Okay...the plants the coworker gave me a while back are now flowering. I have not yet done anything with them because I don't want to plant weeds. I have been through both the Robson and Pojar books and cannot locate these. Can anyone provide insight? There are four, two are similar just slightly different colored flowers. Here's one ~
And its sibling ~
And the greenery next to it on the left?
Oops...picture didn't attach
And then there's this red-leafed geranium type thingy...
And finally, this tower.
If these are worth potting up and tending, I will do it. But if theyare weeds, I think I will leave them where they are and let them live their lives out peacefully. The flowers are kind of pretty, very tiny, maybe only about 1/4" across. Anyway...any info would be oh so greatly appreciated.
The first photo is forget me nots, they are not a weed technically but they self sow abundantly and can become like a weed.
The last photo looks like ajuga or bugle weed which is a pretty common ground cover.
I am not sure what the red colored leaf thing is but the thing on the right is a hardy geranium or cranebill and that particular variety looks like one I have had which self sow abundantly too. It has a little pink blossom; bigger than the forget me nots.
#4865352 - Herb Robert. A weed related to the geranium. I like the smell, but most people don't. Don't bother planting it - you'll have many this summer, if you don't already.
This message was edited Apr 25, 2008 8:26 PM
All of them are worth planting. Have grown the ajuga for some time. It is a quickly spreading ground cover but unlike many others is very easy to control and not at all picky about where it is planted.
I don't know about the other two, but I'd plant the first one. It's pretty cute and I haven't seen it around. The last one might be Ajuga?
Thanks Lenjo. If #4 is ajuga, then what's this? I thought this was ajuga! Boy am I getting confused here!
That last pic is henbit and a HORRIBLE invasive weed. Pull it up and destroy every root you can find. It will crowd out your desirable plants.
Yes, there is a cranesbill to the right of the Herb Robert - plant that and it'll do well.
Hmmmm - the Forget-me-not is the state flower of Alaska. A pretty little thing, but does self-sow readily and many people tire of it. After its short life, it need to be pulled out or looks pretty awful. I would have said that initially, but this looks like a little bigger plant than a FMN.
I guess not.
We cross-posted. Thanks Tetley. And Kathy...you know I ALWAYS trust your judgment!, so the geranium thing is out. I don't have any except this one, which was dug from the Oak Bay area. I think the little blue and pink flowers are really cute and wanted to plant them, so now I will.
No, the Herb Robert is considered an invasive species in WA. Don't plant that one.
I've always like forget-me-nots, some folks don't.
The plant to the left of the forget-me-not in the second picture looks a lot like a member of the mint family to me. Is the stem square? Does it smell lemony or minty if you break a leaf? Think very carefully about planting it in the ground before you do so. Mint LOOOOOOOOOOVES it in W. WA, and is really hard to truly get rid of. (There's a good reason WA & OR produce the majority of the domestically-grown mint plants in the country....)
And, yeah, ditch the henbit. I've always thought it was kind of pretty, but no, get rid of it while you can-and don't let your "friend" give you any more plants!
[edit-looks like we cross-posted as well....oh well, have fun getting rid of those-do it before they set seed-the henbit does it early]
This message was edited Apr 25, 2008 8:44 PM
Hen's bit is definitely a weed but controllable. It pulls relatively easy.
Thank you, thank you. I knew the last pic is a weed because it's growing all over the front of the property in amongst the shotweed (which Kathy, I am hoping to share with Kate!) and other icky crud, including a little scotchbroom (with Kathy I am hoping to share with YOU!). Anyway, eventually it will all be removed and redone but not quite yet. Thanks again, everyone for the help!
Herb Robert is a Class B designated weed that is so wide spread in Washington that nothing is really done about it anymore other than to say that we should not allow it to grow if we can do any thing about it.
http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/lands/weeds/robherb.htm
So yank that sucker out!!!! NOW!
BTW, botanists call it hairy stinky bob, as that is what is different about it from Bleeding Heart which is very similar except for the flowers.
This message was edited Apr 25, 2008 8:53 PM
Pictures 1 and 2 are Forget-me- not. You can keep them for early spring color and when they start looking bad, pull them out. They will have gone to seed and appear again next year. Sometimes they come up in the perfect place. They are easy to pull and have a seed that will stick to anything that passes including you and the dog.
I have to laugh at this:
They are easy to pull and have a seed that will stick to anything that passes including you and the dog.
Two new ones. My neighbor has these in her beds but doesn't know what they are. I again tried to look them up in both Pojar and Robson, but not sure. (sure wish those books were arranged by color!) Anyway...first one ~ maybe anemone multifida?
This message was edited May 3, 2008 4:15 PM
And the second. It has small white buds on it. I thought maybe a wild ginger but there's no aroma at all to the crushed leaf.
And a little closer of the buds.
Outta, The first one is an anemone "Pasque Flower" I think. The second one is a viola, looks just like my "Freckles".
Yea! I got anemone right, at least! I was thinking viola for the second but it just didn't look like any of the leaves in the book. I sure wish they'd put in pictures of the foliage as well at the flowers. Would be so much more helpful to us newbies! Thanks a bunch, Willow. I'll let Brenda know to keep them in the bed.
Sheri, remember this one.
Yep...do you know what it is? It's in the same flat as the cornflower.
I think it is a Japanese Anemone. I am going to run out a take a pic of the one I got from Carla. back in a flash.
Nope...just Googled Japanese Anemone and the leaves are entirely wrong. Definitely not the same plant.
Does is have a lemony fragrance if you pinch the leaves?
Nope. I thought about lemon balm but it just smells like vegetation. Nothing unusual.
Okay well forget that, does this look right. cant tell the thumbprint is to small.
Never mind wrong, plus is a bad pic.
This message was edited May 3, 2008 6:14 PM
Similar, but hard to tell ~ what is it?
its a Teucrium hyrcanicum " purple tails" I believe I got this from Carole but I maybe wrong.
Post 4902556 - deer cabbage? Fauria crista-galli . . . http://www.evergreen.ca/nativeplants/search/view-images.php?ID=04094.
Happened upon it accidentally while "flipping through" Pojar McKinnon. I don't think the plant that was identified as Miner's Lettuce is actually that. Miner's Lettuce is claytonia perfoliata: http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CLPEP&photoID=mope3_006_ahp.jpg.
Still looking for an id on that one.
I have a big specimen of the unknown, thought-it-might-be-miner's-lettuce plant. It planted itself under a small tree, and seemed innocuous for the first year. Then last fall it seeded in a 3 foot radius, so I am wondering if it is an undesirable. The good news is that the seedlings are easy to pull.
Boy it all looks like claytonia. The leaves at my house aren't as rounded as most of the pictures. Looks like you have a combination of the two . . .some round leaves, some not so round . . .
Sheri, first bloom on the cornplant.
Holly ~ your plant looks very much like the claytonia (miner's lettuce) I have all over the place. Edible and kind of pretty, I think, as long as it's in a nice place. I've been ripping out tons of the stuff lately and have some huge leaves and some which are red-tinged.
Tills ~ thanks for the picture. I looked at mine this morning but not flowered yet. Maybe opened today but I didn't see them because it was dark when we got home. Sure looks like both the Bachelor Buttons I got at the GE and the one given to me by my friend (the one you saw). Can't wait to see those flowers!
