Hi all,

I live on a small pond and we have oodles of purple loosestrife everywhere. I have been yanking up that stuff for years since it chokes waterways and is considered a major nuisance. However, it reseeds prolificly and if you don't know much about it, it looks like "pretty purple flowers..." Due to living on the pond, the edge of property is quite wet and stays that way, so naturally I try to incorporate all of the moisture loving plants there. I have red cardinal flower (lobelia cardinalis) and blue cardinal flower, but much to my chagrin, I think I have been yanking them out!!!! because before they flower the leaf bracts look (to me) a lot like the dastardly purple loostrife!! Can anybody tell me how to tell the difference between them so I don't yank the one I want out my mistake? Help!