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Is this Forget Me Not... or not?!

FledglingCottageGardenerFledglingCottageGardener Posts: 26
in Problem solving
I'm sorry if this is a silly question but we just moved house and these plants are smothering a large border. At first I thought that they were Forget Me Nots, mostly due to the little blue flower and the time of year but now I look at them I don't think that the leaf is right. 
Can anyone please tell me what they are?
Thank you very much.

Posts

  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    edited April 2022
    I think that's Alkanet, which most people would regard as a weed, although it is quite pretty..
    East Anglia, England
  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    I’d agree it’s alkanet - lovely flower but the plant is a definite thug 🤣
  • Rob LockwoodRob Lockwood Posts: 380
    edited April 2022
    Looks like Green Alkanet - bees love it, I think they're quite pretty but they need strong control - as we speak, they're using those hairy leaves to build a rubbery tap root that goes about a metre down, snaps when you try to pull it out and grows back from even short bits, so I'd get going on pulling out (as best you can) some of the larger ones if you don't like it!  Being a thug, the better news it that it seeds like wildfire, so you'll never be without it if you want to keep a couple of patches like me :)

    Forget me nots were all over my garden at one point too - paler blue, much smaller plant, seed even worse than alkanet but hardly any roots so come out extremely easy.  So I took them all out, but a new crop of a couple of plants appears every year...
  • Paul CharnockPaul Charnock Posts: 123
    Alkanet


    Forget me not


    As the others have said, Alkanet is a thug and needs far more control. Foget me nots are even more prolific but easy to remove from areas you don't want it.
  • FledglingCottageGardenerFledglingCottageGardener Posts: 26
    Thank you @Marlorena @chicky @Rob Lockwood @PaulCharnock for your help. I really appreciate the ID and advice.
    I assume the best thing to do is to remove the flowers before they seed and then get to work to try to remove at least some of this thug.
  • Rob LockwoodRob Lockwood Posts: 380
    edited April 2022
    You're welcome FCG.  If you like the flowers / the fact they're bee-friendly, just pull out the bigger ones on an annual basis to avoid any roots becoming undigoutable.  If you just want rid, dig out what you can and religiously tear off any leaves you see reappear and slowly they'll get the message!  Various weedkillers of course may help if that's your thing - they're not mine, at least for something controllable with a bit of application like this one - depends how much you've got of course.  Good luck!
    ps - I remember reading somewhere that the hairs on the leaves / stems can be irritating/stinging - I've never had a single problem but might be best to wear gloves until you're sure you're not affected.

  • FledglingCottageGardenerFledglingCottageGardener Posts: 26
    I do like the flowers @Rob Lockwood and I understand that the bees do too. However, the leaves are very tatty and unsightly on the big plants so I think they will ned to come out. They are also taking over the majority of the border and choking everything else out.
    I will work on freeing up space for other plants but keep a few of the green alkanets for the bees.
  • didywdidyw Posts: 3,573
    If left to its own devices green alkanet will take over your garden.  Its secret weapon is its beautiful blue flowers over which we all ooh and aah but under the ground it is stealthily taking control...
    I shall be enjoying the blue flowers for another couple of days though before I get at mine.  (Again).
    Gardening in East Suffolk on dry sandy soil.
  • Rob LockwoodRob Lockwood Posts: 380
    I think it's the single plant in my garden that would be alongside the cockroaches as sole survivors in a nuclear winter @didyw :) My god it's insistent...

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