What kind of plant(s) are these?....or are they weeds?
by Sherry
+37
Can anyone tell me what these plants might be? Are they plants or weeds? My husband seems to think they're weeds, but I don't think so. The one on the left definitely creeps and has these little blue flowers. The one on the right clumps and had little white flowers. Thanks for any help you can give!
39 answers
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I am interested to know what the one in the first picture is as I have some in my flowerbed as well. It resembles a Wandering Jew. I find it to be very invasive and am constantly pulling it out!
![Donna N]()
Donna N
on Jun 17, 2013
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Let me know when you find out because I have TONS of it. :/
![Tammy Horner]()
Tammy Horner
on Jun 17, 2013
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Not quite sure on the one to the left, I do think it is a perennial, with the blue flowers. The right one looks like Itch Weed, definitely something to get rid of.
![Jessica C]()
Jessica C
on Jun 17, 2013
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Ok, I believe the one on the left is called a Dayflower. I found these website, you can check it out.. http://wildflowersofthewestvillage.com/2010/07/30/the-beautiful-dayflower/ http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/comco.htm
![Donna N]()
Donna N
on Jun 17, 2013
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The one on the left is definitely a Dayflower. They spread like crazy so you have to keep them in check or they'll overrun your flowerbed! :-)
![Bea]()
Bea
on Jun 17, 2013
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one on left is forget me not and trust me you can't cause it will not go away
![Kathy]()
Kathy
on Jun 17, 2013
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I too think the one on the left is a weed, and very hard to get rid of. I've been trying for 3 yrs to rid my lawn of it !
![Lisa McDaniel]()
Lisa McDaniel
on Jun 18, 2013
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Native Spider Wort. Great for shady moist areas. Spreads like crazy but easily pulled out. Have also seen the other pop up in my garden. All plants are weeds IF they're in a spot you don't want. So pull it out when it gets in the way of things you've planted & leave if it looks good & fills a bar spot. Happy gardening! Check out our website & 'like' us on Facebook. www.glenviewgardeners.org
![Judith O]()
Judith O
on Jun 18, 2013
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you are right, Judith! the one on the left is a spiderwort. I love the old flowers of my grandmas garden. there are newer variaties of spiderworts nowadays that are just beautiful. don't know about the other picture, though.
![Cheryl stanley]()
Cheryl stanley
on Jun 18, 2013
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Native Spider Wort is correct and yes they spread like crazy and re-seed themselves every where.
![Ginny N]()
Ginny N
on Jun 18, 2013
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We call the one one the left crab grass and dig up all of them we see.
![Karen Simon]()
Karen Simon
on Jun 18, 2013
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The plant on the left is often called Native Spiderwort but is more correctly called Dayflower. It is a member of the Spiderwort family but differs from actual Spiderwort as it has a creeping growth habit rather than upright. If it has a white lower petal then it is Asiatic Dayflower (a non-native). If it has a blue lower petal it is Virginia Dayflower (a native). True Spiderwort is a native prairie plant. (Fun Fact: All three are related to the house plant commonly called Wandering Jew.)
![Lorah Marquardt]()
Lorah Marquardt
on Jun 18, 2013
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We all know if ya wanna get rid of something spray it with pure vinegar and it will be gone, anything from morning glory to dandelions!!
![Sal kemple]()
Sal kemple
on Jun 18, 2013
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The one on the left is a perennial. It spreads but isn't real invasive. My mom called them "Wandering Jacks". I'd much rather have them instead of weeds.
![Trish Ross]()
Trish Ross
on Jun 18, 2013
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I was unfortunate when I purchased wildflowers & the plants on the left of your posting came with the rest of the wildflowers. They are considered an invasive weed here in Florida.
![Sherrie S]()
Sherrie S
on Jun 18, 2013
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I have the one one the left too. I always thought it looked like a wandering jew. You can put it in a hanging bakery each summer. It is invasive.
![From My Cherry Heart]()
From My Cherry Heart
on Jun 18, 2013
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Thank you all for your answers!! This is such a great website!...I had never used it before now. Looks like I'm going to be removing both of these plants. Maybe I'll try and plant the Spiderwort/Dayflower in a pot and see how it does. Thanks again! :)
![Sherry]()
Sherry
on Jun 19, 2013
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Someone from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (check out www.wildflower.org) said the one on the left is a native false dayflower. I don't consider it a weed because almost any shade flower that will grow in the drought-stricken hot-as-Hades Texas hill country has my blessing. I just pull out the ones growing inconvenient places. The rest will die back after blooming.
![Dana Shuster]()
Dana Shuster
on Jun 19, 2013
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ok,I was gonna say wandering jew variety,so glad to see spiderwort or dayflower guesses... I would try it in a pot as a 'spiller' and add a filler and thriller ,then see what happens ...
![Sharon]()
Sharon
on Jun 19, 2013
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They look like the plant 4 o'clocks. Their flowers are red, yellow, and pink. They close up every night.
![Janelle Wakefield]()
Janelle Wakefield
on Jun 20, 2013
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on the left, Wandering Jew.
![Sandra L]()
Sandra L
on Jun 21, 2013
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Wandering Jew is purple. I plan on taking some to Lowe's & finding out what it is- we have it everywhere ! I kill it in one spot and it pops up in 2 more spots ! UGGHH
![Lisa McDaniel]()
Lisa McDaniel
on Jun 22, 2013
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@Lisa McDaniel It's not wandering jew, it is a Dayflower. It's very invasive and when the end of the world comes, there will be cockroaches and Dayflowers in abundance!! LOL!
![Donna N]()
Donna N
on Jun 22, 2013
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Donna N, I know it isn't a wondering jew. I replied with " it isn't a wondering jew, they are purple." (Unless I had a typo) I do have doubts of it being a dayflower too. I plan on asking at a nursery just for my own curiosity. And yes, I know to well how invasive it is. But at my house it seems to only grow along fence line or the outside of walls. I had some along one fence where we had a stump of a Mimosa tree that wouldn't die for nothing. I got some stump killer and applied it UNDILUTED and it killed everything, even the "dayflower" ! I now have a BIG problem with Johnson grass.. I dug it all up from my yard last fall & I swear it's back but twice as much !
![Lisa McDaniel]()
Lisa McDaniel
on Jun 23, 2013
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Oh yeah,johnson grass is awful...we are constantly pulling it out of our blueberry plot,and trying not to ruin the trees...stuff grows thru mulch like crazy,too
![Sharon]()
Sharon
on Jun 23, 2013
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BTW,I was fortunate enough to receive a piece of WHITE wandering jew from a friendthis spring,and it is beautiful...leaves are white and green varigated... already had purple JW and moses-in-a-cradle,... they're all in same familywill try to send pics,but not good at it.
![Sharon]()
Sharon
on Jun 23, 2013
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Sry Lisa! Meant to say that to Sandra...
![Donna N]()
Donna N
on Jun 23, 2013
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My grandfather always called it wondeing Jew. Maybe is comes in different colors. Had loads of it in south FL when I was growing up. Remember picking little "bouquet" of it for my grandmoher!
![Sandra L]()
Sandra L
on Jun 23, 2013
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unfortunately The pretty blue flowers are enticing and a weed. It is easy enough to pull in a bed, but it is invasive.
![Flowerscapes Garden Design & Landscaping]()
Flowerscapes Garden Design & Landscaping
on Jun 25, 2013
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This is known as the green Creeping Jew. There are several types of Wandering Jew yours is the green. There is the striped purple, the green with silvery, very slight purple on the edges of the leaves. The purple is Tradescantia Zebrina
![Crafty2you]()
Crafty2you
on Jun 03, 2014
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Re: the #1 photo - had 1 three years ago, thought it was cute and did not pull it out and now all Spring and Summer long I am pulling up thousands of them. The seeds from them got into the garden and into my potted plants. They are a real menace. One is cute. Thousands are not!
![Pam1418628]()
Pam1418628
on May 08, 2015
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Wondering Jew..some call them Moses in a basket..I have purple ones and the flowers are beautiful purple/blue.
![Terra Gazelle]()
Terra Gazelle
on Jul 09, 2015
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I also thought they were cute and regret it! They love to get in the middle of other plants making it hard to get them out. I hate them!
![Kim S]()
Kim S
on Aug 18, 2015
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I don't remember the name of the weed in the top photo, but I do remember that it was named for three brothers who were botanists. It's flower is two bright blue petals and one pale one: Two of the brothers made names for themselves in their field while the third never accomplished much!
![Charlotte Gustavson]()
Charlotte Gustavson
on Aug 28, 2015
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Wandering Jew. Like its name they wander all over the garden. Its best to pot them.
![WF Hart]()
WF Hart
on Aug 28, 2015
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Wandering Jew makes a beautiful houseplant
![Rita Reid]()
Rita Reid
on Aug 29, 2015
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I treat them as weeds.
![Vicki McDonald]()
Vicki McDonald
on Jun 05, 2016
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![Ronald K. Smialowicz]()
Ronald K. Smialowicz
on Oct 12, 2017
Not weed -
![Ronald K. Smialowicz]()
Ronald K. Smialowicz
on Oct 12, 2017
not weed.
Donna N
on Jun 17, 2013
Tammy Horner
on Jun 17, 2013
Jessica C
on Jun 17, 2013
Bea
on Jun 17, 2013
Kathy
on Jun 17, 2013
Lisa McDaniel
on Jun 18, 2013
Judith O
on Jun 18, 2013
Cheryl stanley
on Jun 18, 2013
Ginny N
on Jun 18, 2013
Karen Simon
on Jun 18, 2013
Lorah Marquardt
on Jun 18, 2013
Sal kemple
on Jun 18, 2013
Trish Ross
on Jun 18, 2013
Sherrie S
on Jun 18, 2013
From My Cherry Heart
on Jun 18, 2013
Sherry
on Jun 19, 2013
Dana Shuster
on Jun 19, 2013
Sharon
on Jun 19, 2013
Janelle Wakefield
on Jun 20, 2013
Pam1418628
on May 08, 2015
Terra Gazelle
on Jul 09, 2015
Kim S
on Aug 18, 2015
Charlotte Gustavson
on Aug 28, 2015
WF Hart
on Aug 28, 2015
Rita Reid
on Aug 29, 2015
Vicki McDonald
on Jun 05, 2016
Ronald K. Smialowicz
on Oct 12, 2017
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