looks like colonial flock to me

Could it be this? It's a 'weed.' I see them growing wild, but I don't know what kind of 'weed' it is. Maybe someone here can tell me. I let a couple of them stay because they are a pretty green and so graceful looking.

{{gwi:1355836}}

Perhaps when our plants flower we will both know what they are.

Is that a good thing?

Oops--I meant to post that earlier, immediately after scuba-gal's post. That's what I get for multi-tasking! I've never heard of colonial flock, and a search of the Texas forum didn't find anything. Is it native to somewhere else?

Roselee, that looks identical--it's got to be the same thing. I thought it was kinda pretty, too. I thought I'd leave it alone for a while to see if it flowered at all. It looked a lot like horsemint when it was shorter, but now, it's the tallest thing in the flower bed and it's right in the front. I'm not sure what I'll do with it. I may pull it since I have a couple more elsewhere that look like the same thing. Thanks for the help!

I could be wrong, but I think I've let that same thing grow at my place only to find out its some kind of sunflower-y looking thing. The flower was not as big as one would think considering the size of the plant.
Once I saw the flower, I yanked them all out. They have amazing tap root IIRC, but easy to pull out once you get a good hold of it.

I've had roselee's plant before & it never turned into anything good. Some tiny whitish blooms at the top & I think it branched out at top too.

Bo's almost looks like obedient plant but taller than mine.

Here is a picture of my colonial flock - it is setting buds and about to bloom (summer heat). That is the name my mom calls it - but may not be it's true given name.
It has purple/pink-ish blooms.

Roselee- yours reminds me of gayfeather (LIATRIS)

Now I'm curious to what in the heck it is I have and if mine and Bo's are the same??? There's always come sort of a mystery involved with gardening that makes it ... well, a curious kind pastime :-)

Scuba-gal, around here I've heard your Mom's colonial phlox called "summer phlox." It is one of my favorite plants for easy summer color!

I've learned something here yet again. I've learned I need to get me summa that colonial phlox! How pretty!

Roselee, I love a good mystery! That's definitely some of the appeal to gardening. I guess I'll let this thing survive a little longer to see what it'll do.

Melvalena, what does IIRC mean?

I think it's Maximilian Sunflower. I got one in a swap too and she is beautiful in the fall when she blooms.

Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: Link with pictures of the leaves

Bo, I think it is Obedient plant, also. I know you got a few of those when you were here. I have the phlox, also, and my mom called them Standing Phlox, but I have also heard them referred to as Garden Phlox. Looks like you can call them whatever you like as long as you call them a phlox...LOL>

Scuba-gal, I think what you have is Phlox paniculata, aka Summer Phlox. It's native here in Texas, and probably across the plains.

I think bo's plant might be a wild aster, or possibly goldenrod. It looks like both plants. I have a wild aster that grows up all over the place, the foliage looks very much like the summer phlox, but is a bit more coarse. It's sort of pretty while it blooms in the fall, but not pretty enough to keep on purpose. It's kind of hard to pull up. I haven't been able to get rid of it completely yet.

Good luck.

Sally

Karen,

Could be tall goldenrod, I know I brought some to the swap. Look at the link below, scroll down to the yellow flowers and click on tall goldenrod. Mine were awesome last summer but they are huge this year due to the rain. The blooms didn't fully open until late summer/fall and the monarchs were all over it! I have this and "garden phlox" (Mom's name) and they appear very similar but the phlox bloom much earlier and seem to have less serration on the leaf edges.

Here is a link that might be useful: Great wildflower index by bloom color!

I don't know what it is called, but it isn't the Maximillian sunflower - the leaves aren't folded down the center and it isn't obedient plant because they don't grow like that at the top and the leaves are arranged differently on obedient plant.

I have seen this blooming out in the wild and I believe it has non-descript cluster of white flowers on it that send seed floating and germinating all over the place. I had it coming up in my garden and it had a big root on it and was very difficult to pull out. It took several tries to finally get the whole thing pulled out. I'd pull it and it would grow back, then I'd pull it again.

I would like to know the name of it though. I have a friend who is a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas. I'll send her a link to this to see if she knows what it is. She is really good at identifying wildflowers/weeds.

Okay, now I went back and looked at it and compared it more closely to roselee's photo. Roselee's photo is the one I am talking about as being a weed and not sure what it is.

The original photo does look very similar to obedient plant when I looked at it closer the second time. It may also be a type of fall aster.

I'd almost bet Roselee's is goldenrod but not sure about the other. The leaves on my obedient plant a serrated

Here is a link that might be useful: goldenrod

IIRC
If I recall (or remember) correctly.

Melvalena - I'd be happy to share some of my phlox with ya - has pinkish flowers on it. Mine can from my mom
s garden and grows easily.
~Angie~

I vote goldenrod too. I'm growing some (on purpose of course!) They can be very aggressive. I have mine on the side of the house where it doesn't matter.PJ

Sure scuba-gal!!

Thanks!!

I'm reading up on it, and it says fragrant??
Do yours have any smell to 'em? How tall are yours on average?

Weed.

I don't know if this is any help, but the leaves on Obedient plant and phlox, are paired, where the leaves on Bo's plant are alternating.
Jim

I considered the one I had to be a weed. It grew to 4.5' and never did anything but what i see in the pictures. Out it came!

Gail

Golden Rod

It's a weed, sorry. :~) We have LOTS of it, at our new place at the edge of the hill country; wherever we have piled up dirt and rocks ready to landscape it has sprouted and gets 5-6 feet tall. The blooms aren't very exciting. I believe it is horseweed, aka marestail. Many pics on links show it in the rosette stage or don't show a good picture of it, but this one should look somewhat familiar. Anyway, that's what I think it is....it's not goldenrod.

http://www.umassgreeninfo.org/fact_sheets/weed_herbarium/pages/erica.html

If it's goldenrod the blooms will branch out at the top in long sprays and stay green for at least a month before bursting into an incredibly bright golden yellow spray about the time the chrysanthumums are blooming. (Of course that is during a normal year! I still have pansies and snaps blooming so this isn't a normal year) And last year the goldenrod was about waist high, this year it is shoulder high. Can't wait to see the blooms! And all the monarchs it attracts!

Like I said it is a goldenrod but it can be a weed if you don't like it in you garden. I tried to kill mine several years ago by pulling it out and still pops out, they have deeper roots sometimes difficult to pull them out. I don't know which is worst, obedient plant or this one.