On 20/05/2020 12:27, Nick Maclaren wrote:

The one(s) that attack germinating seeds are extremely annoying, and
what I have learnt by trial and error still doesn't enable me to get
a decent emergence rate for the umbelliferae (e.g. carrots and parsley)
out of doors - and they don't transplant well :-(

Have you got something funny in the soil then?

Parsley comes up like a weed in my garden and carrots like mustard and
cress. My problem is sowing it thinly enough that I don't have to thin
the seedlings out which invites carrot flies from miles around.

Main problem I have is cats using the vegetable beds as litter trays.
And this year with it so quiet pheasants scratching around for worms!

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

In article ,
Martin Brown wrote:

The one(s) that attack germinating seeds are extremely annoying, and
what I have learnt by trial and error still doesn't enable me to get
a decent emergence rate for the umbelliferae (e.g. carrots and parsley)
out of doors - and they don't transplant well :-(

Have you got something funny in the soil then?

I assume so. The problem seems to be that my light loam dries out
very easily so, unless I keep an eye on it hour-by-hour and predict
the weather accurately, alternates between wet and dry. Established
plants can handle it - very young seedlings often can't. I know that
I have carrot fly, white rot, both kinds of eelworm, keeled slugs,
and some unidentified fungus imperfectus that hits woody plants
(especially magnolia), but none of that's all that unusual. There
are doubtless others, but soil microorganisms are one of the main
reasons that locations vary in what grows well.

Using netting to break the wind helps, somewhat. I am reluctant to
use one-time fleece, and covering seedlings with something impervious
is back to the watching continually to decide when to remove it.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Andy Burns wrote:

Think I've killed my second cordyline in 2 years

To make up for it, the bottle-brush plant is having a bumper year, and
attracting lots of bees ...

On 23/05/20 21:10, Andy Burns wrote:
Andy Burns wrote:

Think I've killed my second cordyline in 2 years

To make up for it, the bottle-brush plant is having a bumper year, and
attracting lots of bees ...

Sure is. I have a Callistemon pityoides which is flowering like mad -
best year ever. The top flowers are almost 4m above ground level.

--

Jeff

On 20/05/2020 08:57, Ian Jackson wrote:
In message , Martin Brown
writes
On 19/05/2020 17:08, Jim S wrote:
On Tue, 19 May 2020 16:10:47 +0100, Ian Jackson wrote:

This has been growing for some time in the 'wild' part of my garden
(photo here):
https://ibb.co/TgtjQj7
It's presently around 4' 6" tall, and looks like a dark green spiky
thistle. However, there is no sign of any of the usual thistle seed
heads. Can anyone tell me what it really is?
Â*Teasel?

No. They have more conventionally shaped leaves with smaller spikes on.

It is some sort of thistle. Probably blown in by the wind. It may well
be quite ornamental so long as you don't let the seeds fly again. Once
it is in flower post again and there is a good chance of identification.

From now on I'll certainly give it a bit of TLC. So far, I've tended to
ignore it - but now I'll at least give it the occasional drink of water
in the hope it will eventually flower.

As has been suggested, it could be a woolly thistle (cirsium
eriophorum). Unfortunately, most of the Googled photos concentrate on
the pretty seed heads, and few on the leaves. However, from what I can
see,Â* the leaves on my plant are distinctly more substantial and
'aggressive' than most of the other examples I've seen online. [Maybe
mine is simply a particularly healthy specimen.]

It's actually rather difficult to get a good photo of my 'thistle'.
Despite it being perfectly clear to the naked eye, when photographed it
blends perfectly into the wilderness behind it.

I am having the same problem taking a picture of a suitably brutal
angular looking field thistle that I think almost matches yours. Not
helped by them having been sprayed with thistle-be-gone by the farmer. I
think you may find its flowers are a little disappointing.

Watch out for it spreading and certainly not too much TLC.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:10:56 UTC+1, Ian Jackson wrote:
This has been growing for some time in the 'wild' part of my garden
(photo here):
https://ibb.co/TgtjQj7
It's presently around 4' 6" tall, and looks like a dark green spiky
thistle. However, there is no sign of any of the usual thistle seed
heads. Can anyone tell me what it really is?
--
Ian

Or Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgate)?
Jan

In message ,
Janet G writes
On Tuesday, 19 May 2020 16:10:56 UTC+1, Ian Jackson wrote:
This has been growing for some time in the 'wild' part of my garden
(photo here):
https://ibb.co/TgtjQj7
It's presently around 4' 6" tall, and looks like a dark green spiky
thistle. However, there is no sign of any of the usual thistle seed
heads. Can anyone tell me what it really is?
--
Ian

Or Spear thistle (Cirsium vulgate)?
Jan

Yes - that definitely looks more like it than the woolly thistle. Google
searches indicate that it can grow to 1.5m, but mine is more like 1.8 -
and it's still growing. However, I think it's now spending more time
forming seed heads.
https://preview.tinyurl.com/ydd43law
--
Ian

On 30/05/2020 12:25, Ian Jackson wrote:


Yes - that definitely looks more like it than the woolly thistle. Google
searches indicate that it can grow to 1.5m, but mine is more like 1.8 -
and it's still growing. However, I think it's now spending more time
forming seed heads.
https://preview.tinyurl.com/ydd43law

If it _is_ spear thistle, and it's forming seeds, you need to do something.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identification-of-injurious-weeds

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/7-8/54/contents

It's on a list of weeds that you are supposed to destroy; you can be
fined if you don't after a notice has been served.

Letting it go to seed might be seen as a bad move. But make sure it is
that thistle, not one of the rare ones!

Andy

In article ,
Vir Campestris wrote:
On 30/05/2020 12:25, Ian Jackson wrote:

Yes - that definitely looks more like it than the woolly thistle. Google
searches indicate that it can grow to 1.5m, but mine is more like 1.8 -
and it's still growing. However, I think it's now spending more time
forming seed heads.
https://preview.tinyurl.com/ydd43law

If it _is_ spear thistle, and it's forming seeds, you need to do something.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identification-of-injurious-weeds

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/7-8/54/contents

It's on a list of weeds that you are supposed to destroy; you can be
fined if you don't after a notice has been served.

Letting it go to seed might be seen as a bad move. But make sure it is
that thistle, not one of the rare ones!

Not really. That list of injurious weeds is effectively obsolete, and
the lack of use of those powers for a good many decades hasn't caused
those weeds to get out of control. Landowners can get a grant for
controlling the most noxious weeds, but they are Japanese knotweed etc.,
and the 1959 list weeds are NOT eligible.

https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewa...supplement-sp4

If its seeding were likely to cause trouble then, yes, remove it before
it does - otherwise, I would just let it be.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 30/05/2020 21:34, Vir Campestris wrote:
On 30/05/2020 12:25, Ian Jackson wrote:


Yes - that definitely looks more like it than the woolly thistle.
Google searches indicate that it can grow to 1.5m, but mine is more
like 1.8 - and it's still growing. However, I think it's now spending
more time forming seed heads.
https://preview.tinyurl.com/ydd43law

If it _is_ spear thistle, and it's forming seeds, you need to do something.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/identification-of-injurious-weeds


http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/7-8/54/contents

It's on a list of weeds that you are supposed to destroy; you can be
fined if you don't after a notice has been served.

Letting it go to seed might be seen as a bad move. But make sure it is
that thistle, not one of the rare ones!

Andy
I think you mean it's forming flower heads, it has to flower before it
can form seed.