Plant & Weed ID Megathread

Reckless Abandonment · 08-06-2021 1:35pm

"Chelidonium majus" maybe...

tromtipp · 08-06-2021 1:52pm

Granite Head wrote: »

Hopefully someone can identify this plant.

Thriving this year, hadn't really noticed it previously.

TIA
GH

That's Geum urbanum, Wood avens, Herb Benet, a nice plant to have, and easy to weed away by hand if there's too much of it in any spot.

http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=18&wildflower=Avens,%20Wood

Granite Head · 08-06-2021 2:44pm

tromtipp wrote: »

That's Geum urbanum, Wood avens, Herb Benet, a nice plant to have, and easy to weed away by hand if there's too much of it in any spot.

http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=18&wildflower=Avens,%20Wood

Thanks, that looks to be the one alright. I have just noticed the fruit burrs as described.

looksee · 08-06-2021 2:50pm

weshtawake wrote: »

I hope its OK to ask this question here. I have "inherited" a large garden and it seems to have been overrun with weeds the last couple of weeks. Could someone recommend a good spray or whatever (has to be dog friendly!) to rid myself of them?

Ta

It depends on where the weeds are. If they are on a drive or patio you could use a systemic weed killer on a still day when rain is not forecast.

Beyond that weed killer is not a lot of use to you. If they are in the lawn, mow it. If they are in the flowerbeds a weed killer will kill everything including flowers and shrubs, the only solution is to manually weed and plant ground cover - you will have to keep weeding till the ground cover is established and even then there will be a bit to do.

Also look at it from the point of view - weed killer is not good for the environment, it destroys insects and habitats.

macraignil · 08-06-2021 4:01pm

weshtawake wrote: »

I hope its OK to ask this question here. I have "inherited" a large garden and it seems to have been overrun with weeds the last couple of weeks. Could someone recommend a good spray or whatever (has to be dog friendly!) to rid myself of them?

Ta

I agree with what Looksee has just said. I don't think there is such a thing as a good spray to get rid of weeds. If you use a chemical sold to kill weeds it will give you lots of dead plants and bare soil with space for new weeds to sprout up again. It is not a long term solution to plants we don't want growing in our garden. A weed is just the label we put on plants growing in the wrong place so you must decide what is a weed in your garden and what plants you would like to keep. Removing the weeds and encouraging plants you like will leave you with less opportunities for weeds to grow and less work in controlling them in the long term. I find a good trowel is a handy tool for digging them out but clippers or loppers are good to cut them down closer to the ground first so you can see what you are working with. The main ones I try to remove are hairy bittercress, stinging nettle, wild blackberry, doc leaves, couch grass and ground elder but I only reduce the numbers as I find eliminating them would be impossible.

Happy gardening!

Granite Head · 08-06-2021 4:10pm

Another plant hopefully someone can help identify.

I thought it was a geranium but the flowers (when it does flower) are very small and delicate - trumpet like. This picture is from this time last year when it was in flower. Unfortunately this year there are no signs of flower.

I moved this plant a year or two ago from a shaded area to a part shaded area where it appeared to thrive - this year it has gone backwards, a few leaves and no flowers?

TIA
GH

The Continental Op · 08-06-2021 4:16pm

Heuchera? But which one of the many forms I really don't know.

Granite Head · 08-06-2021 4:32pm

The Continental Op wrote: »

Heuchera? But which one of the many forms I really don't know.

Thanks, You may have something there - Heucherella 'Pink Fizz' looks quite similar.

tromtipp · 08-06-2021 4:34pm

I think it's a Heucherella, a cross between Heuchera and Tiarella - don't know which, but this is a bit like it https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/heucherella-tapestry/

I had a similar experience to you - an apparently thriving plant just disappeared over the winter a few years back - makes me suspect they're fussier than the garden centres would admit. Now I go for the easy option and grow Tellima instead.

I'm charmed to see you have Wood mice in the garden - they've eaten the kernels of the cherry stones under the plant in the picture.

feckwunker · 08-06-2021 5:40pm

I've recently sowed new grass in two areas in my garden. The growth has been great in the last few weeks and it's shot up. Unfortunately, in one of the patches, bind weed has also come up with it and in the other there are a good amount of thistles too. Any advice on stuff I could spray on it to kill them back?

The Continental Op · 08-06-2021 5:46pm

feckwunker wrote: »

I've recently sowed new grass in two areas in my garden. The growth has been great in the last few weeks and it's shot up. Unfortunately, in one of the patches, bind weed has also come up with it and in the other there are a good amount of thistles too. Any advice on stuff I could spray on it to kill them back?

Wrong thread really but don't do anything other than cut it regularly. Don't even try and cut it short. Bindweed doesn't last in grass and many thistles (not all) won't do well either. Once the grass is up for at least 6 months you can spray with something like Verdone (if it still exists) or any other selective weed killer for lawns. Nothing you spray will do more damage to the Bindweed than regular cutting will.

looksee · 08-06-2021 5:56pm

tromtipp wrote: »

I think it's a Heucherella, a cross between Heuchera and Tiarella - don't know which, but this is a bit like it https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/heucherella-tapestry/

I had a similar experience to you - an apparently thriving plant just disappeared over the winter a few years back - makes me suspect they're fussier than the garden centres would admit. Now I go for the easy option and grow Tellima instead.

I'm charmed to see you have Wood mice in the garden - they've eaten the kernels of the cherry stones under the plant in the picture.

Thank you for that, I am now informed about Heucherella, had not heard of them.

And well spotted on the cherry stones

Granite Head · 08-06-2021 7:53pm

tromtipp wrote: »

I think it's a Heucherella, a cross between Heuchera and Tiarella - don't know which, but this is a bit like it https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/heucherella-tapestry/

I'm charmed to see you have Wood mice in the garden - they've eaten the kernels of the cherry stones under the plant in the picture.

Well spotted re the kernels. Yes, we have a cherry tree at the end of the garden and several mice "nests". Rarely see the mice but sometimes hear them at night. I always assumed they were field mice (very small & brown). Wood mice is a new one on me. We have a suburban back garden but there are quite a few trees and a wood reasonably nearby.

Between wild flowers and animals this forum is becoming a wealth of knowledge of native flora and fauna for me - thanks all.

standardg60 · 08-06-2021 8:11pm

lottpaul wrote: »

Initially thought of an astilbe but it seems too tall - is it climbing along a frame or wall behind it?

Avens growing through an Astilbe.

Personally i would remove the Avens if it's seeding now, or at least the flowering stems, it can be rampant.

Granite Head · 08-06-2021 8:13pm

tromtipp wrote: »

Now I go for the easy option and grow Tellima instead.

Thanks for the suggestion, never heard of Tellima before but will have a look out for it.

tromtipp · 08-06-2021 8:48pm

Tellima is pretty, tough, and reliable in shade. Its flowering season is over by the end of May, but the leaves are pretty and contrast well with ferns or hostas.

Ardent · 09-06-2021 1:30am

Anyone know what this purple flowered weed is? It's encroaching from the neighbour's field and has tendrils that were wrapped around my hedging.

lottpaul · 09-06-2021 6:34am

Ardent wrote: »

Anyone know what this purple flowered weed is? It's encroaching from the neighbour's field and has tendrils that were wrapped around my hedging.

Vetch - it seeds widely and can spread quickly but is easily picked out if you don't like it.

tromtipp · 09-06-2021 7:30am

Bush vetch is a native wildflower. It provides nectar for bumblebees and honeybees, and is a food plant for creatures including beetles and weevils, and in turn supports songbirds. It dies back in the winter. Why remove a plant that looks pretty and supports wildlife?

http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=298

Jim_Hodge · 09-06-2021 7:58am

tromtipp wrote: »

Bush vetch is a native wildflower. It provides nectar for bumblebees and honeybees, and is a food plant for creatures including beetles and weevils, and in turn supports songbirds. It dies back in the winter. Why remove a plant that looks pretty and supports wildlife?

http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/plant_detail.php?id_flower=298

Because it can take over a flower or shrub bed and it's not a wildflower garden. I have a nature friendly garden and a huge variety of insect and Bird species but I'll pull vetch growing where I don't want it. Most weeds or wild flowers support wildlife but some people don't want a completely weed infested garden. Sometimes our gardens are meant to be gardens and not neglected fields.

tromtipp · 09-06-2021 10:02am

True, but not all wild flowers behave like 'true' weeds - ruderal or agrestal species that spread either by very persistent root survival or mass seed production and ability to establish seed banks. We all remove things we don't want because they meet the 'gardener's weed' definition - plant growing somewhere we don't want it. I've been removing ash trees and wild cherries lately. Ash woods and cherry groves are not weed patches. Nor are they gardens.

Describing all wild plants as 'weeds', or assuming their presence in a field means it's 'neglected' is one of the drivers of biodiversity loss. Bush vetch growing in a hedge or along fence line is providing a valuable wildlife corridor. I don't find that it takes over - I have quite a lot of it, but it's fairly self contained.

In my own garden I'd pull up bush vetch in some places, tolerate it in others, actively encourage it in others again. At the moment I'm trying to work out how to get tufted vetch to seed into a pot so that I can get a sheet of those glorious purple blue flowers at the back of a border next year. Pesky hard to steer in the right direction.

L1m1tless · 09-06-2021 10:31am

Any ideas what this flower could be?

Planted a pack of petunia seeds and half of them were this.

Thanks

standardg60 · 09-06-2021 5:51pm

L1m1tless wrote: »

Any ideas what this flower could be?

Planted a pack of petunia seeds and half of them were this.

Thanks

Looks like Lobelia

Holy Diver · 09-06-2021 6:59pm

Can someone id this please

Pinkish flowers - a climber

standardg60 · 09-06-2021 7:03pm

Holy Diver wrote: »

Can someone id this please

Pinkish flowers - a climber

Clematis, lord knows which one!

The Continental Op · 09-06-2021 7:04pm

Far from a 100% sure but Clematis montana Marjorie is the first thing I thought of. So if all else fails google for clematis montana pink and see what you can find.

standardg60 · 09-06-2021 7:26pm

The Continental Op wrote: »

Far from a 100% sure but Clematis montana Marjorie is the first thing I thought of. So if all else fails google for clematis montana pink and see what you can find.

Good shout. Would never have said montana given it's normal habit but haven't seen 'Marjorie' in the flesh.

tDw6u1bj · 10-06-2021 7:18pm

Can anyone tell me what these seeds/pollen pods are? What plant/tree do they come from?

The garden gets covered with them this time of year. There's a variety of trees nearby so I haven't really been able to narrow it down.

rje66 · 10-06-2021 8:01pm

tDw6u1bj wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what these seeds/pollen pods are? What plant/tree do they come from?

The garden gets covered with them this time of year. There's a variety of trees nearby so I haven't really been able to narrow it down.

Possible from a variety of Alder. Are there any trees close by??

standardg60 · 10-06-2021 8:34pm

Would like to see pics of the trees too, certainly look like catkin remnants, so Birch a possibility too.

Plant & Weed ID Megathread

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