Naming the enemy- ID help please

Discussion in 'Identification Area' started by earlydaze, Mar 30, 2024.

  1. earlydaze

    earlydaze Apprentice Gardener

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    I do like to know what I am dealing with- have had these grass/chive like weeds for ages but is they have really spread like wildfire this year- grass like blades (not hollow like chives) with very small bulbs that have many baby bulbs tenuously attached- which is obviously how they are spreading. I am fairly certain digging them out is only answer but would love to know what they are. Have a pale pink allium like flower- apologies for poor photo work- any ideas?

    IMG_2857.jpeg IMG_2858.jpeg
     
  2. Palustris

    Palustris Total Gardener

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    Possibly Chionodoxa (Now Scilla).
     
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    • AnniD

      AnniD Gardener

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      I wondered if they are Alium neapolitanum, but if they're pale pink, perhaps allium unifolium ?
       
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      • earlydaze

        earlydaze Apprentice Gardener

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        Based on photos I think it is unifolium- but am amazed not more people saying it’s invasive!! Many thanks all
         
      • Butterfly6

        Butterfly6 Gardener

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        Unifolium arent invasive here, they have multiplied but still only a scattered clump near to where they were originally planted. I suspect my soil is a little heavy for them so maybe helps reduce their enthusiasm?
         
      • AnniD

        AnniD Gardener

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        I have what I think are neapolitanum in a bed in the front garden. They were planted so long ago that I can't remember :dunno:, but they are still coming up in spite of my best efforts to eradicate them. They seem to be a bit like Spanish bluebells, in that they pull themselves so deeply into the soil.
         
      • shiney

        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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        Another possibility if you have grown garlic:- if any had been left accidentally to flower and gone to seed then they could be escapees and can be very invasive.
         
      • earlydaze

        earlydaze Apprentice Gardener

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        Have never grown garlic- but is amazing how vigourously these are spreading- quite far as well…
         
      • BB3

        BB3 Gardener

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        I have an invasive allium. I don't know it's official name but I have a few choice names for it and for the person who have me the selection box of alliums many years ago.
         
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        • waterbut

          waterbut Gardener

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          I have invasive chives. The previous owner must have had a herb garden they dug up and it is now growing through my lawn. At least it is green so when sitting outside after cutting the grass along with my curry bush they give the garden a lovely scent.
           
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          • earlydaze

            earlydaze Apprentice Gardener

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            Again not a great photo but this is one small area- look how dense they are!
             

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          • NigelJ

            NigelJ Total Gardener

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            Certainly got Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum).
            There are a number of nastily invasive alliums, Allium sphaerocephalum and Allium triquetrum among them, does the foliage smell?. However it is a bit early for A sphaerocephalum and A triquetrum has white flowers.
            Digging them out can be a problem as any little bulb left starts them off again, you could use glyphosate as soon as you see growth in that area and then repeat or cover with cardboard and put weed membrane and a thick mulch over the top then leave for two to three years.
             
          • JennyJB

            JennyJB Keen Gardener

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            Possibly Allium roseum? It's a thug in conditions that it likes, although sold as an ornamental. Apparently the depth of pink-ness varies - the ones I had (and probably still have but I pull them as soon as I see leaves) are very pale pink but some sellers show deeper pink in their pictures.
             
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            • earlydaze

              earlydaze Apprentice Gardener

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              I think you may be right on the money JB- flowers match perfectly- thank you! I rue the day I was taken in at Woolworths!!
               
            • JennyJB

              JennyJB Keen Gardener

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              I think mine probably came from Woolworths as well, probably in a mixed pack, when we first bought the house and I knew next to nothing about gardening but just bought what caught my eye (and was cheap enough 'cos most of the cash went on doing up the house and paying the mortgage - double figures interest rates back then).
               
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