Yeah @Mike Friday I have two types which look identical, although sourced from different places. One of them is Helianthus x laetiflorus 'Miss Mellish' which was given to me by Sheffield Botanical Gardens. Both are beautiful when in flower but utter thugs and have started growing up through the lawn so last year I severely cut them back and like you I potted up some of the runners. One or two are just starting to sprout.
I've had the 'unseen bug' problem too and suffered the distorted foliage but funnily enough it wasn't too bad last year.
Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
VictorMeldrew: Re. the 'unseen bug'. We have it on Aster, Philadephus, among others every year. Last year I grew some Echinacea from seed, but the bugs got at them too. They didn't recover but just sat there without any further growth appearing. Every year I mean to spray the vulnerable plants but the bugs always beat me to it. Very annoying.
Posts
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1063148/which-rudbeckia-was-monty-don-referring-to-yesterday-25th-on-gardeners-world#latest
and I agree your plant is a Helianthus
In the sticks near Peterborough
I've had the 'unseen bug' problem too and suffered the distorted foliage but funnily enough it wasn't too bad last year.
I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful