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Hi. Can anyone identify this flower-weed?

skankinpickleskankinpickle Posts: 119
in Plants
Hi. Can anyone identify this? It started growing naturally - grows quite tall - and now that they are dying off it spreads it´s seeds by those exploding green pods which generally have about 2-4 small black seeds in them. Thanks.
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Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera). It's very invasive, so best to get those seed heads off before they pop (although it looks as if some have already gone). https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/discover-wild-plants-nature/plant-fungi-species/himalayan-balsam
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Oh dear. Yes- as @JennyJ says - don't let those flowers becomes seeds.
    Highly invasive, so get rid of it, and then be vigilant because if some have seeded, you'll have more. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Yes, it's a real nuisance and damages riverbanks and wildlife areas.   It's illegal to plant or allow it to grow in the wild.  Best got rid of quick.  Learn to recognise the seedlings because if that one has popped some seedpods (and it looks as if it has) they'll be appearing next year .... and the year after .... and the year after that  >:)

    https://blog.invasive-species.org/2020/05/07/controlling-himalayan-balsam-one-of-the-uks-most-invasive-weeds/

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





  • skankinpickleskankinpickle Posts: 119
    Oooooofff! Well there´s actually loads of it in adjoining private land, so not much I can do about it I suppose. The one I took a photo of is one that obviously popped off last year and started growing from a join in my garden path.

    Is there any good news? Well it seems to have killed off the bindweed (that stuff with the big white bell shaped flowers) that I have had problems with coming from the same land in the past - as that didn´t appear at all this year for the first time ever.
    Additionally the bees seem to love it as they were all over some of the just about surviving flowers even today - as they have been all summer. It also looks pretty (as mentioned in one of the threads about why the Victorians brought it over here).

    Any further comments? As of course it will be back with a vengeance next year . . and probably even more of it.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Who owns the adjacent land that it's on?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2021
    When we lived in an inner city terrace with a small back yard the chap who rented next door thought it would be lovely to grow these ‘for the bees’ ….. in four years every garden up and down the street had lots of them popping up all over the place. Seeds were catapulted over the 7’ wall into our garden and we became experts  at recognising the seedlings!  

    When he moved out his  landlord was livid. He had to pay landscapers to use weedkiller and then cover the whole yard with membrane and gravel. The folk who bought our place say there were still balsam seedlings popping up years after we’d moved out but we’d not allowed any to grow do they must have come from next door’s  seeds. 
    It’s a real problem plant. 

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





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's horrific @Dovefromabove, made worse by misguided people who think it'll be 'fine' planted in their garden, except that it isn't, as your neighbour's landlord discovered.  :|
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • skankinpickleskankinpickle Posts: 119
    I do wonder where the original (seed) flower came from. As from what I can see there is a 25 odd metre gap between 2 distinct growth areas of it. So looks like a bit of an unusual spreading as I would expect it to all be together in one big spread.


  • skankinpickleskankinpickle Posts: 119
    One never knows. Under the current government I might need to start collecting those seeds https://www.eatweeds.co.uk/himalayan-balsam-seed-curry-recipe

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    The seed pods explode and can fling the seeds quite a way. Here's a slow motion video https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/video/high-speed-exploding-himalayan-balsam-pods-stock-video-footage/143278385
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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