The plants die after flowering or after the first frost of that second year. Reproduction: By seed . They are in rosette stage in the first year and flower and set seeds in the second year. The tip of each of the lobes of the bull thistle has a long, yellow spine. Flowering stems reach 2-5 ft in height. In summer the plant grows a scented flower that resembles a spiny globe topped with fringed pink petals. The plants die after flowering or after the first frost. It forms occasional side stems, but remains erect in stature, reaching 3-6' in height. It is often confused with musk thistle, which usually lacks the leaf hairs. Biennial. Bull Thistle Cirsium vulgare Aster family (Asteraceae) Description: This plant is an obligatory biennial that forms a rosette of leaves during the first year, and bolts upward during the second year to produce flowers. https://www.canr.msu.edu/resources/bull-thistle-cirsium-vulgare Basal rosette forms the first year. It likes pastures, edges of woods, waste places, fence lines and roadsides. The middle and upper stems of large plants with narrow, very spiny leaf-like wings running lengthwise. Bull thistle is a weed that can grow in a wide range of environments but prefers disturbed areas. It tends to grow best in soils with intermediate moisture although it will grow in dry and wet soils. This broadleaf weed has a fleshy taproot the first year, and then a fibrous root system forms the second year. Weedy characteristics: Bull thistle is highly competitive and aggressive, and forms dense colonies that choke out native vegetation important to wildlife and pollinators. Bull Thistle has a two year life span. Stems. Propagation. Seeds germinate rapidly and are spread by wind. Life Cycle. The leaves have rough hairs on the upper surface and soft hairs on the lower. The heads of purple Bull thistle has a biennial (two-year) life cycle. Bull Thistle spreads by seeds. Musk Thistle. The hairy, prickly leaves overwinter to develop stems and branches of up to 2 feet in spring. As a biennial, bull thistle has a two‐year life cycle. top. It has a deep taproot, which makes manual pulling a challenge. Flowers are dark pink to purple with spined bracts. top. Reproducing only by seed. Bull thistle reaches a height of from 2 to 6 feet. Plants grow vegetatively their first year as rosettes of green, prickly, sparsely hairy leaves. Bolts, flowers, and dies in the second year. About Bull Thistle: The Bull Thistle is a biennial weed that reproduces by the wind blowing their seeds. Musk thistle (Carduus nutans) is a 3- to 8-foot biennial thistle. Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare):Common in Clackamas County, moderately invasive, see our weed profile Biennial; Stems are leafy, stout, branched, and somewhat woolly; Flower heads are large, rose to purple with many sharp spine-tipped bracts Life cycle: Biennial. Bull thistle starts life as a spiny leaved rosette. 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