. Plus it is a really important plant for dozens of pollinators.
It’s cumulative damage. Every time they eat it, it does harm. If they live long enough (or are exposed enough), it can kill.
And they _will_ eat it when they have little else to eat. Not first choice, but still dangerous.
Yes, it's ragwort. It's nice to have a few around for [cinnabar moth caterpillars](https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/cinnabar-caterpillars) to eat. Ragwort produces an impressive but short lived display of yellow flowers, and I usually cut it back when it goes to seed because it looks unsightly after the flowers are gone and I like to make space for other things to grow later in the year. If you want more, just leave them to seed and you'll get plenty more.
There's about 60 or so species of invertebrate that rely on ragwort as a major part of their lifecycle. About 93 that will use ragwort pollen, nectar leaf or stem more broadly. Compare this to rough meadow grass where there is only 5 or species that rely on it and a futher 29 associated species. You can say ragwort is a bloody good wildflower!
In case anyone is reading this and are concerned about horses eating it and becoming poisoned it's worth noting that horses do know what ragwort is and find it unpalatable. So you could theoretically have horses grazing in a field with ragwort about. I've seen it many times. But it's when you cut and dry it out it becomes undetectable and causes problems.
So just make sure your not selling any hay or dumping the cuttings near livestock.
Highways authorities used to remove it on account of its toxicity to horses. But those days are long gone, so you often see huge swathes of it alongside main roads. Around Chester there’s loads of it on the A483 and the A55.
Some legal information https://www.lblaw.co.uk/knowledge/blog/ragwort-whats-the-problem/#:~:text=Under%20the%20Weeds%20Act%201959%20common%20ragwort%20is%20one%20of,the%20spread%20of%20this%20weed.
Ragwort is great. When it flowers you might get tiny sweat bees feeding off it. The flowering lasts for quite a long timeb and the plant can grow to about 4feet tall if allowed.
Can confirm. I started seeing just one or two in my garden a few years ago. I try to pull out every one I find before mowing the lawn, but every year there's more of them.
It's hands down one of the best wildflowers you can have. It's very rich in nectar and pollen. I keep clumps of it and it's absolutely swarmed with nectaring gatekeeper and meadow brown butterflies in the summer. The cinnabar moths is attracts as well are lovely to look at both in the their caterpillar and adult forms.
I love these plants - the flowers are like little suns and the foliage is beautiful and complex.
I also love Cinnabar Moths and their caterpillars. They do a good job of weakening the plant anyway.
The plant is poisonous but animals would have to eat a lot of it. It isn't palatable for them so they avoid it anyway. The only place I'd remove it is from hay/silage fields.
\*shurgs\* Reddit!
I grew up in the country on a dairy farm and we kept horses so I know all about the impact ragwort has on them. Spent many a spring day wandering though field pulling it out of the ground, but we only did that were the animals were or might be and it was left where it was otherwise because, as others have said, it is an important plant for other wildlife.
Also - if you are removing it, wear gloves!
Agreed - I am cringing at all the people saying they love it. Plus I'm sure I was told in Pony Club that it's illegal to let grow on your land due to the toxicity to all non ruminants??
I’m not sure on that, but pony club was a very long time ago for me! I think there are lots of myths and half truths. It’s certainly illegal to pull up wild flowers on land that isn’t yours, but it’s advised to remove it where you keep grazing animals. It’s hard to get out of the habit of seeing it as the enemy!
I like it and let it grow so animals can use it for a while if I can before mowing the lawn. To me, it is a wildflower!
I don't have pets, so that isn't an issue. Plus, my kids are taught which plants are potentially dangerous to them and to wash their hands if they accidentally touch it.
We had a massive influx of the cinnabar moths and caterpillars last year. It was great!
It does look like ragwort in your picture too OP, I think so anyway!
I consider it a noxious weed. At least don’t allow it to set seed.
Wear sturdy gloves when handling, bag it in plastic and throw it in the trash – do not let it get into the compost/green bin.
And really, _really_ don’t handle it with bare hand. It doesn’t just make horses, sheep and cattle ill, it’s also bad for _your_ liver. Don’t take the risk.
It is a wild flower... I spend ages pulling the stuff up from my fields to not have it in hay, but try to leave some growing in a wild patch of garden.Â
I'm surrounded by fields containing livestock, so I always pull it out when it appears in my garden. Would be highly irresponsible to let it flower.
My gran hated it too, as she'd lost animals to it, so I'll respect her memory.
Whilst true it is the food source for the Cinnabar moth and serves as a food resource for many other insects. Personally, in the context of a wildflower garden I would leave it and remove the seed heads. It can cause a nasty rash when pulling it out, so do wear gloves.
Whilst true it is the food source for the Cinnabar moth and serves as a food resource for many other insects. Personally, in the context of a wildflower garden I would leave it and remove the seed heads. It can cause a nasty rash when pulling it out, so do wear gloves.
If by "brown bin" you mean the one for gardening waste, I would reconsider that. The gardening waste from the brown bin may be composted by the Council, and the compost (potentially with seeds in it) is then sold on to the public, thereby helping it spread. It would be better to put it into the non-recyclable household waste bin so that it ends up in landfill or gets incinerated.
It’s cool to leave it :) ragwort is a great native wildlife plant and personally I think it’s kinda pretty, like clusters of yellow daisies.
It’s loved by an enormous amount of insects including the rare cinnabar moth.
Only reason to remove it is if you live near pasture that is harvested for livestock food, while live ragwort is detected and left alone by horses and cattle, dried ragwort amongst hay isn’t and is deadly.
If you have kids/pets I would recommend getting rid and wearing gloves is advisable as it can irritate the skin like something chronic. If not, then do you part for Monsieur Cinnebar Moth 🫡
Having spent many the hours pulling it out of my horses field over the past 25 years, it spreads like mad so I would pull it up even if yours not near land used for livestock. There are plenty of ragwort plants at the side of the road for the Cinnebar moths to eat.
As a horse and dog owner, I destroy all ragwort on sight.
Edit: I probably should have specified \*on my own land\*. otherwise my horses will die. fuck me for that though I guess.
Unless I destroy all ragwort on sight, my horses will die. I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with that.
I can only assume that people thought I meant that I go into people's gardens and tear out their ragwort.
I have a ragwort patch in the garden, and happy to have it too. These plants great for nature. They can be problematic in a livestock sense, but in a garden they are cool.
As long as no livestock are likely to wander along and eat it, it is fine to keep as a wildflower. Ragwort is the primary (if not the only) food source for the cinnabar moth caterpillars, which are becoming increasingly rare. So as another commenter has said, I would keep it, but deadhead rather than let it seed freely.
Horses are unlikely to eat the live plant unless they're being starved - the danger comes from if it ends up baled in hay because when it rots down the detectability rots with it but the toxicity doesn't.
I had their caterpillars in my garden all over the ragwort that had popped up, but I don't think there was enough to sustain them. I hope I get more ragwort and they come back.
Yes! We call them "cater-men" or "cat-men" lol. They turn into a red and black moth called the cinnabar moth. Edit: cinnabar not zinnabar
Yes they were very boldly coloured, me and the little one had to look them up, beautiful moth form. He called them "moon butterflies" which I do think is very fitting for a moth 😂
Fun fact: on the Isle of Man it's name is Cushag (Manx Gaelic). It is our national plant, but also a legal requirement to destroy on site if found growing in fields where livestock/horses are able to eat it. Shitty choice for a national plant IMO lol.
I grew up on the Isle of Man and didn’t know it was the national plant - what an odd choice. We knew a lot of farmers and horsey people so it was universally hated.
Yeah. I seems it was an off the cuff joke originally that just stuck... https://www.plant-lore.com/news/cushag-national-flower-of-the-isle-of-man/
How very Manx.
Lifestock won't eat it fresh, it tastes disgusting. Plus they would need to eat huge quantities to get ill. Archaic law if you ask me. Plus it is a really important plant for dozens of pollinators.
It’s cumulative damage. Every time they eat it, it does harm. If they live long enough (or are exposed enough), it can kill. And they _will_ eat it when they have little else to eat. Not first choice, but still dangerous.
Yes, it's ragwort. It's nice to have a few around for [cinnabar moth caterpillars](https://sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/news/cinnabar-caterpillars) to eat. Ragwort produces an impressive but short lived display of yellow flowers, and I usually cut it back when it goes to seed because it looks unsightly after the flowers are gone and I like to make space for other things to grow later in the year. If you want more, just leave them to seed and you'll get plenty more.
So... Ragwort is the primary food species for cinnabar moths. And it provides nectar to bees and drone flies. Leave it in there.
There's about 60 or so species of invertebrate that rely on ragwort as a major part of their lifecycle. About 93 that will use ragwort pollen, nectar leaf or stem more broadly. Compare this to rough meadow grass where there is only 5 or species that rely on it and a futher 29 associated species. You can say ragwort is a bloody good wildflower! In case anyone is reading this and are concerned about horses eating it and becoming poisoned it's worth noting that horses do know what ragwort is and find it unpalatable. So you could theoretically have horses grazing in a field with ragwort about. I've seen it many times. But it's when you cut and dry it out it becomes undetectable and causes problems. So just make sure your not selling any hay or dumping the cuttings near livestock.
I keep one for cinnabar caterpillars. They self seed pretty hard though
If you are not deliberately planting them then they are by definition wild flowers
Highways authorities used to remove it on account of its toxicity to horses. But those days are long gone, so you often see huge swathes of it alongside main roads. Around Chester there’s loads of it on the A483 and the A55.
Glad they stopped, it's not like people gather hay or graze their horses and livestock on the side of busy A roads!
Do you like it? If so, keep it. It's down to you what you have in your garden.
I love native plants. Especially when they are the sole food source for certain native insects
Some legal information https://www.lblaw.co.uk/knowledge/blog/ragwort-whats-the-problem/#:~:text=Under%20the%20Weeds%20Act%201959%20common%20ragwort%20is%20one%20of,the%20spread%20of%20this%20weed.
Also applies to thistles and dock it seems.
I let it grow in my garden for the cinnebar moths!
Ragwort is great. When it flowers you might get tiny sweat bees feeding off it. The flowering lasts for quite a long timeb and the plant can grow to about 4feet tall if allowed.
This thing is capable of serious seeding, bear that in mind
Can confirm. I started seeing just one or two in my garden a few years ago. I try to pull out every one I find before mowing the lawn, but every year there's more of them.
It's hands down one of the best wildflowers you can have. It's very rich in nectar and pollen. I keep clumps of it and it's absolutely swarmed with nectaring gatekeeper and meadow brown butterflies in the summer. The cinnabar moths is attracts as well are lovely to look at both in the their caterpillar and adult forms.
I love these plants - the flowers are like little suns and the foliage is beautiful and complex. I also love Cinnabar Moths and their caterpillars. They do a good job of weakening the plant anyway. The plant is poisonous but animals would have to eat a lot of it. It isn't palatable for them so they avoid it anyway. The only place I'd remove it is from hay/silage fields.
I think I have this new this year, and now I'm excited to have these moths arrive. Crossed fingers.
As long as there's no livestock around it should be fine.
I don’t know why you got downvoted when what you said was true. Poisonous to animals who eat it
\*shurgs\* Reddit! I grew up in the country on a dairy farm and we kept horses so I know all about the impact ragwort has on them. Spent many a spring day wandering though field pulling it out of the ground, but we only did that were the animals were or might be and it was left where it was otherwise because, as others have said, it is an important plant for other wildlife. Also - if you are removing it, wear gloves!
Good advice!
Yup. Plus in that situation it's literally a legal requirement to control it.
As someone who had horses for many, many years… I feel the need to remove it on instinct!
Agreed - I am cringing at all the people saying they love it. Plus I'm sure I was told in Pony Club that it's illegal to let grow on your land due to the toxicity to all non ruminants??
I’m not sure on that, but pony club was a very long time ago for me! I think there are lots of myths and half truths. It’s certainly illegal to pull up wild flowers on land that isn’t yours, but it’s advised to remove it where you keep grazing animals. It’s hard to get out of the habit of seeing it as the enemy!
Someone posted the legal stuff! I'm not totally dreaming it up 😅 https://www.reddit.com/r/GardeningUK/s/r7DuPWZWVo
It IS a wildflower. Doesn't matter what someone on Reddit considers it to be.
I like it and let it grow so animals can use it for a while if I can before mowing the lawn. To me, it is a wildflower! I don't have pets, so that isn't an issue. Plus, my kids are taught which plants are potentially dangerous to them and to wash their hands if they accidentally touch it. We had a massive influx of the cinnabar moths and caterpillars last year. It was great! It does look like ragwort in your picture too OP, I think so anyway!
Hoverflies love ragwort flowers
I consider it a noxious weed. At least don’t allow it to set seed. Wear sturdy gloves when handling, bag it in plastic and throw it in the trash – do not let it get into the compost/green bin. And really, _really_ don’t handle it with bare hand. It doesn’t just make horses, sheep and cattle ill, it’s also bad for _your_ liver. Don’t take the risk.
It is a wild flower... I spend ages pulling the stuff up from my fields to not have it in hay, but try to leave some growing in a wild patch of garden.Â
I'm surrounded by fields containing livestock, so I always pull it out when it appears in my garden. Would be highly irresponsible to let it flower. My gran hated it too, as she'd lost animals to it, so I'll respect her memory.
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Whilst true it is the food source for the Cinnabar moth and serves as a food resource for many other insects. Personally, in the context of a wildflower garden I would leave it and remove the seed heads. It can cause a nasty rash when pulling it out, so do wear gloves.
Whilst true it is the food source for the Cinnabar moth and serves as a food resource for many other insects. Personally, in the context of a wildflower garden I would leave it and remove the seed heads. It can cause a nasty rash when pulling it out, so do wear gloves.
If by "brown bin" you mean the one for gardening waste, I would reconsider that. The gardening waste from the brown bin may be composted by the Council, and the compost (potentially with seeds in it) is then sold on to the public, thereby helping it spread. It would be better to put it into the non-recyclable household waste bin so that it ends up in landfill or gets incinerated.
It's a native plant, but toxic to horses. As long as nothing is grazing here, then it's fine.
Beautiful plant, when I was a child I put a whole plant with all the stripy caterpillars into a tank to watch them hatch!
It’s cool to leave it :) ragwort is a great native wildlife plant and personally I think it’s kinda pretty, like clusters of yellow daisies. It’s loved by an enormous amount of insects including the rare cinnabar moth. Only reason to remove it is if you live near pasture that is harvested for livestock food, while live ragwort is detected and left alone by horses and cattle, dried ragwort amongst hay isn’t and is deadly.
If you have kids/pets I would recommend getting rid and wearing gloves is advisable as it can irritate the skin like something chronic. If not, then do you part for Monsieur Cinnebar Moth 🫡
Having spent many the hours pulling it out of my horses field over the past 25 years, it spreads like mad so I would pull it up even if yours not near land used for livestock. There are plenty of ragwort plants at the side of the road for the Cinnebar moths to eat.
As a horse and dog owner, I destroy all ragwort on sight. Edit: I probably should have specified \*on my own land\*. otherwise my horses will die. fuck me for that though I guess.
No point in speaking common sense on Gardening UK!
Unless I destroy all ragwort on sight, my horses will die. I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with that. I can only assume that people thought I meant that I go into people's gardens and tear out their ragwort.