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Name That Plant!

New house...new (unknown) plant

8 years ago

Previous homeowners had apparently planted this, am wondering what it is. I cut it back to the ground last fall and it's come back more vigorous than before. I haven't seen it flower. We're in Nor Cal (zone 9). Plant is about 2-3 ft. tall and wide. Non woody stems, large "fig-like" leaves. Makes me think of spinach, but the leaves are throwing me off. Any ideas?

Comments (5)

peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
8 years ago
Acanthus sp.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years ago
not many perennials, trees or shrubs... die, simply from cutting them back ...

and as you found out ... with no insult to the root mass ... they can grow back to size rather fast ...

you will either have to dig it out ... or treat the cut with round up or stump killer ... should you wish to be done with it ...

ken
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In the background of the first picture, from 3:00 to 6:00 is several puny Peony plants slowly being strangled by Virginia Creeper and Goldenrod. If you could move those to full sun that would be a good thing. Most people suggest moving Peonies in fall but now would be better for those particular plants, they aren't going to bloom in the state they are in now anyway. The middle picture in the Rose montage suggests Rose Rosette Disease, the side shoots coming from the main stem are enlarged and hyper prickly. That's a serious disease that's lethal to the Rose and spreads quickly. If you have other Roses in the collection you'll want to read up and RRD and remove any infected plants. I don't know if anyone has mentioned it yet, the Star-of-Bethlehem is a weed. Congrats on your new garden. Hopefully the previous gardener got to take starts of her favorites with her. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures.
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Thank you-- this does appear to be the one!
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Now that I look at pictures and think back, it did get white flowers like the Sorbaria sorbifolia...
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peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
8 years ago
Most gardeners find this to be a highly ornamental and desirable perennial. Here is a link to pics of this beauty. Acanthus
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
8 years ago
It would be evergreen in Ca, I imagine. It is here and can be a bit of a nuisance since it spreads and will root from even the smallest piece left in the ground. Perhaps it isn't a problem in z5 but it can be in warmer climates.
cgreeno
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the quick replies! Acanthus, it is!

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