Teasel has spread rapidly in the last 20-30 years, spreading from Quebec and Maine to Ontario and Michigan, then south to North Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri. This rapid range expansion probably was aided by construction of the interstate highway system. Teasel has colonized many areas along interstates. Common teasel sometimes is used as a horticultural plant, which has aided in expansion of its North American range. In particular, the use of teasel in flower arrangements has aided its dispersal, especially to cemeteries.
Optimal conditions seem to be mesic habitats.
In Illinois, teasel sometimes occurs in high quality prairies, savannas, seeps, and sedge meadows, though roadsides, railroads, dumps and other heavily disturbed areas are the most common habitats of teasel. A single teasel plant can produce over 2,000 seeds. Seeds also can remain viable for at least 2 years. Parent plants often provide an optimal nursery site for new teasel plants after the adult dies. Dead adult plants leave a relatively large area of bare ground, formerly occupied by their own basal leaves, that new plants readily occupy.