Plant & Weed ID Megathread

Hobby farmer · 25-05-2026 05:24PM

Sure I'll see what it turns into. There's every chance I planted it and have forgotten 😅

looksee · 25-05-2026 06:26PM

Doesn't convince me as plantain - I don't know about buckthorn plantain, not familiar with it - but it doesn't quite have a look of plantain either. Though it does have the ribs up the leaves. It should be in flower at the moment if it is plantain.

magicbastarder · 25-05-2026 08:35PM

i think this is water plantain? appeared in the pond a few years ago, seems very happy, has spread quite a bit. i don't recall if i've ever seen it flower, though.

standardg60 · 25-05-2026 09:29PM

https://www.irishwildflowers.ie/pages/191a.html

Looks a good fit, pond is possibly too deep for it to flower.

magicbastarder · 25-05-2026 10:56PM

cheers - it kinda floats, doesn't root very solidly in the litter/sludge in the bottom of the pond.

LeoD · 28-05-2026 04:10PM

The topsoil I used for my beds is full of this. AI on my photos app says Willoweed - anyone confirm? I've been pulling them out by hand for the last week but they keep popping up in clumps.

The Continental Op · 28-05-2026 04:28PM

I'd go with Persicaria longiseta, its a type of knotweed (not Japanese Knotweed).

Alternate leaves and that slight zig zag to the stem point me in that direction.

Edit> If the leaves had dark blotches on them it would be Persicaria maculosa

LeoD · 28-05-2026 04:48PM

Any control advice? I guess these are an annual so if I keep removing this year I should see a lot less next? Pain in the hole but probably has to be done.

The Continental Op · 28-05-2026 05:45PM

I've always have Persicaria maculosa come up in freshly tilled soil. In fact used to see it a lot in newly seeded grass areas. Once other plants get established it seems to be far less of a problem.

magicbastarder · 28-05-2026 06:09PM

My first guess would have been a willowherb but I'm not that great on plant ID.

But willowherb also thrives on freshly disturbed ground; it got the nickname 'bombweed' during the blitz.

The Continental Op · 28-05-2026 06:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124506867#Comment_124506867

Its back to alternate/opposite leaves, willowherb has opposite leaves and Persicaria's are alternate.

magicbastarder · 28-05-2026 06:33PM

aha, good to know.

standardg60 · 28-05-2026 07:20PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124506676#Comment_124506676

As long as you get them all before they flower and set seed you should be grand.

Another one of those where buried seeds can survive for years until the soil is exposed and spread.

funkey_monkey · 10-06-2026 12:17PM

What is this and what is best way to kill it off as it is blocking drains.

MacDanger · 10-06-2026 12:21PM

Willow I think - maybe goat willow?

The Continental Op · 10-06-2026 01:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124539443#Comment_124539443

I'd be surprised if something that size was actually blocking your drains? If it is you have more to worry about than killing them off.

Cutting down and painting the stem with a glyphosate mix should do it. I'd make it strong as it will sit on the stem and soak in but opinions of that differ here ;-)

At that size you'd just as easily dig them out. They don't sucker (Willow) so just just shuv a spade in at an angle all around the base of the stem then pull (and lever if necessary).

Nigzcurran · 10-06-2026 06:26PM

Any ideas on this one? I threw some wildflower seeds there last year but this looks completely different

The Continental Op · 10-06-2026 06:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124540621#Comment_124540621

Another "Oh ****" ;-) A few people do want Fig Wort but not anyone that knows how bad a weed it can become. My advice get rid of it asap before it goes to seed.

Edit> Really good picture btw :-)

Nigzcurran · 10-06-2026 06:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124540627#Comment_124540627

F**k sake! This bloody garden will be the death of me 😂 cheers I'll dig it up now

Hippodrome Song Owl · 10-06-2026 07:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123417921#Comment_123417921

So, following the advice given here last year, I potted up this fuchsia which had started regrowing near where a big old out of control bush had been removed.

This is it now, so I'm looking for advice on how to manage it properly. Should I cut it right back, or try to shape it? How to encourage more flowers?

Also, it has in fact regrown in its original location, too (see below). I tried pulling it all up from under the stones last summer, I then tried Weedol multiple times, but it is indestructible. I was sad to see it go originally when work was done in this area, and since it seems to be the only thing that thrives in this garden, and because bees love it, I'm thinking maybe to just leave it. If I keep it cut back to not much bigger than it is now, will it be OK? Or am I inviting future problems?

standardg60 · 10-06-2026 08:06PM

Just leave it be apart from watering/feeding. Fuchsias flower on the tips of the current years growth so trimming now just removes that.

Yes you can leave the other one to grow and just hack it back to ground level each winter.

Goldengirl · 13-06-2026 08:25PM

Not a plant but I thought it was a bit of wood !

It's a moth or some sort of butterfly . Walking along so think one of the wings damaged.

looksee · 13-06-2026 08:34PM

😃That's what you are supposed to think!

The Continental Op · 13-06-2026 08:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124548846#Comment_124548846

Google image and a bit of research comes up with the best match being a Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Macroglossum stellatarum.

Two pics that are similar, not identical but show the variations in colour.

looksee · 14-06-2026 05:23PM

Can anyone identify this grass please? Brighter green than the pic shows, very fine, extremely tough stems, very difficult to pull up and has made itself at home in a spot that would be hard to dig. The flowers look a bit like rye to me, but the rest of the plant isn't the standard rye grass I think. Could it be some sort of a rush?

The Continental Op · 14-06-2026 05:31PM

Think you might be more in the realms of Sedges rather than Rushes. Try looking at Carex species?

looksee · 14-06-2026 06:07PM

Dead on, looks like Carex Divulsa - Grey Sedge, its not grey! - which is native to Ireland and particularly found in Waterford/Tipp area (I'm on the border!)

Thanks for that.