To weed or not to weed.... (That is the question!)

[rocketfiredash]

In November I moved into a new (to me) house! One of the previous owners was quite obviously a gardener (you should SEE the rose bush/tree/vine! It's beautiful!)

There are lots of plants at this house, many of which I am not familliar... (Mind you, this is the first garden of my very own... Up until now I've really only dealt with houseplants)

I have left the garden up until now with the exception of a few obvious weeds.
I'm not sure what are plants, and what are weeds.... They will all be perennial type plants, but some of them seem to be over taking!
If you can help me identify any of these, I would be so very appreciative!

Some of them need pruning either way, but I'm trying to determine what says and what goes!

Thanks in advance!!!



1. So here's a perennial (pretty sure it isn't a weed) maybe some strawberry species?



2.This one is in large clumps... It seems to spread...





3. SO is 'positive' that this is a weed:



4.


5.


6.

[applestar]

Having a mental block ATM -- recognize several but can only name 1st one for now

#1 is Heuchera -- coral bells

[MarcP]

The second plant, especially in the second photo, looks a bit like a wild geranium leaf but the growth is a lot more massive than the ones that grow in my woods.

[LA47]

I'm not sure about #2, # 3 looks like penstemmon, and #6 is phlox.

[!potatoes!]

#2 is an artemisia of some sort...mugwort, perhaps?

#3 probably is a weed - looks like goldenrod

#5 might be shasta daisy

[rainbowgardener]

I'm thinking #4 may be missouri sundrops, aka evening primrose.

I don't think any of them are weeds -- which is pretty amazing, a neglected garden that isn't full of weeds?! That doesn't mean I'm disagreeing with potatoes that #3 might be goldenrod. It's just that I call goldenrod a wildflower.

What a gift to inherit a beautiful well-cared for garden!

If you leave all these plants, they will flower and then become much easier to definitively identify.

[applestar]

2 is an artemisia of some sort...mugwort, perhaps?

THAT'S the one -- word on my brain was "moxa"

And goldenrod and and phlox are both coming up in my garden....

[rocketfiredash]

Thank you all for your replies!!

I know patience is a virtue, but I'm excited/anxious to get gardening!
They all seem to be growing beautifully, so I'll carry on until they flower to better identify them!

[watermelonpunch]

I was in the same position last year - new-to-me house... only had house plants & porch container annuals before.

Afraid to weed, because of not sure what anything is!!
So yeah, don't pull it unless you're fairly sure, because later you could be regretting it.

Soooo... It's season 2 for me here... and I'm STILL having stuff coming up I don't recognize.
Took me a year to find out what I thought were overcrowded daylilies that were not blooming in summer, were actually overcrowded lily of the valley that had never bloomed last spring...
https://www.watermelonpunch.com/wordpres ... he-valley/

Anyhooooooo

#2 does indeed look like wild geranium leaves:


World's end state park, Pennsylvania

I THINK both
#4 & #6 are some kind of phlox

# 3 I believe is a wildflower.... that maybe some people would consider a weed (some people consider all wildflowers weeds)
Do I remember which one? No.
Could be goldenrod. I was thinking Black Eyed Susan maybe?
Pretty sure it's a tall kind, and the sort you would plant in a butterfly garden.

And of course, wildflowers or even desirable flowers in one place can be considered an invasive weed in another place. Seems all plants depend on context.

[rainbowgardener]

#2 had already been ID'd as mugwort (a weed) and mugwort it is. Geranium does not grow in big clumps like that. My first thought had been chrysanthemum and in fact an article on mugwort:

https://extension.missouri.edu/p/ipm1007-88

says "similar in appearance to chrysanthemum." But mugwort.

I'm not convinced about the phlox either. The more I look at #6, the more I'm thinking maybe some kind of weed. I was thinking smart weed, but it's not quite that.

Anyway as we have said, when they flower, they will become easy to ID, so keep us posted on what the flowers look like.

[watermelonpunch]

#2 had already been ID'd as mugwort (a weed) and mugwort it is. Geranium does not grow in big clumps like that. My first thought had been chrysanthemum and in fact an article on mugwort:

https://extension.missouri.edu/p/ipm1007-88

says "similar in appearance to chrysanthemum." But mugwort.

I'm not convinced about the phlox either. The more I look at #6, the more I'm thinking maybe some kind of weed. I was thinking smart weed, but it's not quite that.

Anyway as we have said, when they flower, they will become easy to ID, so keep us posted on what the flowers look like.

Sorry... when you say "big clumps" - do you mean just WILD geranium I take it?
Because I have HUGE clumps of geranium... But not wild.


Anyway... I had 2 people now think my phlox is a weed. *sigh*
I had to point out to them that it is NOT. That I had been given it, planted it there myself, and saw it flower last year. :/ So I know what it is, and it's not a weed.

[rocketfiredash]

Well, here's another mystery plant that's in my garden...





It's pretty! Can you ID it?

Re: original post, #1 is coral bells thanks Applestar for the ID on that one!

No other plants have bloomed yet... Although the OP plant #2 is beginning to bud... It's seeming more like a mum all the time. ( there are 3 evenly spaced clusters in the garden... Which leads me to believe it was planted there....)

Will keep you updated!

[MarcP]

I wonder if #4 is lady's thumb

[rocketfiredash]

Plant #2 has bloomed!





Can anyone confirm its ID now that it has bloomed?
There are also little black ?aphids on some of the tips.... Is it best to just prune these tips off? Or how do I deal with that?

[rainbowgardener]

I'm thinking the new mystery plant, the pinkish one, is a double flowered columbine. Very beautiful!

[!potatoes!]

#2 was a chrysanthemum after all!

[rocketfiredash]

Columbine is right! Thanks rainbowgardener!

[Mr_bobo_]

Ahh garden in which I work have that kind of and bloom now... I was also think it was weed... but now when it bloom its quite pretty... but I not investigate name of it...

...you answer on others... so I will do the rest... mystery ones...

#4 = Oenothera

#5 Leucantemum

#6 Phlox paniculata


...and you have the most beautiful Aquilegia that I ever seen... simple amazing... !

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah, on the previous page I suggested #4 was sundrops/ Missouri evening primrose (oenothera). I have a bunch of them in my yard and I really like them. That sunny yellow for which they are named is one of my favorite colors, so cheerful!

[rocketfiredash]

Blooms are out!

#4 - primrose it is!

#5


I can not believe how much help you all have been!
It's impressive that with one picture of plant leaves, so many of you have been able to ID these plants for me!

Thank you again so much, I am quite enjoying all the beautiful blooms!