Gillian's Blog
Gillian's Blog
Help! Weed or Plant?!
Posted on 28 May, 2008 10 comments
I would welcome any advice on whether this is a weed or not. When they were smaller I thought they might be phlox but now I’m not so sure. They are now getting quite large and I will need to remove them soon if I’m going to or else everything growing around them will be very disrupted.
I’m quite happy with the way my garden is developing, though can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit and give everything a decent chance to grow (4 degrees last night – what’s that about?!).
I have lots of sweet peas and morning glories just breaking the soil and the sunflowers are about 1/2” tall, just need some heat now.
The temperature was around 26 a couple of days ago and I started moving lots of my house plants outside for the summer then promptly had to bring them all back in. My sensitive plant looked like it was having a panic attack!
The other thing I’m trying to deal with now is weeds growing between the interlocking paving, seems like a constant battle and one I’m never going to win. I’m fine with things like moss growing, it’s just the thistles and such that I object to.
At least I feel like I’m making progress!
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Comments
28 May, 2008
Certainly not Phlox, Gillian, but I am not at all sure what it is. I think you should do what Mcneil says and pot it up. Might be a treasure, might just be a Willow Herb - the flowers will tell us! About the paving - could you use weed killer there without it going onto your precious plants? Otherwise, I have a tool given to me by my husband that helps me to weed between my cobbles and paving - it's a sharp awl and I kneel down and run it along the cracks. This is quite effective.
28 May, 2008
I think I may take your advice and pot them up, probably the safest way to go.
As for weeding between the cracks, I am using a tool for cement pointing right now, which has a nice pointy end. I try to avoid any weed killers, guess I'll just keep digging them out (or plant the very small flat thyme to grow there instead of the weeds!).
28 May, 2008
Hi Gillian
I dont use weed killer either- for the paving I bought a gas burner last year (like a blow torch on a long handle) which works ok, They do come back but I guess they do whatever you use.
28 May, 2008
Hi Gillian difficult without flower but looks very much like Rose Baywillow herb to me.Flowers in small pink trumpet like blooms often in moist conditions generally regarded as a weed.Easy to up root .
28 May, 2008
Gas burner sounds a good option! I'll see how my knees hold up for the old fashioned way first though.
It could be Rose Bay Willow herb. Not too hard to pull up but seed like crazy if you let them! I'm going to pot some of it up and see what it becomes.
29 May, 2008
It's only a 'weed' if it's an 'unwanted plant in the wrong place'! (This one's a weed - get it out before it flowers).
I don't like using weedkillers. But stone or gravel paths are an exception, you have to be practical sometimes to leave you time to enjoy the garden, n'est pas?
29 May, 2008
Hi Gill... it's Goldenrod. If you don't want to keep it make sure you get the rhizomes underground ...they can take over and will keep coming up...yank them out.
29 May, 2008
Thanks Lori! That was my guess on the other photo I have up. As I started digging them up I found a large network of runners underground and it reminded me of a previous garden that was getting overun with it!
I'm still not too sure about the shorter plant to the left. There was a lot of that too. Deadly Nightshade perhaps?
29 May, 2008
glory be!... deadly nightshade....snidely whiplash.. haha..sorry having a flashback to my cartoon childhood.Sorry wouldn't know it if I saw it Gil.
ohhh yes, it's related to potatoes, isn't it solanum something or other?
sorry to be so clueless...just came in from outside and I'm hungry.... been redigging the pond AGAIN. I'm tired of rethinking it,,,just want to fill it and forget it for a bit.
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Joined 14 Apr, 2008
Somerset
28 May, 2008
You could try transplanting it into a pot and see how it develops.That way you save too much upheavel to your other plants if you later decide that you dont like it.