Ladycage
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Please help identify

Hello,
I am new to gardening and trying to learn as I go. I planted some seeds in the front of my house and now they have grown but I cant remember what they are now, can anyone identify what these flowers might be, they havent bloomed yet.

Thank you
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Ladycage
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Better pics
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img1470310177013.jpg

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Hmm unless you planted an ornamental amaranth such as "Love Lies Bleeding" these may simply be weeds like Pigweed.

It would have been a good choice though, since they like sunny and are drought tolerant.

Plantdoctor_IA
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Location: Lime Springs, Iowa

That could be a pig weed, but I am thinking it may be an amaranthus (they are both in the same family). I grow Autumn amaranthus which look a lot like that. Later the blooms turn a brownish orange color. I do love them. Here is a picture of mine right now.

Image

Ladycage
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Can weeds grow that big? I didnt grow any ornamentals, only flowers like marigold, zinnas, portuluca. If its a weed, can I just cut it down because its over taking my caladium.

Thanks for your help.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Yep. Rather than digging it out, cut it just below soil level and then really mess up the cut stump. If it tries to grow back even then, just keep cutting any shoots off and that should starve it. It's an annual so it shouldn't come back next year. Just keep an eye out for seedling weeds with red stem.

I once let ONE pigweed grow to maturity because I wanted to see if it was possible to harvest the seeds like grain amaranth -- hey you never know for sure until you try, right? It turned out that it was a nightmare to thresh and de-hull, so I cut it down after first harvest of matured seeds. By then it was 2 inches in diameter at the base and 5 feet tall. I needed to use my GOOD pruning loppers -- my junky loppers I normally use for weeds and clearing wild brush growth couldn't cut through the tough trunk.

@plantdoctor, does amaranthus self/re-seed as enthusiastically as the wild form?

Ladycage
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Thanks applestar, I will cut it because I only want flowering plants in my front or colorful leaves like caladiums. I live on lithonia, ga and we have red clay dirt here so I guess weeds like this soil.

Plantdoctor_IA
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Location: Lime Springs, Iowa

Applestar...I have never had amaranthus self seed. I have to start new every year. I live in zone 4, so not promising that they wouldn't in warmer zones since they are in the pigweed family. Charlene

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rainbowgardener
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Oh my! I had pigweed go to seed in my old yard and then I had pigweed ALL OVER after that. That was in zone 6a.



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