Lossestrife can withstand large changes in soil moisture and temperature. It will reproduce from seeds and vegetatively from rootstocks. Purple loosestrife will reproduce vegetatively from pieces of cut stem which canwithstand drying. Dry stems will develop vigorous new shoots and roots when placed in water. Since purple loosestrife is a perennial, a single plant continues, increasing in size with each subsequent year of growth.
New shoots form at the base of the plant, resulting in dense monocultures.
These dense clumps of semi-woody stalks resist decay, and, over time, debris becomes trapped between roots and stems, resulting in the elevation of the ground level. Control methods for large infestations must include an integratedmanagement plan using herbicides, physical removal and plant competition. Biological controls may hold promise for controlling the plant in large, dense infestations, but will not eliminate or prevent the spread of loosestrife. Hand pulling loosestrife is effective only on small plants when removal of the entire root system is accomplished, since root sections can sprout andform new plants. Glyphosate is a herbicide found to be effective against loosestrife.