skip to main content

Name That Plant!

low-growing volunteer with blue leaves and purple stems

14 years ago

What is this volunteer? It's about a year old now, but still less than a foot tall. It's never flowered. I've asked about it here twice in the past, using older pictures of it, and nobody had any guess as to what it might be. The very edges of the leaves are purplish. It's growing in not quite full sun in the Sacramento Valley.

It seems well-behaved - if I knew what it was, I might want more of it.

{{gwi:371434}}

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

ollierose
14 years ago
Maybe some type of euphorbia?
queerbychoice
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you - it was really nice to have a lead to follow up on for a change.

That said, my searches for Euphorbias have turned up nothing that resembles this, so I don't think it's actually a Euphorbia.

Any other guesses? Anyone? Wild guesses are very welcome.
Related Discussions
Purple Stems on Tomato Seedlings - Advice Needed!
Q
Comments (7)
I was surprised you didn't separate them when you transplanted them. They need to be separated and it is very easy to to. Then transplant them separately. No need to snip or thin unless you don't want the plants for some reason. And there is no need to plant them so high in the cup either. There is no reason for them to stick out above the top of the cup. Fill the 10oz. cup 1/3 full with wet soil, poke a hole in the center with your finger and stick in the plant and its root ball, then add more wet soil to bury the stem. If you can't plant out until mid-May then these will probably need to be transplanted a couple of times before then. Make it cooler in the area they are growing and go easy on feeding them to slow down growth. Seedlings, under normal conditions don't require feeding, it is just optional and the need for it all depends on the growing mix you are using. You can use what you wish but fish oil is mostly N so you will need to use a very small amount and only if well diluted to 1/4 or 1/2 strength and only once every 7-10 days max. The goal is root development, not top growth. You apparently want to grow organically, correct? If so that's fine but you need to understand how organic fertilizers and composts work, how they differ from synthetics, and why many of them aren't really useful in containers of any kind given the lack of active soil bacteria, the soil micro-herd that converts them to usable nutrients. You can compensate for the problem by using one of the quality organic growing mixes that include that bacteria. G&B makes a good Planting/Growing Mix that would work well but their Soil Amending Compost is intended to be mixed with soil (dirt) to work. Dave
...See More
Purple leaves/stems on WS toms only
Q
Comments (7)
My tomatoes are the same as yours, just totally stagnant. Earlier last week I started to transplant to individual containers and they're showing signs of growing true leaves now. But they're way behind where they normally are. I've been doing this for years and it's the first time it feels like a massive failure for the tomatoes. Only the cherokee purples formed true leaves on time and they're now in the garden and seem to be doing fine. I wouldn't question the technique -- I used the same potting soil I always use and many other plants came up just fine. Not sure where you are, but our weather was cold and damp with little sun through most of the winter and early spring. I did start three tomatoes inside to use with the walls o'water. They went in the ground near the beginning of April and they're about a foot and a half tall now, so at least there's that. I also had a few volunteers under one of the walls o'water so I potted them up and just planted them out on Saturday. I also used your idea on the peppers and eggplant -- put them in the window till they sprouted then right outside. They seem to be doing fine, much better than the tomatoes. And of course as soon as I had done that, the peppers I wintersowed came up. Isn't that always the way? :) Caryl
...See More
little baby seedlings are supposed to have purple stems right?
Q
Comments (7)
I have 18 inch plnts inside (started too early) and they are starting to get thick purple stems near the base of the plant. I figure I just have to deal. I dind't know that was a sign of stress, but I did know they had to be getting stressed sooner or later.
...See More
Heavenly Blue Volunteers?
Q
Comments (31)
Ron - that full display of MGs mainly happened late in summer and I don't remember them going to them earlier as they were just starting to bloom. I don't know what they were thinking but maybe the shape of that closing flower prompted them to stick a beak in thinking it was something else. I know that 2 of my regulars around that time were juvenile males, so inexperience may have played a role. I had Salvia guarantica 'Black and Blue' and Agastache 'Tutti Fruitti' out there blooming at the same time, so it wasn't like there was a lack of natural nectar (plus my feeders were there). But they seemed to like sticking their beaks in - unless maybe they were finding insects trapped inside that they could eat.
...See More
User
14 years ago
I have been having a look around for you but any ideas I had were proved wrong. Perhaps you could answer these questions.
Does it have a smell when crushed?
Are the leaves succulent/leathery/smooth/hairy?...etc.
Is there white sap?
Is the colour true to life?
Has it ever flowered? If so, colour etc.
And add anything else that might prove useful.
queerbychoice
Original Author
14 years ago
It smells sort of like avocado. The leaves are hairless and smooth but kind of thick and slightly stiff. It doesn't produce any noticeable sap. The color is pretty much true to life; the only difference is that it looks a little darker in real life than in the photo. Those are California golden poppies next to it in the photo, and the mystery plant is about the same color as them except a little darker.

It sprouted last fall and definitely hasn't ever flowered. Thank you so much for any guesses you can offer!
chazparas
14 years ago
Could it be a penstemon? did you plant a wildflower mix in the area? Possibly an evening primrose?
queerbychoice
Original Author
14 years ago
Yes, I planted Theodore Payne's perennial native wildflower mix in the area last fall, and also an individual seed packet of Camissonia cheiranthifolia (beach evening-primrose). The native wildflower mix contained the following:

Achillea millefollium (Yarrow)
Baileya multiradiata (Desert Marigold)
Eriophyllum confertifolium (Golden Yarrow)
Eschscholzia californica (California Poppy)
Eschscholzia californica 'Golden West' (Golden West Poppy)
Linum lewisii (Blue Flax)
Lupinus excubitus (Grape Soda Lupine)
Penstemon centranthefolius (Scarlet Bugler)
Penstemon palmeri (Fragrant Penstemon)
Penstemon spectabilis (Showy Penstemon)
Salvia mellifera (Black Sage)
Sisyrinchium bellum (Blue-eyed Grass)
Sphaeralcea ambigua (Apricot Mallow)

This plant doesn't really look to me like it's any of those, but it does bear a close enough resemblance to the beach evening-primrose that I guess it might be something related to it. I didn't plant any other perennials in the evening-primrose family, though.
Embothrium
14 years ago
I thought of penstemon also, but since it had not been mentioned yet that the area was seeded with a mix containing penstemons did not suggest it. Thought instead it would be something that was popping up on its own in that area.
queerbychoice
Original Author
14 years ago
Hmm. To me, this plant doesn't look at all like any penstemon I'm familiar with, and certainly not like any of the species in the seed mix. But I guess I'll spend some time searching for other plants in the same family that might bear more resemblance to this plant.
User
14 years ago
Have a look at Penstemon grandiflorus, there is a similarity.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES 9 Low-Growing Hedges That Make Good Neighbors

Define garden areas or borders without blocking the view, with these evergreen shrubs that take kindly to trimming

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Walker's Low Catmint

By Annie Thornton

Prolific purple blooms, fragrant leaves, and cold-hardiness makes this a go-to plant for almost any garden

PLANTING IDEAS Great Garden Combo: Silver Sparkles Amid Purple and Blue Foliage

Get the look of this modern foundation planting by focusing on a restrained color palette with tasteful accents

SUCCULENTS Grow a Garden of Succulents for Easy Beauty

By Annie Thornton

Low-water plants in a wide range of colors, shapes and sizes? Sign us up — and check out our faves here

GARDENING GUIDES Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Chard

By Marianne Lipanovich

A year-round garden favorite with a colorful stem, Swiss chard comes into its own in early spring and in fall

MOST POPULAR Summer Crops: How to Grow Sunflowers

By Marianne Lipanovich

Savor snack-tastic sunflower seeds once the radiant blooms have faded — if the birds have saved you any, that is

FARM YOUR YARD Grow a Kitchen Garden in 16 Square Feet

Got a sunny 4-by-4 space? You can make meals more interesting with your own vegetables and herbs

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Try Blue Bells for Blooms in Dry Soil

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

This shrub’s violet-blue flowers and silvery foliage brighten low-water gardens all year long

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Lilac Vine for a Purple Profusion in Winter

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Grow this pretty, hardy vine on a fence or as a ground cover for blooms throughout the colder months

GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES Great Design Plant: Columbine Grows Happily in Shade and Sun

By Paintbox Garden

Its ethereal beauty comes from complex forms and wide-ranging colors, but columbine’s benefits are highly attractive too

Sponsored

Urban Upkeep LLC

6 Reviews

Franklin County's High Quality Painting Expert

More Discussions

A volunteer in my pot of basil Zone 7b

3

Fingers crossed!

6

Quilty leaved unknown patio crack vollunteer?

8

Did not plant but may not be weed?

2

Succulent identification?

2