What kind of plant

by Bonnie Bassett

+31

Answered

Transplanted this unusual plant from the woods last year along with a daylily I do not know the name of it and I could not identify it by going on google to wildflowers.The flowers are shaped like tails

what is the name of this plant ?

18 answers

Chris aka monkey on Jul 20, 2014
i think it is called scorpion tail xx

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Carole on Jul 21, 2014
Over here it is illegal to take plants from their natural habitat. You can however, take cuttings or collect seeds. There are heavy fines if you are caught. This is to protect the natural environment.

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- See 3 previous
- Bonnie Bassett on Jul 21, 2014
  @Carole I did not take the whole plant..... I divided it
  
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- Carole on Jul 21, 2014
  @Bonnie Bassett Oh, I am not criticizing, but saying. I think there are probably different laws for different countries. Sometimes I see things here growing wild that I would love in my garden. If I knew what they were and how to take cuttings I probably would do so. If I am not sure, I think best to leave them alone!
  
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- The Garden Frog with C Renee on Jul 21, 2014
  @Carole there are many if not most states states here too that you are not supposed to take plants from roadsides, woods, parks, etc. This includes taking seeds, parts of, or the whole plant. This is just a FYI because many years ago before I knew better, I learned to ditch dig with my mother (it was the only bonding experience we had). Now I understand why it is so important to order seeds and plants from reputable nurseries because our native plants are disappearing.
  
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- Bonnie Bassett on Jul 21, 2014
  @Carole there are some protected species here such as lady slippers and May flowers
  
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Barb Rosen on Jul 21, 2014
Your plant is Gooseneck Loosestrife, Bonnie. (The name references the way the flowers bend like a goose head) And, for the record, I have been known to take starts of plants along a roadside myself! This plant can be invasive, so put it where it won't crowd others and keep it in check. Here is more information for you : http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e100

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- Bonnie Bassett on Jul 21, 2014
  @Barb Rosen It is very unique but I was afraid of it being invasive because it has already doubled or tripled from when I plannted it last summer I think I will move it from its location thnk you for the information !
  
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Judy Grecco on Jul 21, 2014
It is Gooseneck Loosestrife and it will take over your entire garden, you may want to move it to an area that it can take over.

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- Bonnie Bassett on Jul 21, 2014
  @Judy Grecco ty I will certainly do that !!!
  
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Douglas Hunt on Jul 21, 2014
It is most certainly gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) and it is a garden thug of the first order. I consider planting it one of the biggest mistakes I made in my Hudson Valley garden.

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- Bonnie Bassett on Jul 21, 2014
  @Douglas Hunt Oh no !!!! I am going to move it to another location quickly ! It is probably already growing up in the middle of my hosta !
  
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Three Dogs in a Garden on Jul 21, 2014
I concur with the other commenters. This is a problem plant that spreads uncontrolled, and even though it is pretty, I would get rid of it.

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- Carole on Jul 21, 2014
  @Three Dogs in a Garden When we bought our house we got a 1/2 acre block of bushland as our 'garden'. I got a gardener to come and have a look to give suggestions on what to plant, how to go about it, what the existing plants were and so on. She advised us that almost all the plants in the garden were noxious weeds to the mountain bush area and that we should get rid of them. We had Cotoneaster - pretty shrub with green leaves on top, white underneath, flowers and has red berries. Of course it was a weed to this area. We cut down about 9 large shrubs and then had to paint the stumps with weedkiller to prevent them coming back. In spite of this, the remaining stumps sometimes try to come back. We had huge areas of ferns - bracken - that also needed to go. I hand pulled every piece of it and am vigilant to pull any small new ones that I see. We had holly and ivy and that also had to go as it takes over. Holly is very hard to get rid of. We also had Scottish Broom that is rampant in the bush to the detriment of plants that should be native to this area. We lived with a large one of these for more than two years before I decided to cut it down. It also transpires that one of our Wattle trees is a Cootamundra Wattle and also takes over in this area. We have a large tree of this and the birds love it. It has lovely pom pom like yellow blooms followed by seed pods of several inches long. This too ought to be taken out as the birds love the seeds and will deposit them far and wide making many new plants. Radiata Pine trees also a weed up here. We had 8 huge ones removed that were 1m from our house and the builders had cut through their roots to build the house, leaving the trees vulnerable to falling in high winds. Our garden is a never ending battle but we are getting there slowly. For this reason - preserving the native bush, I tend to research anything we plant to ensure it will not cause similar problems by spreading into local bushland. Some weeds are quite beautiful - Montbretia has lovely orange flowers but it spreads by rhyzomes and is incredibly difficult to eradicate. It does not help that our neighbour picks weeds willy nilly without knowing what they are and tries to plant and grow them because they are free and pretty. Sometimes it feels like we are fighting a losing battle! We have vacant plots of land next door on one side which are full of Scottish Broom, Blackberry, Bracken, Thistle and so on. It is like King Canute trying to hold back the tide to stop this spreading onto our garden. LOL! Still, I am up for the challenge!
  
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- Three Dogs in a Garden on Jul 22, 2014
  @Carole Sounds like you do have quite the challenge! You are smart to research anything you plant as a way to avoid problems. I try to do this as well. The property next to mine is very weedy as well, so I mulch to deter seeds that drift over the fence. Honestly, mulch is a gardeners best friend.
  
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- Carole on Jul 23, 2014
  @Three Dogs in a Garden Hi, we mulched most of the area of the garden that we fenced off or for the dog. It is quite a large area and the mulch was from the pine trees we had taken down and also some mulch from gum trees. Yesterday, I cut down a Cootamundra Wattle tree. It was a very pretty little tree and the birds love it - therein lies the problem. When it puts on seed pods, the birds eat the seeds and spread them. This tree is native to Australia but not from this area and apparently it sets nitrogen in the soil to the detriment of the local plant species. It also has a very high germination rate from dropped seeds. We have a bigger one to take out, which we may tackle on the weekend. I feel awful cutting it down but if it is a weed and not good for the local bushland, it has to go.
  
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GG on Jul 21, 2014
Since it is invasive, how about making a very large container garden for it?

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Familyfirst on Jul 21, 2014
Gooseneck, aka loosestrife. Get rid of it or contain it. Have been trying to for 5 years. Its a major runner and will suffocate your good plants. However It is great if you have an area that you need something strong and don't care about invasion, i.e. creek bed, un-mowable hill. I compare it to BAMBOO---

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Marion Nesbitt on Jul 21, 2014
Could you put it in a large container pot? This way it is confined unless it also spreads by seeds. Sure is pretty.

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- Julie on Aug 24, 2015
  @Marion Nesbitt
  
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Tracy Gilmore on Jul 22, 2014
its pretty invasive or not, think i would prefer that to my bramble

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Bonnie Bassett on Jul 24, 2014
well I took the advice of getting it out of my garden hopefully not to late ! I did not want to get rid of it so I transplanted it to an area by itself with quite a bit of area around it ....see what happens if it spreads to far and fast I will move it to a field next to my house .

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- Douglas Hunt on Jul 25, 2014
  @Bonnie Bassett Please don't plant it out into a field. This is exactly how our native plants start to get displaced.
  
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- Bonnie Bassett on Jul 27, 2014
  @Douglas Hunt Is it not a native plant ? I got it in the woods ???
  
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- Douglas Hunt on Jul 28, 2014
  @Bonnie Bassett No, it is native to China and Japan. Sadly, our woods are becoming full of non-native invaders.
  
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- Bonnie Bassett on Jul 29, 2014
  @Douglas Hunt Wow Doug who knew ? well I will definitely not transplant into our field ! It will remain all alone for the time being I wish they would take back some of these bugs like the Japanese Beetles and another newer one that is destroying trees . The Japanese Beetles are out now but not as many as previous summers . The area of woods that I took this plant and the Daylily from had a lot of other garden type plants like hydrangea's cone flowers and Rhodeys as though someone had started planting things there at one time
  
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Bonnie Bassett on Jul 24, 2014
ty everyone for your advice

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Christine on Jul 29, 2014
I made the mistake of planting spiderwort when the heat actually killed the loosestrife. Boy, I wasn't sorry about that plant dying. I am not certain, but I think it's on the Do Not Plant list in the state of MD. Ah well. Anyway spiderwort (4 varieties) have proved to be far more invasive as a root and seed spreading plant. My whole point is that spiderwort is another, similarly sized plant to avoid. Glad you moved this stuff.

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Mareline S on Sep 10, 2014
Mine has spread, any ideas how to remove this plant, it seems to also reseed.

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- Douglas Hunt on Sep 10, 2014
  @Mareline S Paint the leaves with a foam brush dipped in undiluted herbicide containing glyphosate.
  
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Carol Dombros on Oct 22, 2014
I use it in a damp contained area as a groundcover - it's too pretty to get rid of!

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Peg on Mar 25, 2015
it can be invasive to small gardens. Many plant vendors sell it though.

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Joyce Holster on May 31, 2018

Please review the definition of invasive. Many plants are very vigorous or form large monoculture. These are not necessarily 'Invasive' by,definition. Key compone t to bring invasive is it is not native. No native plants can be invasive, only vigorous.

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Liron alterovich on Mar 27, 2022

I don’t know how it came to my garden. But I’m trying to git rid of it. And it’s impossible. Any suggestions? There are many roots all over my garden

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