Ragwort - Is it Good For Wildlife and Safe For Livestock?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video we explore the pros and cons of Ragwort and discuss if it is safe to have some in your garden.
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#Ragwort #SenecioJacobaea #Garden #Gardeningforwildlife #WildlifeGarden #Gardening #Wildflowers #Livestock #WildYourGarden #CinnabarMoth #CinnabarCaterpillar #Gatekeeper #Butterfly #Butterflies #Moths #Nectarplants #Bees
I’ve just had a head of this pop up in my garden which admittedly tends to get overgrown, and immediately had little brown butterflies dancing around. I noticed the same last year so I leave it alone until it’s no longer needed. 😊
Absolutely thrilled to read your comment Joanne! Well done you, I hope more and more people adopt your brilliant attitude, you've certainly been rewarded for your thoughtfulness :) Best wishes, Joel
There's a huge ragwort plant growing in a nearby field (they mow 90% of the field but leave a section long) and although it had no cinnabar caterpillars on it, it was covered in loads of different bees and flies. Probably 30-40 at once! Really cool to see.
Great to hear this Amy - I thought I should add this video while I had a chance and people would be seeing it, so much work on at the moment and the heatwave didn't help with the Team being able to work, so it's all hands on deck etc at the moment. Hope you're well - best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Does work usually get a bit less frantic in the winter? It seems like you never stop!
Cinnabar Moths are funny things. My garden has been host to several Ragworts for 20 years, but only 3 times have Cinnabars appeared here. There are wild Ragworts in lots of different places around this valley - in a nearby meadow, road verges, hilltops - so perhaps there's a reason for wanting a change of scenery. Perhaps evading some little known predator after all?
Yes the Bees love ragwort.
Weeds are just unloved flowers. Thanks for another great tip, Joel!
Hi Jerry! Sorry for the delay in acknowledging you, the heat of late meant we were unable to work for a fair few days and have had to work extra evening hours and weekends to get all the client jobs back on track, but we've managed it :) Thanks as ever for your support, I really appreciate it - best wishes, Joel
Just noticed it in my front garden this morning, so I will leave it well alone and watch for visitors. Thanks
Hey Helen - sorry for the delay in acknowledging you - lots of work on, scuppered slightly by the excessive heat of late, but reading your comment has put a smile on my face, wish everyone had your attitude - let me know what happens! Best wishes - Joel
In Irish folklore leprachauns like to mend their shoes in the morning on top of a clump of ragwort!!😄
I love your content.
I studied Ecology and worked in conservation until i took up Wildlife Gardening. In my studies, I constantly read that one of the largest contributors to biodiversity loss throughout the world is animal agriculture. I thought i was a bit of a hypocrite trying to conserve biodiversity and educate when i consumed animals, so i went plant based. It took a few months of reading debates from both sides, but always found overwhelming evidence in favour of not consuming animals. I came to the conclusion there is nothing good about animal agriculture in terms of human health, biodiversity or animal wealth fare. I get people keep horses, but sheep and the like cause masses of damage to our uplands and lowlands. There’s nearly 18 billion agricultural animals on this planet for human consumption and this number doesn’t include aquatic. When a species is monophagous and its food source is demonised by humans, the Cinnabar moth has a hard time. This moth is just one of the many species population is declining rapidly. Yes, there other factors due to population declines, pollution, urbanisation, habitat fragmentation, hunting, invasive species etc etc. However, if you research or appetite for animals isn’t good for biodiversity, climate change or the planet.
You are right in saying livestock wont eat ragwort straight out of a field.
Thank you Adam, appreciated - a really interesting read and view too, thank you :) Best wishes - Joel
I keep Ragwort in my field, despite the fact there are sheep and cattle in the field next door. I prefer Cinnabar Moths to smelly, greedy, fly-ridden farm animals any day. They have, as you say, caused immense damage to land all over the place.
When I first moved to my property, which has a 2 acre field attached, a third of that field was overgrazed to the point you could see bare rock everywhere, with just a few tufts of grass and weed here and there.
Because it is steeply sloped, with regular heavy rains washing away most of any soil accumulation - it has taken the lion's share of 20 years to get a thin skin of soil and turf to cover it.
It's been a long, expensive and frustrating business trying to get this land to recover sufficiently to grow more than grass on it, and because there are so many other badly overgrazed areas all over the world - I think it will soon be time when an awful lot more land is suddenly going to look as mine once did - and that means incapable of supporting quite so many animals.
I think many more people will have to turn to plant-based alternatives, because I can only see the price of meat rising higher and higher as it becomes less sustainable. And a good job too.
@@debbiehenri345 As a dairy farmer Debbie, I can't see your point here. How would grazing paddocks erode the soil? There is an area here in Ireland known as the Burren. Farmers there are paid to keep sheep on the very very rocky land because they keep down the vegetation and allow grass to grow which in turn leads to far less soil erosion. Give it a google. Also, while if humanity moves away from eating meat, I'm perfectly happy with that but I hear very very little about what we're supposed to eat instead. Growing cereal and grain is all very well but you have bigger environmental problems with it. I'm afraid the danger is that farms are getting bigger and bigger and becoming more like factories. More industrialised. Nobody takes care of land and animals better than a small family farm. And I for one, don't see how importing a load of palm oil from the other side of the world is going to solve anything. Farmers have a lot to do with regard to farming more sustainably but the vast majority of us are open, willing and ready to do what we must. I think a bit of support would be in order here instead of wide sweeping negative statements from people who, in a lot of cases, have never even set foot on a farm.
@@mollie3244 sheep eat wildflowers and well grazed fields end up just grass hence they're not good for biodiversity.
Cattle in very low numbers will do a good job of keeping scrub down but when they're grazing in large numbers the biodiversity of a site is again compromised.
The answer isn't necessarily to eat no meat but to eat less meat. This would benefit the environment and our health.
The other thing to tackle is that we waste 40% of the food that is produced. Enough is produced to feed everyone on the planet but not if we keep throwing it away.
As for alternatives to eating meat every day, veg gives us more food using far less land than raising livestock. It's not just the land that the livestock graze, it's the added amount of land at present used to grow food for livestock.
We already consume more grain based products than is healthy, and therefore are producing too much.
The take away, we can feed everyone on the planet, improve health, and increase biodiversity if everyone ate just healthy amounts of meat and grain, some fruit and more veg.
I love ragwort, had some grow feral last year and FINALLY saw my first cinnabar moth caterpillars for the first time in like... 15 years? Only two, but still! And this year I had hundreds of them, though the numbers have dropped as they've got bigger, but I'm so happy they're enjoying the garden.
Been seeing a bunch of other insects on it two, so while I do keep it to a small patch, I'm glad to have it.
Wow, SO good to read this Adam - sorry you had such a wait, but your patience and tolerance of this plant certainly paid off in the end, and those caterpillars know where you are now :) Here's to many more cinnabar-filled areas of your garden - when they turn into those beautiful moths you'll certainly be rewarded ten-fold. Brilliant, thank you - best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Thanks for the reply Joel! And thank you for the videos, you've inspired me to rescue the old (empty) pond this autumn if I can and get some water back in it again.
@@adam2802 Your very welcome Adam - I'd be happy to advise if you need help with the pond - you can send photos of it to hazelwoodlandscapes@hotmail.com - I'm more likely to see messages there as I don't always get the notifications on youtube - but I'm happy to help where I can - best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Thank you! Right now my first step is just to clear it out and re-seal it, but I would definitely appreciate some ideas on how best to approach restocking it with plants when the time comes, and a better layout, so I'll shoot you a message down the line, thank you!
Nice to see you back again, Joel. I didn't knew or have seen this plant before. It called 'jakobskruiskruid' in my language. It's nice to learn a little bit more about our native plants each time👍🏻🌿🌸🦋🐛🐝
Have to admit it is very pretty, & fantastic for insects, but I’m guilty of clearing my horses paddocks of it.
Never seen those moths before ......always learn something new from your channel.....thanks Joel
I don't think you're alone Lynn :) It's a wonderful plant if allowed to grow in gardens and of course where there is no likelihood of it spreading to fields that are cut for hay - hope you're well and enjoying the weekend - best wishes, Joel
I’m from WA State in the US and sadly yes tansy is listed and an invasive non-native species. It’s so good for the bugs and therefore for the birds that we tolerate a certain amount of it on our 40 acre property…I don’t worry about our livestock eating it because I have observed they don’t eat it, and we don’t hay. People: wild birds are starving to death due to our war on weeds, which hosts their food. I have to consider that when balancing our weed load on the farm with other important needs. If the Weed Control Board doesn’t like that they can come help me hand weed it out…
Hey Nancy - thank you so much for being a member of this wonderful community, and thank you for being such a wonderful steward of your land, without doubt you are being rewarded :) Really enjoyed reading your comment - best wishes to you and yours, Joel
Sorry but "tansy" is a completely different plant.
@@SneezyArobat I think that's a common name for Ragwort in the US. Common names often differ in different counties let alone countries.
My favourite caterpillar, as a child I used to live opposite a big industrial place and their embankments had ragwort on and always had loads of these fantastic caterpillars, I just happily sat there watching these eat. Last year I saw one walking on tarmac and knew there weren't any ragwort local so I carefully potted the caterpillar- naturally I named it Charlie, and I set off on a walk to try and find some ragwort knowing my best bet would be industrial/scrub land/canal sides etc. Thankfully an old industrial land had some I could reach- fences stopped me from reaching larger plants but placed Charlie on a somewhat small ragwort plant next to another ragwort that had a smaller caterpillar on so at least they had their own food plant to feast on. I will never not love the Cinnabar moth and caterpillar and honestly think they are why yellow is my favourite colour. If you've read this far then awesome, thank you for your videos- especially the dead hedge one as it has been awesome cover for a hedgehog that has been visiting us- Hoggle 💗
Wonderful to read this! So sorry for the delay in acknowledging you, work has been really busy having to take days out due to the heatwave recently as impossible to work in, but catching up again now and many more videos to upload. But I really enjoyed your comment - thanks so much for your support and being part of this wonderful community :) Best wishes - Joel
The Ragwort in my garden is covered in bees and hoverflies, as well as cinnebar caterpillars. Lovely plant.
Thank you John - I really appreciate you letting others know how much this much maligned plant offers to so many insects, aside from being a vital food source for the Cinnabar caterpillars - best wishes, Joel
Hoverflies love it too.
There is a massive field full of clouds of Ragwort near my house. It's very nice to see and is full of wildlife. No livestock nearby.
Great to hear this Alf, I'm so glad people are still seeing it :) Best wishes, Joel
Nice to see you've uploaded again after a short break, I havent brought myself to allow it to grow in our garden yet, but it's growing all over in the fields at the top of our avenue.
Hey David :) It's certainly not a necessity in gardens, but I do wish the myths surrounding it would be recognised and people not demonize it so much. I wish it had been a break, but the heatwave meant the guys were finding it obviously difficult to work and it put some jobs back a few days, meaning I've had to be on site more to keep everything on track - but we're there now and all worked out :) Hope you and Audrey are doing well - best wishes, Joel
Hello Joel, very common around here now, Co. Kilkenny Ireland, even in farmer's fields, (so I'm surprised that it doesn't get into hay,) where-as before it was mainly found on the railway embankments. I leave it be, around the garden and in our bit of woodland but remove it from our field.The cinnabar caterpillars around here also feed extensively on groundsel (senecio vulgaris) which is of course related to ragwort. Neil.
Hi Neil - yes, Groundsel, it's very similar and when I was driving back home after doing the video it came to me, a little too late! ;) Glad you allow it in your garden and that you get to see not only the wonderful caterpillars but the beautiful moths they turn into - best wishes, Joel
I've never seen a Cinnabar moth before but I have lots of Ragwort in my garden. I don't see any caterpillars unfortunately but maybe it's too late in the year. Will keep my eyes open. Thanks for your video. It's something you know to steer clear of but actually there are several reasons to keep them if you don't have grazing animals.
I love Ragwort, I have quite a bit growing in my garden and have done for several years. I've never had any cinnibar caterpillars though, I'm still hoping to see them one day.
Hey Greg! Sorry for the delay, the heatwave meant we weren't able to work as many days as we would have liked so we're playing catch up, but making good progress - hoping I can see you next week or the week after - will be in touch soon! There's a good chance the cinnabar will find you next year :) Best wishes - Joel
Really enjoyed this Joel. I have some growing in my garden, and to be honest I don't own horses so it's safe in my garden and I'm happy to have it there.
🙂👍
Hey Mick! It was a flying visit with this video, we've been having to play catch-up since the heatwave and of course not being able to work in such excessive temperatures, but thankfully we're back on track with client jobs now :) So glad that you're leaving it be, and I hope you're rewarded with the caterpillars and stunning moths real soon - best wishes to you and yours, as always - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton always hoping Joel.. hope you and your family are well, take care pal 👍
Thanks for the important info on Ragwort. When are we going to see some video's on France when you were there....looking forward to them.
Hi Cathy! So many videos to edit and upload still (last count was around 82!) but over the last few weeks with the heatwave and excessive temperatures we've not been able to work so much - meaning it's 12 hour days at the moment to try to ensure all client jobs stay on track, but I will be uploading more videos real soon, just need to find some time as at the moment I'm only really "home" on Sundays and then addressing admin stuff - but I'll be back on the videos again soon, I promise, there are so many that are circa 30 minutes long once edited and it takes a while - thanks for all your support, best wishes - Joel
The most popular insect feeding plant at present along with hedge wound wort in this area (West of Ireland). The numbers are well suppressed as per nature with Cinnabars. Day and night its a popular restaurant. Thankfully neighbouring farmers are not collecting hay.
Great news, and really good to read this, thank you :) I hope you're doing well - sorry for the delay in acknowledging you but it's been manic at work, trying to make up for time after the excessive heatwave lately and being unable to work in such temperatures, but we're caught up now thankfully and back on track - hope you're doing fine - best wishes, Joel
Its a nice looking yellow bouquet
Great description - and when there are beautiful moths and caterpillars over it, an even better bouquet :) Best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton a meal bouquet for them, kind of like what a chicken tender bouquet is to a human 😂
The caterpillars definitely have a sense for the plant, as a child i used to pick off some caterpillars and move them away, to watch them make their way back. 👍
Ha! I think we're all probably guilty of something like that as kids, but they're pretty fast and I expect ignited your interest in nature somewhat :) Best wishes to you Paul - Joel
We call this plant Tansy and it’s illegal to possess or distribute the plant within Washington state where I live. You could be fined for not removing it from your property. As you stated, it’s extremely dangerous for livestock. Additionally, the toxin is passed into the milk of animals that ingest it as well as into the honey of bees who visit the plant. Naturally you’d have to consume a tremendous amount of those products to be seriously harmed. But it still makes the products unable to be sold. Washington has a huge dairy industry and produces a great deal of honey. Apples are one of our biggest crops & bees are used to pollinate the orchards. So tansy’s effect on our agricultural industry could be significant.
It’s also able to out compete many of our native plants and wildflowers. It’s almost impossible to eradicate once it’s taken hold in your yard. Another reason why, along with Himalayan blackberry, scotch broom & a few others, tansy is one of our most reviled noxious weeds
The caterpillars are admittedly cute. I have fond memories of finding tansy as a child because I knew it would be covered in those cute little guys. It’s interesting how the same plant can hold simultaneously similar and disparate associations for people in different parts of the world
Hi JT - thank you - interesting reading and I agree that it's interesting that some plants that are beloved and native and good for wildlife in one country, are absolute no-nos in other countries. Even our government has relayed myths about this plant, harming it's chances and of course there are reports here that cinnabar moth numbers have dropped due to it's host-plant being removed. If you get a chance, this makes excellent reading but a guy who has spent 20 years of his life studying and researching it:
www.ragwortfacts.com/
Thanks again - I appreciate your input and information - best wishes to you and yours - Joel
I have Tansy in my garden and Ragwort. They are very different plants.
Hi why do you call the plant Tansy? Tansy is a completely different plant with different animals asociated with it.
It doesn't get into milk as livestock don't eat it.
The risk of it causing harm from eating honey is highly unlikely or negligible according to DEFRA.
Bees eat nectar from hundreds of poisonous plants, if plant poisons ended up in honey we'd not be able to eat it at all.
Sounds like scare mongering, people try to do it here, the government just hasn't fallen for it but has looked at the science instead of silly claims by those who don't like having to pull it out of hay fields.
Joel please could you do a video on how you got into all this? How you built your business, your background, selling plants online etc
Hi there Tash - I am thinking about doing something like this in late Autumn, winter time when the work load has reduced slightly - I've got circa 82 videos that need editing and uploading but I'll certainly do a video explaining everything of course :) Thanks for your support - best wishes, Joel
Brilliant video Joel,
During the last week I've seen adult Cinnabar Moths and have seen one adult egg laying. It's great to know where the eggs are amongst all that foliage!
I'm not sure how long it will be before the caterpillars emerge but I'm keeping my eye on the eggs now.
Love that plant and the moths.
Hi Chris - me too :) So sorry for the delay in acknowledging everyone but the heatwave really did put us back with jobs and I'm trying to ensure I answer everyone's comments when I get some time out, I hate leaving people unacknowledged! Lots of videos to come, think it's over 85 now, but just finding the time to edit, finish and upload. There will certainly be a huge amount of videos to keep us going through the darker winter nights, that's for sure! Hope you are doing well, and thanks for bearing with me and all the support - it means a lot. Best wishes - Joel
Hooray!! I have those caterpillars on mine and didn’t know what they were thanks for informing me. One plant had 13 on it!
Oh my and I thought 13 was a lot!
Hi Dorothy! I am so glad this was helpful and timely, 13 is a very good number and they know where you (and the Ragwort) are now - keep an eye out for those beautiful moths that they turn into, flying jewels to complement the garden :) Hope you're doing well - best wishes, Joel
We have several plants spotted about the garden and I’ve been checking regularly for our first cinnabars. Only tonight did my husband spot one. One solitary caterpillar. I moved it from the dried up small plant it was on to a magnificent three foot specimen so it can eat it’s fill. Safe to say we will be guarding our lone caterpillar well.
Hey Tracey, I hope you and the family are doing well - so sorry for the delay in coming back to everyone but it really has been 6 days a week lately with work and working until 11pm a few nights to get this latest pond finished. So good to hear that you have at least one caterpillar, I do hope you find more and well done for transferring it to a more abundant source of food :) Do let me know how you get on, fingers crossed you get to see the beautiful adult - best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Totally understand Joel, don't know how your fitting everything in. You take care.
Turned up in my garden last year and I think it's wonderful 🌻
So good to read this Kevin, thank you :) I am so pleased to read that everyone is making space for this oft-hated plant and relaying it's benefits for so many insects - best wishes to you and yours, Joel
Glad to see this plant can be grown in gardens and can be beneficial for a lot of wildlife in the UK. Here in Australia, it is either classified as a weed or pest or simply outlawed depending on the state or territory. So no ragwort growing here I am afraid. Hoping that everything is well with you and the family and that work hasn't been to hectic. Cheers. Laurie & Karen
Hey Laurie - just playing catch up again, so sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone. The heatwave of late meant that we were unable to work in excessive temperatures and of course it meant jobs were put back a little, but we're on top again now after a few extra hours a day and some weekend work. I've got so much to edit and upload for everyone but it's just finding the time at this busiest part of the year - but I'll be on it soon. Same here, even the Govt give out incorrect information about this plant, but there seems to be a movement in it's favour on social media. Hope you're both doing well - it'll soon be 2023 before we know it! Best wishes, as always - Joel
It's the one plant that has more pollinators than any other in my garden :)
Yep, it will harm cattle and your exactly right, they won't eat it but we zero graze so we can't let it in the fields but it grows under the fences and in the ditches. Its everywhere, we couldn't get rid of it if we wanted. Those caterpillars do cover them but they also eat my Scottish laburnum, and I do mean every last bit of leaf on it. Somehow, the little tree is managing to survive. Still, I'm told the worst thing to do is pull it and leave it, the cows will eat it when its dry.
Hey Joel! So glad you've spoken about this plant! I have four in the garden {growing where they shouldn't} but I've let them be. They've been full of caterpillars which I hope survive to be moths. We get lots of cinnabars every year and they really are beautiful. I'm glad I left them alone. The less we do in the garden the more wild benefits we seem to get. I'm battling moles and an underground wasp nest at the min, great fun! I did say I wanted more wildlife in the garden but didn't have these in mind! I guess we can't pick and choose. Any advice from the community would be welcomed. Best wishes.
Something ate all my caterpillars! 🌝
@@Essemm52 Maybe wasps?
If you know where the ground wasps enter and exit a means of getting rid of them is to set a block of dry ice over the hole after they have retired for the day. A quiet death by suffocation. Good luck.
@@kathleensimpson2046 Thank you Kathleen! Feel a bit bad killing them but sadly they have to go. I'll give it a try. Best wishes.
@@SisterDogmata good answer yes the wasps have been eating our cabbage whites lately ☹️
Interesting stuff. Thanks for the info, Joel.
Thank you Mark - had to try to get this video uploaded when I could and when it was relevant as Ragwort seems to have coped well in the heat compared to other plants. Hope you are well - best wishes, Joel
Joel,
I have a question about the bird blind building you build some time ago.
I’ve not been able to find the video about it.
Please direct me to it.
Your beautiful videos bring great joy to my heart. Bless you. Judy in Flagstaff AZ
Hi Judy - my apologies but I am still editing that video, amongst many others, workload has been increased lately and with the heatwave it meant that the Team were unable to work for a good few days so I have been on site circa 12 hours a day to ensure that client jobs are staying on track. I should get a chance to get more videos up in the next few weeks though and the Bird Hide will be one of them :) Best wishes, and thank you for your support, it means a lot - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton I look forward to your every positive interesting video, my dear friend.
Judy
Well, look who's back 👏
I'll have to look into getting that seed, I do have cats, altho I wouldn't think they'd eat that.
Haha! It was briefly - just trying to steal some time to catch up with everyone, the heatwave of late meant that it was difficult to work in obviously and we've been playing catch up to try to keep the jobs on track, plus it's the busiest time of year of course. So many videos to upload for you guys, just need to get some spare time to edit etc but I haven't forgotten and there will certainly be a tsunami of videos soon! I do hope you're doing well Wende - the seeds for this plant are notoriously difficult to get hold of in the UK, unless you can glean a little from the wild - but I don't know if there are legalities in the USA, cats certainly won't eat it though :) Best wishes - Joel
Brilliant Joel thanks for sharing 🐸💚🐸
Hey! Just trying to catch up with everyone, heatwave made it really difficult to keep up with jobs but we're there again now and back on track. Hope you're doing well - best wishes - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Thankyou hope your doing well too mate 👍🏻 🐸💚🐸
At this point I'm just leaving any plant be, especially flowering ones, when they do not interfere with the rest of the garden. Still working on reducing grass to get more wild flowers.
Hi there Ardas! So sorry for the delay - just catching up with everyone - but we're back on track with client jobs since the heatwave thankfully. So glad that you have this attitude, you'll be rewarded many times over, I promise :) Hope you're doing well - best wishes, Joel
I found a woodland glade full of Ragwort and yes covered in Cinebar moth caterpillars, but this was about 5 years ago. Alas I revisited a few weeks ago and it’s been turned into an outdoor activity centre, and the area has been turfed. An area that was full of moths and butterflies now much poorer for it. At least it encourages to get kids outside.
Sorry to hear this Keith, it's absolutely gutting when you're unpleasantly surprised by changes such as this - nature and the countryside is such a great activity centre in itself but I'm so buoyed by everyone here and their efforts and thought for wildlife in their own greenspaces, we're certainly heading in the right direction - best wishes, as always, Joel
Great encouragement to grow these plants. Even though they're bad for horses it is odd that the only places I find these plants growing is in horse's paddocks. Tempted to collect the seeds and grow in my wildlife hedgerow.
Hi Elizabeth - you might well have to harvest seeds this way as they're impossible to buy in the UK, no doubt due to the myths surrounding them. Absolutely spot on with seeing it in fields with horses, there have been a lot of photos on social media in the last few days with people showing that horses, cows and sheep will strip a field of everything BUT the Ragwort, showing that they know it's bad - it's when it's baled in hay that they find difficulty in differentiating between Ragwort and safe plants - if you get a chance, this guy has spent 20 years researching Ragwort and it's a great website:
www.ragwortfacts.com/
Best wishes - Joel
Please don’t it is extremely toxic to humans and animals. Do not touch even. It will harm you. Sorry.
Great content as usual. Thanks
Thank you - glad you enjoyed this - I really appreciate your kind words and support, it makes a difference! Best wishes - Joel
Hi Joel, have lots growing here, sadly no caterpillars. Did notice someone made a good job of the wall behind you!
Hey Colin! Sorry for the delay, still playing catch up with jobs after the excessive heat. I'm sure you'll see some next year, and yes that wall is great, and there's lots of it - they certainly know how to do flint in Norfolk ;) Hope you're doing well - best wishes, Joel
Good to see you back Joel.
I have 3 perfect Ragworts and no cinnabar moth’s. Please send some to me 😄
Keep up the good work buddy 👏🏻
Hey George! Just trying to catch up with everyone again, we've been pretty much up against it with the heatwave of late but with extra evening hours and weekends we've finally caught up and are back on track with everything. The Cinnabars will find you, I promise :) Hope you and yours are doing well - will catch up properly soon. Take good care, and thanks as always for all your support - Joel
Cinnabar caterpillars extremely toxic to … well everything. Not much use in the food chain. Ragwort is extremely toxic. Do not touch it. Please read Wikipedia on the subject. Illegal to grow it in most places as it kills.
I only have laying hens in my backyard, but sometimes I trim all my medicinal plants and give it to my hens. Will these plant be a problem if they eat it. This is the first time I dot this plant in my front yard. I left it because it look beautiful.
Hi there, sorry for being unable to respond sooner - I would not give it once it is cut to the hens, it can cause liver problems if given over a long period I believe and of course they cannot avoid it like this - if they see it growing I believe they will avoid it completely, like livestock does - but it's best to be safe if cutting it as again they cannot decide to eat it or not if it is mixed with other plants. But do leave it in your front yard as SO many insects appreciate it and it really helps. Thanks so much for caring enough - best wishes, Joel
Extremely toxic as are the caterpillars that eat it. Extremely hazardous plant. Do not touch it. Handle with gloves only. Do not eat eggs from hens that have ingested it please read Wikipedia for more info.
Another great lesson! I will be looking out for this plant here in Illinois & Michigan. Hopefully I will spy some caterpillars, moths, bees & butterflies as well. 🐛🦋🐝
Hey Michelle! Thank you, and sorry for the delay in acknowledging you - it's been hectic this side, in addition we've had the mini heatwave and temperatures way to excessive for the Team to work in so we've been playing catch up, but we're on track now. I have so many more videos to edit and upload, it's just finding the time at the moment, but I promise they're coming! :) Hope you are doing well - best wishes, Joel
You are a darling and I love your channel! I will be mentioning you on my upcoming TH-cam video: My 10 Favorite Gardeners!
I'm absolutely honoured (honored?!) - thank you so much, that's really kind of you and I appreciate your support - I'll of course subscribe to the channel now - best of luck with it! Joel
get them all over the place where i live, but there's one particular place in an old graveyard that is absolutely crammed with ragwort, don't think i can get in there to look and see if the catapillars are there too but i'm betting they are since, there's so many elsewhere too.
I bet they are too - and so good that the Ragwort has found some relatively "safety" in this area and hopefully will remain there, Cinnabar moth numbers have dropped dramatically due to the myths surrounding their food source but I'm hoping attitudes will change - so good to read your comment :) Best wishes - Joel
Great for the Cinnabar Moth. If there’s no cows or horses around, I don’t see a problem.
Absolutely - care must be taken that it can't seed itself into fields that are turned into hay for animals of course but there's no harm in gardens and there's a lot of myths that surround this plant, thank you and bests wishes - Joel
My tallest Ragwort is around 5 feet. I like the plant but like many wildflowers it spreads it's seed all over the place so you have to keep on top of it, unless you want a garden full of that and dandelions!
Haha! You're right, but amazingly it is nigh-on impossible to buy seeds of this plant, probably due to the myths surrounding it no doubt but so glad you have such a wonderful specimen :) Best wishes, Joel
Your five foot specimen sounds amazing, I've had three footers but mine are competing with other flowers and grasses.
The seeds hardly spread at all unless you have bare or disturbed ground.
I had to sow some in the areas I wanted it to spread since I have a meadow style garden that is completely covered in vegetation year round.
If it spreads in your garden it might be an idea to cut the heads off before it goes to seed, although the seeds are loved by Goldfinch in my garden.
Need to get some seeds 🙂
Hi Maureen - sorry for the delay - busy time at the moment so just catching up with everyone. I've looked into seeds for this plant and it is nigh on impossible to buy anywhere, no doubt due to the bad myths surrounding it :/ I looked for Groundsel which is the alternative food source for this declining moth and it's just as difficult to get, unless you buy in bulk for the purpose of bird seed! I'll work on this though ;) Best wishes, as always - Joel
👍🏻 to see you again, Joel. I’ve got a fairly tall ragwort in my back garden 🪴. It’s so bright
Hi Janie! It was a pretty brief visit... we've been trying to catch up with the workload after the excessive heat and being unable to work in those conditions, but we're back on track now - just didn't want you thinking I was ignoring you :) So many videos to edit and upload, so prepare for a tsunami of them shortly! ;) Hope you and yours are well - best wishes - Joel
I tend to leave it to grow in the garden. I'm hoping to get cinnabar moths in the garden.
Cinnabar moths toxic to predators. Try plant less toxic?
This plant can and does kill cattle, but you never find ragwort in places that are grazed by sheep.
I don't think it deserves the hate it gets either. I've never understood the invasive species classification when the plant is a native species!
Quite! There's a lot of old rules and laws that are clearly not viable in this century ;) Best wishes - Joel
I don't have any Ragwort in my garden but I'd be pleased to plant at least one in the hope that it would attract those caterpillars and I might even get a glimpse of one of those beautiful moths. Hope this doesn't sound like a stupid question but is it possible to buy a Ragwort plant?
If possible try collecting seed from a ragwort growing within a 2 mile radius of where you want to plant it. Collecting seed locally ensures a healthy genetic diversity of the plants. Buying plants or seeds from elsewhere, even if it's from the same country, can have negative affects for the species.
@@catherine5939 Thank you
Hi Rob! So sorry for the delay, we've been flat out at work due to the heatwave/excessive heat and unable to keep up with jobs without putting in the extra hours and weekends, but we're there now :) Catherine makes some good points and after research it seems that it's nigh-on impossible to buy Ragwort seeds, no doubt due to the myths that surround them. I'm looking into this further as the advice from Govt is ambiguous, but do have a read of this wonderful website here, the guy that created it has studied Ragwort and the myths etc for over 20 years :)
www.ragwortfacts.com/
Hope you're doing well - best wishes, Joel
No caterpillars on ours 😢 what time of year should we see them ?
Hi Julia - don't despair just yet. Adults will fly until the end of July time and the eggs are laid underneath the leaves of the Ragwort and in batches of between 30 to 60 - the caterpillars can be seen from July and into September so do keep an eye out. Unfortunately due to the misinformation surrounding Ragwort it has been demonised and a lot is pulled up or mown down, usually with the eggs/caterpillars on it and this can of course cause a decline in these moths. I do hope you see some soon - let me know! Best wishes, Joel
It's classed as an an injurous weed for a reason!
Great video, thanks Joel. Could Ragwort act as a diversion to keep caterpillars away from brassicas do you think?
Only if you don’t mind slowly poisoning to death local livestock.
@@sophieosullivan4679 Have you actually experienced this happening yourself?
Hi, on an completely unrelated note to this video - are you able to advice me on placement of the pump in my wildlife pond (it will be covered by gravel etc so no animals will be mushed inside). I want to have it for little waterfall feature and bird bath as well as gravel and plants filtering. So, should I put in the deepest section with coldest water (2 meters deep) or about 70cm deep should be sufficient so that the coldest and deepest water is not disturbed?
Hey again! Apologies again for the delay - send me an email at hazelwoodlandscapes@hotmail.com as I'll be able to keep up with that better, I don't always seem to get notifications on everything and I'd rather you didn't think I was ignoring you ;) It will be easier to send a few photos to that email address too - I'm more than happy to help. Hope to hear from you soon, best wishes - Joel
Hi Joel. My friend has this plant growing in her garden and has loads of caterpillars on it. I did say that I would collect seeds and grow it my garden. Any tips for growing it please?
And how it Frank doing?
Hi Rose! So sorry for the delay but the heatwave etc made us lose several days on client jobs so we've been working all hours to keep everything on track, so I've not been able to be on YT as much of course and am just trying to catch up with everyone :) It's nigh-on impossible to buy Ragwort seeds online so it is a good idea to collect them from your friend. It can flower right through to November so there's time yet for harvesting :) I believe it's best to plant the seeds with minimum soil covering as they would land on the soil naturally, a little soil covering will help but I believe they like to be "exposed" - they should take around 20 days to germinate in the autumn. Let me know how you get on with these as I'd love to know the success rate. Frank is doing fine, he is huge already and not even 9 months old yet - he was obviously left on his own a lot as he still "suckles" on anything soft like a cushion etc to comfort himself but he's a very loving and affectionate dog and clearly happy here, particularly with Luna as a play-mate :) Hope you're doing well Rose - best wishes, Joel
No.problem with the delay. It's good of you to reply to every comment. Not everyone takes the time to do that. Fingers crossed for sowing the seeds. Glad to hear Frank is doing well.
I've found the best way to grow a stand of wildflowers is to pick one, from your friend's garden, as its going to seed, and stick it in where you want them. Just push the stem into the ground and leave it alone. Works for borage, verbena, poppys, anything will a tallish fairly rigid stem.
I have an acre of ragwort but no cinnabar caterpillars. I’m in Scotland. Could that be an issue? Also could you advise me on the difference between Gatekeepers and Small Health butterflies? Not sure what I have on the thistles in my one acre patch.
Thanks
Gatekeepers you will find have 2 white marks on their forewing black spot both upper and underside this is the easiest way to identify them . Re watch the video and you will see them clearly. Hope this helps .
@@patrickstuart8211 Thanks, will have to look closer next time I see one.
Hi there! Sorry for the delay, the excessive heat has meant we weren't able to work for a fair few days and have been playing catch up with extra hours and weekends, we're back on track now thankfully :) Patrick has given the right answer re the Gatekeepers. I am sure the cinnabar moths will find your area too - this is what BugLife say:
The Cinnabar moth is a common species, well distributed throughout the UK and has a coastal distribution in the northern most counties of England and Scotland. Due to its toxicity to livestock Ragwort is being controlled in many areas across the UK. A study carried out by Butterfly Conservation and Rothamstead research in 2003 showed that although the distribution of the Cinnabar moth has remained roughly the same between the study period of 1968 - 2002 their numbers have dropped dramatically due to the persecution of their food plant Ragwort.
Cinnabar moths are found in typically well drained rabbit grazed (short sward) grassland including sand dunes and heathland and lots of other open habitats such as gardens and woodland rides.
Hope this helps - best wishes - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Thanks,Joel, the reply is much appreciated.
Hi Joel, I hope you are doing well! I know that birds can’t eat the caterpillars because they are poisonous, but do you know if the moths are edible to birds and bats?
Hey Spencer - sorry for the delay, busiest time of year and the heatwave didn't help so we've been working extra hours/weekends to keep up with jobs. Recently I read a really good article on birds and these caterpillars, and how birds actually learn to avoid the PLANTS where toxic caterpillars are - some pretty amazing reading, I'd recommend it:
www.bris.ac.uk/news/2021/october/birds-avoid-plants-that-host-toxic-insects.html
Hope you are doing well Spencer - we must catch up again properly soon - take good care, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Hi Joel, that’s ok don’t worry! Sounds very busy for you, I hope it’s all going well though! Ok cool thank you for that, I will give it a read in a bit.
Yes I would like that! Just drop me an email when you get a chance and we can go from there! Take care, Spencer.
Единственное , что спасет и улучшит человечество и планету -
th-cam.com/users/TheVenusProjectRUS
Все остальное за тысячелетия доказала , что не работает или в лучшем случае временные полумеры .
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Давайте объединяться пока есть небольшой шанс в этой хрупкой космической системе .