Plant/weed ID

DD265

I appreciate that liking/keeping plants is subjective, but I'm not sure if I have ID'd these correctly and whether to keep them in the border. The plants generally are either crammed in or the soil (if you can call it that!) is bare so I could do with tidying it up. All thoughts welcome. I've used https://plant.id/ to get started.

1. I thought this might be Feverfew, but it looks very bushy compared to the photos I found online. We have three of these.




2. Could this be a salvia? If so, presumably I should chop back all the dead 'twigs'?





3. This was looking happier, I think the frost got it, or it could be competing with the large shrub right next to it. Maybe a hydrangea? Would it benefit from having the non-budding/leafing twigs cut back?






4. Perhaps a wood avens or maybe a geranium?





5. The flowering one... Either a poppy, anemone or a geranium? I know the bottom-right plant is a cranesbill.

goldfinches

Okay I'll stick my neck out.
1. A chrysanthemum of some sort, looks happy where it is, give it a mulch of well rotted compost to keep the soil nice and damp and feed it a bit too. Definitely not looking like feverfew to me.
2. A bit early to tell but I suspect sage the usual green form and again looks well established and fairly happy but needs a mulch and a feed as above.
3. Agree with hydrangea and frost damage. Needs a bit of tlc in the form of mulch and feed but I wouldn't chop it back any further but wait for it to recover and shoot up to disguise those old stems. Possibly try pruning out old stems in quarters or thirds for the next few years if size is a problem.
4. Looks like a weed to me, whip it out.
5. A lovely anemone, well done for getting these to bloom and start spreading, great colour too.

Okay that's my tuppence ha'penny what do others think?

25_Years_On

I think the first one might be feverfew.

Number 4 is wood avens (Geum urbanum) so yes dig it out.

Number 5 does have a cransebill - cut-leaved cranesbill another one to get out.

theoretica

Feverfew has a very distinct smell if you rub the leaves between your fingers.

greenbee

25_Years_On said:

I think the first one might be feverfew.

Number 4 is wood avens (Geum urbanum) so yes dig it out.

Number 5 does have a cransebill - cut-leaved cranesbill another one to get out.

If you're digging those out, feel free to send them to me... I need more of them under the hedge by the stream. 

twopenny

1) I don't think it's Feverfew but could be a variety I don't know. Flowers would help you and yes, see if there's a smell to the leaves. Looks more like wild parsnip.

2) No idea. It might be a garden flower but so far it's not attractive. Not Sage but it might be decorative Salvia.

3) Hydranga, suffering badly. Leave it to shoot out leaves and meanwhile water and feed it to try and help it back to health. See what it's like when it's cared for. They do like their water.

4) Is a weed. Not in a good way, it has tough to get out roots.

5) Is a cranesbill but there's nothing attractive about it other than it roots and seeds a lot. I agree, get it out. I've left them to see but it always ends the same.

DD265

Thanks all. The cranesbill is the only one we added!

I will do a sniff test on 1 tomorrow and possibly wait for it to flower, OH took 4 out, and I've mulched and fed everything.

There's a couple of over-grown bushes including a bamboo, and a fuschia which was massive last year but this year is touch and go whether it'll pull through. In an ideal world I'd take the lot out, remove the soil (which is more like rubble) and make a nice bed. Whether I'd put the plants back... I don't think I'd be too sorry to see any of them go (to new homes, not the green bin!), except maybe the bamboo; I like the rustling. It's a small border about 1ft deep, gets the sun in a morning but stays bright all day and some of the plants are clearly very happy in it, some less so.

The bare patch of soil (also very rubble-y) was a poorly conditioned lumpy lawn full of weeds and moss. Putting heathers, lavender and some small grasses in it, then putting slate down. Almost feels like the ideal time to tackle the border too, but I don't know if I can do it without damaging the plants.

From left-right: bamboo, spirea (I think) which had a big chop before winter but clearly not enough, the deaths-door fuschia (I removed all the dead growth tonight, there are tiny new leaves near the base), something green, euonymus.

25_Years_On

greenbee said:

25_Years_On said:

Number 4 is wood avens (Geum urbanum) so yes dig it out.

If you're digging those out, feel free to send them to me... I need more of them under the hedge by the stream. 

In my area wood avens is a very invasive weed. I have to dig up hundreds in my and my clients gardens. In other areas they stick more to the hedges.