{"id":274,"date":"2026-02-11T23:12:40","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T23:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/?post_type=resource-cpt&#038;p=274"},"modified":"2026-02-27T23:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T23:52:53","slug":"musk-thistle","status":"publish","type":"resource-cpt","link":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/resource\/musk-thistle\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk Thistle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group wp-block-pattern-longform-content is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group wp-block-pattern-quick-facts has-gray-50-background-color has-background is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Noxious Weed Facts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Musk thistle is a biennial\u2014it spends year one as a low rosette, then bolts and flowers in year two, and dies after setting seed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One plant can produce ~20,000 seeds, so letting even a few bloom can quickly turn into a bigger patch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Best control is \u201cstop the bloom\u201d &#8211; pull, dig, or spray before purple flowers show.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<p>Musk thistle is a non-native biennial forb that reproduces solely by seed. Preventing seed production is key to successful control. Pull, dig, or spray before you see any purple flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This plan occurs in pastures, rangeland, roadsides, and non-crop areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you pull the plant when flowers are showing purple, bag flower heads to prevent spreading seeds. The rest of the plant doesn\u2019t need to be bagged because it won\u2019t re-root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rosettes usually large and compact with large, corky taproot that is hollow near the crown. Leaves have consistent shape, sometimes with a frosted appearance around the leaf margins, and often have a cream-colored midrib.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"337\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/02\/Musk-Thistle-Flower.jpg\" alt=\"Musk thistle flower\" class=\"wp-image-571\" srcset=\"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/02\/Musk-Thistle-Flower.jpg 337w, https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2026\/02\/Musk-Thistle-Flower.jpg?resize=224,300 224w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 337px) 100vw, 337px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/contact\/\">Contact Gilpin County Extension<\/a> <\/strong>for herbicide recommendations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Important Notes:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Musk thistle is a prolific seed producer (20,000 per plant)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It produces spreading heads<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Very prickly (wear gloves) <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><br><\/strong>Please note that there are some\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/resource\/native-thistles\/\">native thistles<\/a><\/strong>, which are not noxious plants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-simple\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Additional Information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button is-style-quicklink\"><a tabindex=\"0\" class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/resource\/musk-thistle-management\/\"><strong>Musk Thistle Management | CSU Extension Fact Sheet<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Noxious Weed Facts Musk thistle is a non-native biennial forb that reproduces solely by seed. Preventing seed production is key to successful control. Pull, dig, or spray&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"area_tax":[],"county_tax":[127],"global-category_tax":[165,179],"global-offering_tax":[],"global-sub-category_tax":[261,287,360],"global-topic_tax":[375],"region_tax":[385],"resource-type_tax":[388],"class_list":["post-274","resource-cpt","type-resource-cpt","status-publish","hentry"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","pp_post_mime_type":"","acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt\/274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource-cpt"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt\/274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":659,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-cpt\/274\/revisions\/659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"area_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area_tax?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"county_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/county_tax?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"global-category_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-category_tax?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"global-offering_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-offering_tax?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"global-sub-category_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-sub-category_tax?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"global-topic_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-topic_tax?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"region_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region_tax?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"resource-type_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.colostate.edu\/gilpin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-type_tax?post=274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}