It is an annual that occurs in SE Canada and NE USA on dunes and sandy soils. It does not survive in dense vegetation, but can become a weed in cultivated areas. Ecologically it differs from the genus Linaria by having seed small enough to be wind-borne, which increases dispersal and decreases seedling competitiveness. It increases the amount of bare soil and presumably erosion. Cattle avoid grazing Dalmatian toadflax except for the flowers.
Control is difficult with herbicides which are uneconomical on large stands in dry grassland.
Spread is continuing. The first Canadian naturalized broad-leaved Dalmatian toadflax was found in Edmonton, AB in 1933. Most Canadian infestations are on road and railway rights of way, in gravel pits and other non-agricultural sites with coarse soil. Diffuse knapweed occurs in much of this area and Dalmatian toadflax appears to be increasing as knapweed biocontrol takes effect. The plant is weakened by destruction of flowering stems in the late bud stage and removal of the foliage on the prostrate stems in the fall and spring.