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OK folks, what's this one?
Sue & Mutton
Posts: 125
in Plants
Who's going to be first to id this one? I haven't a clue what it is - no leaves, just a flower spike that's come straight out of the ground. Many thanks :-)
0
Posts
If there are no leaves, it may be one of the parasitic broomrapes.
It looks to me like Common Broomrape ... a fascinating parasitic plant .
Don't worry ... it's not going to damage anything
http://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/common-broomrape
Last edited: 11 June 2017 20:21:57
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Snap again Fidget
I think they're great ... they used to crop up in a previous garden of mine ... think they grew in relationship with the clover on an area of very old grassland.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think parasitic plants are amazing. I did try to seed some of the one that has purple flowers on the Lathraea clandestina or purple toothwort. It never took, I have seen a fantastic spread of it.
Yep, that's it! Well done Fidgetbones, just got in there first. Thanks Dovefromabove for the link. Keep or despatch?
Keep it definitely.
Definitely a keeper ......... mind you there's nothing to say that it will reappear every year .... mine used to just pop up as and when .... it depends a lot on the weather conditions.
Definitely don't use weedkiller or fertiliser anywhere near it.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Great, thanks for the advice. I'm giving the garden a year without insecticides or weed killer. I nearly succumbed at dinner time and reached for the spray when I noticed all the aphids on the dahlias. Fortunately I stayed strong and was rewarded with goldfinches landing on them this evening and clearing them up. Nature is wonderful!
We've not used insecticides in this garden since we came here in 2011 ... the bluetits and goldfinches, ladybirds, hoverflies and lacewings deal with all the aphids very efficiently
if you get too many aphids to start with, justbrush them off with your fingers or a jet of water from the hose.
Last edited: 11 June 2017 21:35:23
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.