Root vegetable found?

Kat1122

I bought ex local authority house last year. I pulled up what I thought was a weed in a small bit of broken tarmac path. I then discovered all these root vegetables. I have no clue what they are on how they have came about. Any ideas?

Devongardener

They look like Jerusalem artichokes.  They will spread and multiply if you don’t get them all out.

-taff

That's not root vegetables, that's a peony.

twopenny

Looks to me like Peony leaves and they have these large tubers.

Expensive to buy and wonderful flowers if that's what it is.

There's a picture of the tubers down this page https://www.claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk/blog/2024/11/21/peonies

Pop them in a pot of compost laying just under the top of the soil, water and put in sunny spot. See what comes up  

If it's Peony you have a treasure trove there.

FlorayG

-taff said:

That's not root vegetables, that's a peony.

Yep, completely agree, although you've almost certainly killed it because all those tubers should be fastened together witha central stem. Bury the bits anyway, not too deep, they didn't cost you anything and they might live

-taff

I thought that was dahlias? I'm almost [ but not 100 sure] that my peony that I try to kill every year is all over the place with tubers.

kimwp

Looks like peony leaves to me, but the roots are different from the one in my garden that I dug up- that was an almost solid mass.

Kat1122

Thanks everyone. I have zero experience in gardening so thought this was the best place to check. We already have a peonies in our garden so wouldn't look at having more although I do love them. They were definitely separate and not all connected. 

Dustyevsky

kimwp said:

Looks like peony leaves to me, but the roots are different from the one in my garden that I dug up- that was an almost solid mass.

There are different kinds of peony; the herbaceous sort that vanish to tubers in winter, and the shrubby, evergreen kinds, which can form large bushes. These are the former, and they may, or may not, be worth keeping. Growing them is the only way to find out.

If this had been the shrubby 'tree peony,' it would have needed much more effort to remove. I dug one of ours up in 2023, and saw no evidence of it last year. This spring, clearing that part of the garden, there is one shoot of it coming through.  Not for long....!

Silvertabby

Dustyevsky said:

kimwp said:

Looks like peony leaves to me, but the roots are different from the one in my garden that I dug up- that was an almost solid mass.

There are different kinds of peony; the herbaceous sort that vanish to tubers in winter, and the shrubby, evergreen kinds, which can form large bushes. These are the former, and they may, or may not, be worth keeping. Growing them is the only way to find out.

If this had been the shrubby 'tree peony,' it would have needed much more effort to remove. I dug one of ours up in 2023, and saw no evidence of it last year. This spring, clearing that part of the garden, there is one shoot of it coming through.  Not for long....!

You wouldn't be saying that if you knew how much I've just paid for two tree peony plants.....

Dustyevsky

Silvertabby said:

Dustyevsky said:

kimwp said:

Looks like peony leaves to me, but the roots are different from the one in my garden that I dug up- that was an almost solid mass.

There are different kinds of peony; the herbaceous sort that vanish to tubers in winter, and the shrubby, evergreen kinds, which can form large bushes. These are the former, and they may, or may not, be worth keeping. Growing them is the only way to find out.

If this had been the shrubby 'tree peony,' it would have needed much more effort to remove. I dug one of ours up in 2023, and saw no evidence of it last year. This spring, clearing that part of the garden, there is one shoot of it coming through.  Not for long....!

You wouldn't be saying that if you knew how much I've just paid for two tree peony plants.....

I don't understand. How much someone paid won't affect my appreciation, or lack of it. After all, Tracey Emin's bed sold for £2.5m, but I didn't want it!