Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: potatogrower on June 30, 2012, 16:54

Title: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: potatogrower on June 30, 2012, 16:54
Hi,

Found this plant growing in my garden. I'm not sure what it's called or how it got there other than maybe bird poop may have dropped seeds there but i'm interested to know its name. seems like an ideal pressie for Valentines Day  :happy:

its got long pods, green/redish heart shaped leaves and i think yellow/orange flowers. i've dug it up safely and potted it but i do hope i haven't disturbed its roots too much.

(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc426/corsamani/lottie/DSCF0862.jpg)

(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc426/corsamani/lottie/DSCF0858.jpg)

(http://i1211.photobucket.com/albums/cc426/corsamani/lottie/DSCF0864.jpg)
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: DoubleDigger on June 30, 2012, 17:06
Oxalis / Wood Sorrel....once you have it, you may never be without it - no matter how hard you try  :lol: look at the size of those seed pods !
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: jhub on June 30, 2012, 17:29
I don't mind the pink ones, it's the yellows I loathe.
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: potatogrower on June 30, 2012, 19:50
its defo yellow/orange one i have. it looks nice so thought i'd put it in a pot before the slugs or whatever is eating it. is it considered a weed or do some like it around? the pods did look very scary when i saw them today  :ohmy:
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: arugula on June 30, 2012, 20:11
oxalis indeed. had it as a houseplant once.
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: potatogrower on June 30, 2012, 21:14
oxalis indeed. had it as a houseplant once.

Hi Argyllie,

You had it once a upon a time, did you get rid of it later, if so why? just would like to know what i'm getting myself into  :unsure:

thanks,
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: DoubleDigger on June 30, 2012, 21:23
Lets just say....that if you had a 'cover' of it, when those seed pods were ripe & you were working your ground in the sun, throughout the day you would hear something which sounded like a'whip' cracking.....& that cracking whip would be the ripe seed pods 'exploding' & jettisoning 1,000's of seeds "broadcast" across your ground.

That may help you weigh up what you are getting yourself in to  :D :nowink:

Nature is a wonderful thing  ::)

Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: potatogrower on June 30, 2012, 21:54
Ah.........

they explode  :wacko:. that was left out of the small print  :tongue2:

I had an endless look on google and there was a mention seeds can travel as far as 4 metres but nothing was mentioned about exploding. i better check tomorrow and put it in the green bin. looks like one person in US has a nightmare controlling it  :unsure:
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: mattwragg94 on June 30, 2012, 22:00
exploding would be an understaitment, i brushed my hands across them and it felt like i'd been shot by shot-gun, they come out with some force and speed. unfortunately ours grow at shoulder level, so i always get hit in the face  :lol:

anyway ours are growing in the crevices of the wall, and we jut leave them, as they have lovely leaves and flowers, and it brings the child out in me when i squeeze the pods  ::)  :lol:
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: potatogrower on June 30, 2012, 22:10
matt, has it spread quite badly in your garden then, assuming you've kept it outside?
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: mattwragg94 on June 30, 2012, 22:15
well not realy, considering we have had it for years, we have a wall next to the patio, it started off on the top of the wall, now we have around a dozen plants on the wall, and its started to spread on the patio. occasionally i pull a few plants out of the wall/patio, but generally i havent found it to be too invasive  ;)
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: potatogrower on July 01, 2012, 05:58
think its best to get rid of it. i have enough heartache watching horsetail weed spread in my garden. saw japanese knotweed reappearing from my next door's after 4 years so given that a dash of roundup. last thing i want is another weed issue.
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: arugula on July 01, 2012, 09:43
oxalis indeed. had it as a houseplant once.

Hi Argyllie,

You had it once a upon a time, did you get rid of it later, if so why? just would like to know what i'm getting myself into  :unsure:

thanks,

Long time ago but if I recall it died..... no more sinister reason.:)
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: JayG on July 01, 2012, 10:17
I get it popping up here and there in my garden - it doesn't seem to be particularly invasive (although that could be because conditions aren't ideal here) although it is in my category of "more annoying than average" weeds because it seems quite happy growing in awkward nooks and crannies and rarely comes out nice and cleanly when you pull it!  :mad:
Title: Re: maroon coloured heart shaped plant - any ideas?
Post by: potatogrower on July 01, 2012, 21:38
i went to my cousin's and saw it there too. they had the yellow and orange flowered ones. we tried to make the pod pop but we were too scared as we didn't know how loud or strong it the pop would be  :nowink:. in their garden the orange flowered has spread between the slabs and in a gravel area.