Any idea what a weird snake's head like shoot is?
 

Hi,

Please forgive me if I've posted in the wrong area, but I couldn't find a "what's this plant" type forum area...

But does anyone know what this plant could turn out to be? You can see pic at http://www.shootgardening.co.uk/site...hreadid=403 5

We’ve just moved into a new house and have no idea what this could be. It’s just started to push through with spring coming a bit late in the UK, and it kind looks like a black snakes head!

Because there’s so many of them, I snipped one open to reveal what kinda looked like sweet corn inside the tip? Im guessing it's some form of bulb, as it has only just started to shoot.

I wonder if I’m being thrown off the scent of what it could be because it could be frost damaged through a harsh cold winter?

Any ideas?

My sight's not too good, but it might be a peony shoot.

Any idea what a weird snake's head like shoot is?
 

The message
from redwildgeeza contains
these words:


Hi,

Please forgive me if I've posted in the wrong area, but I couldn't find
a "what's this plant" type forum area...

But does anyone know what this plant could turn out to be? You can see
pic at http://tinyurl.com/yaveuun

We’ve just moved into a new house and have no idea what this could be.
It’s just started to push through with spring coming a bit late in the
UK, and it kind looks like a black snakes head!

Because there’s so many of them, I snipped one open to reveal what kinda
looked like sweet corn inside the tip? Im guessing it's some form of
bulb, as it has only just started to shoot.

I wonder if I’m being thrown off the scent of what it could be because
it could be frost damaged through a harsh cold winter?

Any ideas?

Horsetail (I think othwerwise known as Mare's tail). A very difficult
weed to eradicate. can regenerate from the smallest piece of root left
in the ground. When it turns green it will look like a miniature plam
tree. Try a google imgae search for Horsetail. A member of an ancient
non-flowering plant family whose ancestors were common in the days of
the old dinosaurs.

--
Compo - sufferer from horsetail.

Any idea what a weird snake's head like shoot is?
 

On 17 Mar, 22:28, Paul Simonite wrote:
The message
from redwildgeeza contains
these words:

Hi,
Please forgive me if I've posted in the wrong area, but I couldn't find
a "what's this plant" type forum area...
But does anyone know what this plant could turn out to be? You can see
pic athttp://tinyurl.com/yaveuun
We ve just moved into a new house and have no idea what this could be.
It s just started to push through with spring coming a bit late in the
UK, and it kind looks like a black snakes head!
Because there s so many of them, I snipped one open to reveal what kinda
looked like sweet corn inside the tip? *Im guessing it's some form of
bulb, as it has only just started to shoot.
I wonder if I m being thrown off the scent of what it could be because
it could be frost damaged through a harsh cold winter?
Any ideas?

Horsetail (I think othwerwise known as Mare's tail). *A very difficult
weed to eradicate. *can regenerate from the smallest piece of root left
in the ground. *When it turns green it will look like a miniature plam
tree. *Try a google imgae search for Horsetail. *A member of an ancient
non-flowering plant family whose ancestors were common in the days of
the old dinosaurs.

--
Compo - sufferer from horsetail.

Corrections: Miniature PALM tree; Google IMAGES.

Any idea what a weird snake's head like shoot is?
 

redwildgeeza wrote:
Hi,

Please forgive me if I've posted in the wrong area, but I couldn't
find a "what's this plant" type forum area...

But does anyone know what this plant could turn out to be? You can see
pic at http://tinyurl.com/yaveuun

We’ve just moved into a new house and have no idea what this could be.
It’s just started to push through with spring coming a bit late in the
UK, and it kind looks like a black snakes head!

Because there’s so many of them, I snipped one open to reveal what
kinda looked like sweet corn inside the tip? Im guessing it's some
form of bulb, as it has only just started to shoot.

I wonder if I’m being thrown off the scent of what it could be because
it could be frost damaged through a harsh cold winter?

Any ideas?

Looks like Mare's tail (or Horse tail: people argue) to me. A pernicious
weed which can, I've heard, cross a road underground. Others may well
have better ideas, but my two penn'orth: crush it and then spray with
glyphosate: you'll need to do it several times, but if you shirk it you
may be sorry. Easy if it isn't in a garden bed, but for ones among your
garden plants, try covering the plants with plastic bags or cardboard
shields to keep the herbicide off. It's rendered inactive by contact
with clay particles in the soil, so it won't do any harm to the roots.

I really don't think there's any option but chemical warfa I wouldn't
suggest it if I knew an alternative. Follow the instructions on the
bottle, of course. I seem to have killed off a small colony of the stuff
growing through the path outside my house, so don't despair.

--
Mike.

Hi all,

Thankyou for your quick replies and suggestions. I was hoping for a split second it would be peony shoots, but the colour and shape is much too harsh.

It's looking a lot like the horsetail suggestions. Though some other friends have mentioned it may be coltsfoot, which it resembles too.

It's basically in a sheet covered bed (with gravel on top) that also houses 2 palms. 1 large tree and a second smaller bush kind.

So I guess my little snakes head could be from the spores of the palm or horsetail - or other such weed nasty... and not any form of flowering bulb like I first thought!

Either way, I'm not fussed about having more palms, nor do I like the idea that horsetail is bad for wildlife, given several cats in our neighbourhood (2 being our own!)

I think it's time to start digging up and even crack out the herbiscide...

Thanks to you all again!

Any idea what a weird snake's head like shoot is?
 

The message
from redwildgeeza contains
these words:


Hi all,

Thankyou for your quick replies and suggestions. I was hoping for a
split second it would be peony shoots, but the colour and shape is much
too harsh.

It's looking a lot like the horsetail suggestions. Though some other
friends have mentioned it may be coltsfoot, which it resembles too.

\snip\

Have a look underneath the shoots. Horsetail roots are wiry, black and long.
--
Compo