Topic: Plant ID please

[Georgie]

Does anyone know what this is?  It came up as a 'rogue' seedling from  packet of annuals - can't recall what now.  It is currently about 12" tall with quite floppy stems.  The stalks are silvery as are the undersides of the leaves.  No sign of any flowers yet.  Thanks in advance.  G x

[angle shades]

it looks like a buddleia, it can't be can it ? ::)/shadesx

[valmarg]

It looks horribly like buddleia.  It doesnt have to be from the packet of seeds you sowed.  If there is a bush anywhere in the vicinity, it is a real THUG, and will seed down like mad.  If the container you sowed the packet in has been outside, it could have 'flown' in.  You only have to go on a train journey these days, and see how it seeds down along the track.

One for the bin in my book!!!  (But definitely not compost bin!!!)

valmarg

[Georgie]

Hmmm I must admit that buddleia was my immediate thought too.  I have one in the garden but it is grafted onto dwarf root stock and the leaves are quite different.  Perhaps it has come in from a neighbour's garden then?  I was hoping for something a bit more exotic!   ::)

G x

[laurieuk]

It could easily be from your buddlia as any seed from a cultivated variety will not come true to type, so if any of your flowers set seed and the birds or wind carried them,then plants growing from that seed will not be the same as the parent.

[Georgie]

Thank you.

G x

[supersprout]

You could always try bonsai-ing it G, I have heard it is very successful with Fuschias :)

[Georgie]

Now there's a thought!   ;)

Well, if it does turn out ot be a Buddleia I don't care because the bees and the butterflies will be happy.  It'll have to survive in pot, mind, and by cutting it back in February that should keep it in check.  :)

G x

[ACE]

Aspen looks a bit like that when they are young

[calendula]

have you tried pressing the leaves to detect any scent - only asking 'cos it looks like Bergamot

[Georgie]

Thanks Ace, but I don't think it's Aspen.  There is no scent, Calendula, which is a shame because I quite like Bergamot. 

G x

[Garden Manager]

It looks horribly like buddleia.  It doesnt have to be from the packet of seeds you sowed.  If there is a bush anywhere in the vicinity, it is a real THUG, and will seed down like mad.  If the container you sowed the packet in has been outside, it could have 'flown' in.  You only have to go on a train journey these days, and see how it seeds down along the track.

One for the bin in my book!!!  (But definitely not compost bin!!!)

valmarg

Thug? Not Buddleia surely? How could such a nice plant be a thug! ;-)

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's growing all over brick walls round here. Thug indeed, and an ugly plant at that when it's not in bloom. If I had space for a big shrubbery I might have one or two, but not otherwise.

[valmarg]

Believe me Garden Cadet, Buddleia is a complete, total, absolute and utter THUG!!

If you grow IT, and verbena bonariensis, you will be kept busy weeding all next year.

As I mentioned in my earlier posting - go on a train journey, and you will see it self-seeded all along the track-side  in abundance.

Yes if it is grown properly it is an attractive shrub, but left to its own devices it can, and will, take over!!!


valmarg

[Garden Manager]

I have buddleia but it doesnt seed itself around at all. I also have Verbena Bonariensis that DOES seed itself around a bit but Its such a nice plant and often grows where I want it. These 'selfs' are often stronger and hardier than those I have grown and planted myself. I dont mind weeding out those i dont want.

[Palustris]

I could name  lots more thugs which seed themselves all over the garden. Aquilegia, Linaria Canon Went, Digitalis, Teael, Geranium, Knautia macedonica ijn the herbaceous area. Galtonia, Lilium lanceolatum, Scilla sibirica, Broadiea laxa, any and all Alliums in the bulbs, Holly, Berberis darwinii, all Cotoneasters in the shrubs! And those are just for starters!
Buddleja davidii may well be a seed weed, but lots of the other members of that family are much harder to grow. As Richard says,  self seeded things are no more of a problem than any other weed and at least Budleja davidii and Verbena bonariensis do not have tap roots which are persistant like Papaver oriental hyrbrids.

[valmarg]

Oh dear. when I say that buddleia davidii is a thug, I speak fron experience, as I have a Black Knight in the garden, and am very careful to weed out the seedlings.

Another buddleia I have is alternifolia.  It is a wonderful shrub, beautifully scented when in flower.  It is a rather vigorous shrub,so needs to be kept in check.

I suppose that's what ornamental gardening is about - growing the things we like, but keeping them in check, so that we are in control.

valmarg