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What is this pleas

mary389mary389 Posts: 8
in Plants
HI, another plant that may have come with new topsoil.  I have left it for two years now hoping for a flower that will identify the plant which is now pretty large.  Does anyone know what this is please, if I need to remove it I need to do it before it gets any bigger.
Thanks
Mary

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    Zooming in I can see hairs on the leaves so would guess it is comfrey.  Surprised it hasn't flowered in 2 years though, so a bit dubious.  Can you move the leaves apart and take a photo of the growing tip(s)?  That would help identify it, or show whether flowering shoots are being nibbled away by something.
    Here's a patch of mine which was cut to the ground a few weeks ago, to compare it with:

    Taken with a flash - it's actually a darker green than that.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • yorkshireroseyorkshirerose Posts: 574
    I have something very similar growing through from my neighbour's garden, very large leaves, slightly hairy, and blue Spring flowers, I think it's Alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens) . It seeds quite readily and I'm constantly pulling it out, my neighbour is great, but not a gardener!
    A gardener's work is never at an end  - (John Evelyn 1620-1706)
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    I'll hazard a guess at Pentaglottis sempervirens . If so , can be troublesome .
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    Yep, that's another possibility and might well be it.  Both have thick roots which go deep so are difficult to eradicate (if that's what you want to do) as any pieces left in the subsoil eventually grow back.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    I was helping to clear a garden full of P.sempervirens the other day !......think I'm fighting a losing battle there as every piece of its black woody roots regrow :o

    A pity really , the flowers are quite attractive .
  • mary389mary389 Posts: 8
    Thanks everyone.  I think it's best that I take it out now.
    Mary
  • ju1i3ju1i3 Posts: 189
    I've never known green alkanet not to flower for 2 years. I love it and have lots. It dies back after early flowering so useful for bees before other flowers are blooming.
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