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Can anyone ID this weed?

PyraPyra Posts: 152
in Plants


It's poking out a crack next to a neighbours house. I did originally think it was a super impressive willowherb, but I'm not sure. They're garden had a lot of them and this one had escaped onto the path. 

Just in case it shows up in mine. I have enough horrible weeds to deal with while I renovate it. Thanks in advance. 

Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    Leaves in whorls of three suggests Himalayan balsam to me.  A troublesome introduction, although the flowers are lovely.  The ripe seed pods explode, flinging the seeds far and wide, so it can spread quickly. 
  • PyraPyra Posts: 152
    josusa47 said:
    Leaves in whorls of three suggests Himalayan balsam to me.  A troublesome introduction, although the flowers are lovely.  The ripe seed pods explode, flinging the seeds far and wide, so it can spread quickly. 
    Brilliant 😑 thanks @josusa47. I'll add that to the list if it shows up in mine. I'm only 200m away, so very likely. 
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    I've been known to pinch off the pre-flowering heads of weeds in my neighbors yard if they are hanging over the path. 😁
    Utah, USA.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Himalayan balsam catapults it’s seeds for several metres through the air. 

    At a previous home our neighbours planted some in their back garden ... within a couple of years all their immediate neighbours had it in their gardens and a couple of years later it was spreading down the street. When they moved the landlord sprayed it off and thought that was it ... but the seeds in the soil kept emerging. They eventually put membrane down and gravelled the whole back garden. We moved. 

    It’s a real PITA and has done so much damage to the riverbanks and wildlife ... it’s illegal to plant this in the wild in the UK. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • PyraPyra Posts: 152
    Dovefromabove said:
    At a previous home our neighbours planted some in their back garden ... within a couple of years all their immediate neighbours had it in their gardens and a couple of years later it was spreading down the street. When they moved the landlord sprayed it off and thought that was it ... but the seeds in the soil kept emerging. They eventually put membrane down and gravelled the whole back garden. We moved. 
    I really wish people would think about what they plant 😑 there are far prettier, less invasive plants. The neighbours garden is overgrown, so I don't know if it was deliberately planted. I'm guessing not.

    I'll keep an eye out for it appearing in mine. 
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