Unknown herbaceous plant

last year

Since I plant so many things, the possibilities boggle my mind (as do the names), and I am the proverbial squirrel forgetting where he has hidden his nuts.

There's a high likelihood this is something native to my area (since that's most of what I grow), but then it could be other as well.

Wild guesses welcome, I'll see if it rings any bells of what I remember planting.

Assuming I knew what I was doing, it's planted in about 1/2 day sun with some loose shrubs above/over (ninebark) in a moist area. It's currently about a foot tall. If it flowers this year, I'll know what it is, but right now..it just seems like something I might have planted/sown.

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Comments (8)

dbarron
Original Author
last year
Actually me and another friends have said it looks like beauty berry, and the birds could certainly have gifted me one from the one in the front yard. I don't know yet...it looks totally herbaceous but could firm up woody by mid-summer.
dbarron
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Another thing that I did try growing and sat out last fall was Campanula americana. I thought it died and I can't remember if I planted a clump there. Could it be? Never successfully grown before, so I don't necessarily recognize it. This foliage is softly hairly, and I kinda thought campanula americana was smooth foliage.

Tentatively matches!
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It is not possible to see the leaf arrangement properly but it does not look opposite, so that would rule out Beauty Berry. It's clearly something pretty robust since it is competeing with a bed full of mint. You refer to your area but you don't say where that is. A location would help narrow down the possibilities.
dbarron
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Hmm, yes, the auxillary info that used to be there isn't anymore. NW Arkansas. I'm surprised that you don't remember it after all these years *lol*.

Leaf arrangement is alternate.

I'm pretty sure campanula is correct now, but would love someone familiar with it (because I'm not) to confirm.
Jay 6a Chicago
last year
last modified: last year
It's Campanulastrum americanum. Biennial. It was Campanula, then Campanulastrum, then Campanula and now Campanulastrum again. It differs significantly in flower structure compared to the more tubular flowers of Campanula species. The early leaves are smaller and more ovate. They produce a lot of seeds. They are tough and they thrive on neglect, and easy to pull out in places you don't want them. They are prone to flopping when they are top heavy with blooms, so make sure it's ancjored well if it's in a windy spot.
dbarron
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Yes Jay, you know I refuse to learn names that didn't exist when I was learning names *lol*. I was aware the name was now deprecated, but wasn't gonna go look it up.

Thanks for confirming my wild theories. I'm also pleased that I have successfully grown these things, this is a new record. My previous record was probably about 20 days *lol*.
Jay 6a Chicago
last year
I don't recall how Campanula americana appeared in my garden, but now I just collect handfuls of seeds and scatter them in areas where I want them. Only a few will germinate from hundreds of seeds and it's always the right amount. The seed pods are like mullein and figworts, full of tiny seeds. I had a group of tall bellflowers growing out of a carpet of Virginia Creeper that looked stunning. Bumblebees love them.
dbarron
Original Author
last year
It's been my past history to buy plants that would flower same year (ie since biennial) and they typically died and melted long before seeds were mature. So...hopefully 'in-situ' culture works better. So far so good. It's all an experiment.

For the past ten years I'd had coreopsis lanceolata spreading unchecked in the front yard (to the point they were crowding out grasses..which was fine with me). We had this big time drought last summer, but that shouldn't have been the end of them. Maybe a disease? In any case, I haven't a single CL left in the front yard. I can't believe it..and where did all the seed produced last year go (besides into the goldfinches)?