Plant puzzlements

Anyone know what these plants are, or if they're weeds?

Plant 1


Okay, plant 1 is some kind of verbena, which I got from the MGC sale last year, but I didn't recognize it. The leaves reminded me of the tweedia that I also got from MGC, but it didn't last the year.


Plant 2

This looks rose-like, complete with thorns, but I never put it there.


Plant 3

This is growing in more than one spot, so I'm guessing it's a weed.


Plant 4

There are three of these near the "rose" thing.


Plant 5

I got this "Perennial" at Shop Rite, but that was as much identification as it came with. It had blue spiky flowers that have since died off.


Plant 6

Another MGC acquisition, I believe, though I don't recall its name and wonder if the splaying at the base means I didn't plant it deeply enough. Sure is pretty next to the lavender, no?


Plant 7

Finally, this MGC columbine has taken over my garden bed. The flowers are finished. Should I cut it back to keep the seed pods from opening and propagating further?


#5 could be a veronica of some kind (if the stems are round, not square).  Beautiful blues, and at least one cultivar's name has my name in it.  : )

Re #2 iirc there's an invasive rose/rose-relative in NJ, but I forget its name.  

#3 Ailanthus??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_invasive_plant_species_in_New_Jersey

#4 Possibly goldenrod, or ??


in #6, are the yellow flowers on the plant you're asking about?  coreopsis?

#7 if you don't want the columbine anymore, then cut back before the seeds drop.  If you want some columbine next year, then leave some seed pods alone.  info about self-seeding:   

"Regular deadheading can also be performed to encourage additional blooming. If self-seeding
becomes an issue, both the foliage and remaining seedpods can be cut back in the fall. While some people prefer not to allow them to self-sow, it is often recommended, as columbine plants are generally short lived with an average lifespan of about three or four years. If desired, these plants can also be divided every few years." http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/columbine/columbine-flower.htm 

happy summer!



Thanks, mjc! Definitely right on the coreopsis, and 99% sure you're right on the veronica. Is the coreopsis meant to splay like that? It's still such a pretty spray of flowers!

I'm not sure there's enough room for that ailanthus where it is, assuming you're correct. I'll keep watch and report back.

#4 reminds me of some lilies we once had, but I don't recall moving them there, and there's no sign of a flower bud, but I'll wait and see.

Regarding the columbine, I wonder if deadheading now would encourage more blooms, and then maybe I can cut back some seed pods in the fall. If anyone wants seeds, I have some from the last couple of years.


The coreopsis is so pretty!  I haven't grown it myself, but a lot of my plants do wind up splaying like that.  Around here (zone 5, Wisconsin), some say to cut back the floppy perennials by half early in the year (here, that's June! in NJ, maybe May?) so they'll grow bushier and sturdier, but I've never gotten around to it....  You could read up on the coreopsis specifically and find out if you sheared it back, soon or after the flowers are fading, would it grow back & maybe even bloom again this year?  or stakes and string....

so many pretty things!

eta:  #4 is reminding me of something i've seen, but i can't remember how it blooms, to guess what it is.  in any case, i think it's a "weed," but maybe a pretty or interesting one.


I think I have #4 near my own roses. IIRC, mine grow about 5 feet tall, and will have a Daylily looking flower in the next month or so. But I'm not sure what it actually is.


I had the splaying problem with my sedum, which seems to have disappeared now altogether, and I also have it with what I think is catmint, though I have two similar plants and I'm not sure which is which. I'll look up about coreopsis and see if I can/should do anything, but I love the deep yellow color and got lucky with the placement next to the lavender. I'm a haphazard gardener at best, so I'm happy when anything does well. : - )

And for the record, that verbena was a bit tricky to photograph in the wind, but it's such a pretty little flower on a graceful stalk, with varying shades of purple/blue, and it looks gorgeous underneath my new redbud with its yellow leaves.

Agreed, sprout, that #4 looks lily-ish, and I'm going to take the wait-and-see approach before yanking it.


1. Verbena Boniarsis - I love it. 

2. dont know

3. Ailanthus - get rid of it.  It sucker, there will be more babies. totally a pain. 

4. Wild goldenrod - weed but yellow flowers in fall.  Also spreads like crazy

5. Veronica

6. Coreopsis


Thanks, dg!

Okay, I'm going to pull the Ailanthus, where it is coming up under my beautiful redbud as well as near my most magnificent smoke bush, both of which I planted last spring and neither of which need any competition!

I think I'll also pull the random "rose" thing and the goldenrod, as I have enough going on where they're coming up, and they won't really add anything.

And I'll dead-head at least some of the Columbine, just to keep it from proliferating any further.

There are also some Egyptian onions in there that I moved to my herb bed, but some of them decided to stay in the flower bed. Anyone want any?



Two more plant perplexities:

I bought this bleeding heart at last year's MGC sale, and it failed to thrive last summer but miraculously came up this spring, only to not flower at all and slowly wither back to its current pathetic state. Am I doing something wrong? Can it be saved? It's in full shade and we've been watering it.


I bought two viburnum "shrubs" at The Farm last spring, and they're doing okay, but we only got a few flowers, and some of the leaves have been curling. These are also in full shade, near to the bleeding heart, underneath some Leland cypress trees. Do they look okay? Is it normal for some of the leaves to curl? They have these kind of dry, fuzzy leaves to start with, and just don't have that lushness that other green shrubbery does.


mjc said:

in #6, are the yellow flowers on the plant you're asking about?  coreopsis?

#7 if you don't want the columbine anymore, then cut back before the seeds drop.  If you want some columbine next year, then leave some seed pods alone.  info about self-seeding:   

"Regular deadheading can also be performed to encourage additional blooming. If self-seeding
becomes an issue, both the foliage and remaining seedpods can be cut back in the fall. While some people prefer not to allow them to self-sow, it is often recommended, as columbine plants are generally short lived with an average lifespan of about three or four years. If desired, these plants can also be divided every few years." http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/columbine/columbine-flower.htm 

happy summer!


Ah hah, I never knew that columbines are short lived. I had large white ones years ago and I gathered seed from them for friends. Than in time they stopped coming back and I thought I had accidently dug them up when amending the soil. I just recently bought a few tall ones and several of the dwarf variety and was debating about deadheading. Thanks for the info. They are a favorite of hummingbirds and go undisturbed by the deer. I love them.


Jasper asked:


"I bought this bleeding heart at last year's MGC sale, and it failed to
thrive last summer but miraculously came up this spring, only to not
flower at all and slowly wither back to its current pathetic state. Am I
doing something wrong? Can it be saved? It's in full shade and we've
been watering it."

Bleeding hearts are one of the first perennials to bloom and then disappear as it gets warmer. What you are describing sounds normal. I'm unsure why the bleeding heart didn't flower, perhaps it just needs a few more years to mature as your photo implies it is a young plant.  They love full shade.

A few varieties do not fade and will produce flowers all summer.  I had some in a garden in another house that gave me great pleasure, but I'm unsure if they are as long-lived and dependable as the classic ones.


krnl said:

Jasper asked:


"I bought this bleeding heart at last year's MGC sale, and it failed to
thrive last summer but miraculously came up this spring, only to not
flower at all and slowly wither back to its current pathetic state. Am I
doing something wrong? Can it be saved? It's in full shade and we've
been watering it."

Bleeding hearts are one of the first perennials to bloom and then disappear as it gets warmer. What you are describing sounds normal. I'm unsure why the bleeding heart didn't flower, perhaps it just needs a few more years to mature as your photo implies it is a young plant.  They love full shade.


A few varieties do not fade and will produce flowers all summer.  I had some in a garden in another house that gave me great pleasure, but I'm unsure if they are as long-lived and dependable as the classic ones.

Thanks so much, krnl. We'll just leave it alone, then, and hope that it does better by the third season.


Is it too late now to transplant a bleeding heart from a pot into the yard? It bloomed beautifully a month ago, but is fading now. Would putting it in the ground now be too taxing? (ETA, too taxing for the plant, not me. LOL.)


Peggy, at a guess, I would think your bleeding heart (plant) might be less stressed in the ground than in a pot.  But my only experience is that a neighbor dug one up for me summer before last, well after it bloomed, and it's doing fine (nearly full shade).  (It was growing up between her patio pavers.  You could say she has a green thumb.)


I guess it should be some weeds


I've been watching my plant that looked similar to your #4.  I think it's a Tiger Lily:

(In this page, the tiger lillies are the very tall ones, and the day lillies are the shorter ones)

https://www.gardenia.net/garden/A-Shade-Loving-Border-Idea-with-Hemerocallis-Hosta-and-Tiger-Lilies


Those really tall ones in picture 4 don't appear to have ever flowered, so I'm still not sure what they are.

On a positive note, the Tweedia that I thought didn't survive finally popped up and made one small blue flower, so there's hope for it yet.



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