I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...7626909132364/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...57626909132364
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...7626909132364/

There's also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.

Rod

On Jun 11, 9:47*pm, Rod wrote:
I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...72157626909132...

There's also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.

Rod

Try purple loosestrife http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/

On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:53:00 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On Jun 11, 9:47*pm, Rod wrote:
I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...72157626909132...

There's also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.

Rod

Try purple loosestrife http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/

I'm not sure, Dave. I can't get my eyes to focus down properly, but I
have the impression of Purple toadflax, _Linaria purpurea_. If the
flowers are rather like tiny snapdragons, that's what it is, and
whatever you do, Rod, don't let it seed: very pretty, but give it an
inch...been there (still am, in fact), done that. Particularly
confusing among lavenders.

If not snap-ish, then, yes, looks like purple loosestrife (Ophelia's
"long purples").

--
Mike.

On 11/06/2011 22:47, Mike Lyle wrote:
On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:53:00 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On Jun 11, 9:47 pm, wrote:
I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...72157626909132...

There's also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.

Rod

Try purple loosestrife http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/

I'm not sure, Dave. I can't get my eyes to focus down properly, but I
have the impression of Purple toadflax, _Linaria purpurea_. If the
flowers are rather like tiny snapdragons, that's what it is, and
whatever you do, Rod, don't let it seed: very pretty, but give it an
inch...been there (still am, in fact), done that. Particularly
confusing among lavenders.

If not snap-ish, then, yes, looks like purple loosestrife (Ophelia's
"long purples").



Yes, I agree it's Linaria purpuria. I have it and love it. Any plant
that attracts bees is okay with me.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

It'd be nice to have a bit more of a close-up of the flowers. M first thought was Linaria, which seems to appear from nowhere as a seedling, and grows in the most dreadful soil. It has little snapdragon-like flowers.

But if it doesn't have snapdragon-like flowers, it'll be only for those vaguely aromatic things like Perovskia (not Perovskia, which has a much greyer look to it) and someone else will have to id it!


I like the pink quartered rose, btw.

On Jun 11, 10:47*pm, Mike Lyle wrote:
On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:53:00 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill

wrote:
On Jun 11, 9:47*pm, Rod wrote:
I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...72157626909132.......

There's also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.

Rod

Try purple loosestrife *http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/

I'm not sure, Dave. I can't get my eyes to focus down properly, but I
have the impression of Purple toadflax, _Linaria purpurea_. If the
flowers are rather like tiny snapdragons, that's what it is, and
whatever you do, Rod, don't let it seed: very pretty, but give it an
inch...been there (still am, in fact), done that. Particularly
confusing among lavenders.

If not snap-ish, then, yes, looks like purple loosestrife (Ophelia's
"long purples").

--
Mike.

Yes, spot on Mike - thanks for that. Just the sort of surprise you get
with a new garden, I never saw it in 33years in the old garden which
is just a mile down the road from here. I like a bit of serendipity in
a garden if it doesn't get too much out of hand. For the others , yes
I forgot to mention the bees - they love it so it's welcome to stay so
long as it behaves itself.

Rod

Rod

On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:47:51 -0700 (PDT), Rod
wrote:

I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...7626909132364/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...57626909132364
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...7626909132364/

There's also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.

Rod

To me it looks more like Willow Herb. I've seen it as a wild flower
in many places but I have grown the white version, which is very
pretty but invasive. I would say willow herb rather than purple
loosestrife. May be wrong, blame my eyes if so.

Pam in Bristol

No, purple loosestrife is redder than that, and the leaves are too small and too smooth, and the sides of the leaves are too parallel.

In article , Sacha
writes
On 2011-06-12 08:08:48 +0100, Chris Hogg said:

On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:32:10 +0100, Spider wrote:

On 11/06/2011 22:47, Mike Lyle wrote:
On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:53:00 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On Jun 11, 9:47 pm, wrote:
I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...t-721576269091
32...http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...in/set-7215762
6909132364http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4/5808762591/in/set-72157626909132...

There's
also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.
Rod
Try purple loosestrife
http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/
I'm not sure, Dave. I can't get my eyes to focus down properly,
but I
have the impression of Purple toadflax, _Linaria purpurea_. If the
flowers are rather like tiny snapdragons, that's what it is, and
whatever you do, Rod, don't let it seed: very pretty, but give it an
inch...been there (still am, in fact), done that. Particularly
confusing among lavenders.
If not snap-ish, then, yes, looks like purple loosestrife
(Ophelia's
"long purples").

Yes, I agree it's Linaria purpuria. I have it and love it. Any
plant
that attracts bees is okay with me.
Ditto and ditto. My wife likes it and we have clumps of it between
shrubs as infill. But it seeds like crazy, so cut off the old flower
heads before the seeds ripen. I also cut ours down to the ground in
the autumn, and they come again the following year.

I love it and rather like the way it plonks itself wherever it feels
like going! We have some poking out of a low wall here and we certainly
didn't put it there but it looks charming.

I am feeling confused, is it purple toadflax (linaria purpuria) we are
talking about here?

It looks to me that the reallywildflowers catalogue shows a picture of
toadflax with a description of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
which I found confusing. I wonder what you get if you buy some.

http://www.habitas.org.uk/flora/species.asp?item=4063
http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o...oosestrife.php
http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/
--
Ellis Morgan

On Jun 13, 11:44*am, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:05:20 +0100, Ellis Morgan

wrote:
I am feeling confused, is it *purple toadflax (linaria purpuria) *we are
talking about here?

It looks to me that the reallywildflowers catalogue shows a picture of
toadflax with a description of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
which I found confusing. I wonder what you get if you buy some.

http://www.habitas.org.uk/flora/species.asp?item=4063
http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o...oosestrife.php
http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/

I have both. What the OP has is linaria purpuria (purple toadflax).
When compared with lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife), the
toadflax flowers have much more blue in them (RHS encyclo says
violet-purple), and as other have said, the flowers are like miniature
snap-dragons. I would describe the loosestrife flowers as magenta
rather than purple (RHS encyclo says purple-red to purple-pink), so
IMO the reallwildflowers description is inaccurate. From their picture
it's not really clear whether it's showing linaria or lythrum, but I
agree it looks more like the former.

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

I don't have that catalogue but seeing the 2 plants in the flesh you'd
never take purple loosestrife for purple toadflax
Apart from the colour, there's the snapdragony flowers, slimmer more
upright habit and whorled foliage of the toadflax.
Purple loosestrife leaves have willow like leaves as the botanical
name suggests and the plant is a wetland plant and would be dead in 5
minutes if planted in the conditions favoured by the toadflax.
Funny that the toadflax is said to be a widespread garden escape and
here I am after a lifetime as a working for a living gardener meeting
it for the first time.

Rod

On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:39:02 -0700 (PDT), Rod
wrote:

On Jun 13, 11:44*am, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:05:20 +0100, Ellis Morgan

wrote:
I am feeling confused, is it *purple toadflax (linaria purpuria) *we are
talking about here?

It looks to me that the reallywildflowers catalogue shows a picture of
toadflax with a description of purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
which I found confusing. I wonder what you get if you buy some.

http://www.habitas.org.uk/flora/species.asp?item=4063
http://www.plantpress.com/wildlife/o...oosestrife.php
http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/

I have both. What the OP has is linaria purpuria (purple toadflax).
When compared with lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife), the
toadflax flowers have much more blue in them (RHS encyclo says
violet-purple), and as other have said, the flowers are like miniature
snap-dragons. I would describe the loosestrife flowers as magenta
rather than purple (RHS encyclo says purple-red to purple-pink), so
IMO the reallwildflowers description is inaccurate. From their picture
it's not really clear whether it's showing linaria or lythrum, but I
agree it looks more like the former.

--

Chris

Gardening in West Cornwall overlooking the sea.
Mild, but very exposed to salt gales

I don't have that catalogue but seeing the 2 plants in the flesh you'd
never take purple loosestrife for purple toadflax
Apart from the colour, there's the snapdragony flowers, slimmer more
upright habit and whorled foliage of the toadflax.
Purple loosestrife leaves have willow like leaves as the botanical
name suggests and the plant is a wetland plant and would be dead in 5
minutes if planted in the conditions favoured by the toadflax.
Funny that the toadflax is said to be a widespread garden escape and
here I am after a lifetime as a working for a living gardener meeting
it for the first time.

I suppose "widespread" could be patchy...I, too, had never noticed it
till I moved to the Mids. I let a couple of volunteers seed, as I
found them attractive: famous gardeners' last words. There's
apparently a pink form, too.

--
Mike.

Strange. To me, the photo looks far more like Lythrum a) the flowers have a raggedy look about them - Linaria flowers look far neater, a result of the tucked-in shape of the petals b) the colour is the more rosy purple of the Lythrum not the bluer colour of the linaria c) the leaves are the pure green of the Lythrum, not the grey green of the Linaria.

Yes, a pale baby pink. I've seen both colours self seeded around here (Yorkshire). But the plant is very familiar to me from a childhood in Worcestershire, so maybe it is a Midlands and North thing rather than a southern thing?

On Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:50:42 +0000, kay
wrote:


'Mike Lyle[_1_ Wrote:
;926730'] There's
apparently a pink form, too.


Yes, a pale baby pink. I've seen both colours self seeded around here
(Yorkshire). But the plant is very familiar to me from a childhood in
Worcestershire, so maybe it is a Midlands and North thing rather than a
southern thing?

I'm inclined to think so: I never consciously saw it in West Wales,
for example.

--
Mike.

On 12/06/2011 08:08, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:32:10 +0100, wrote:

On 11/06/2011 22:47, Mike Lyle wrote:
On Sat, 11 Jun 2011 13:53:00 -0700 (PDT), Dave Hill
wrote:

On Jun 11, 9:47 pm, wrote:
I wonder if anybody knows what this is? It's a self sown seedling, I
have 3 of them and I'm sure I've seen more seedlings when weeding so
it could probably become a nuisance if I'm not careful. I'm quite
happy to have a few of them around though - I quite like it and it
grows in some of those difficult to plant hot dry poor places.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sylvan4...72157626909132...

There's also a selection of recent photos of my garden in that set.

Rod

Try purple loosestrife http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/p...e_loosestrife/

I'm not sure, Dave. I can't get my eyes to focus down properly, but I
have the impression of Purple toadflax, _Linaria purpurea_. If the
flowers are rather like tiny snapdragons, that's what it is, and
whatever you do, Rod, don't let it seed: very pretty, but give it an
inch...been there (still am, in fact), done that. Particularly
confusing among lavenders.

If not snap-ish, then, yes, looks like purple loosestrife (Ophelia's
"long purples").



Yes, I agree it's Linaria purpuria. I have it and love it. Any plant
that attracts bees is okay with me.

Ditto and ditto. My wife likes it and we have clumps of it between
shrubs as infill. But it seeds like crazy, so cut off the old flower
heads before the seeds ripen. I also cut ours down to the ground in
the autumn, and they come again the following year.



Agreed and ditto. I do just the same.
Spider

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay