Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Plant ID needed but no picture........

5 replies

taffetacatski · 16/08/2010 16:28

....just back from France and saw the most gorgeous plant/shrub there which I have some seeds from in an attempt to grow here. I fear its tender though as I haven't seen any here.

The flowers are reminiscent of a very small iris or orchid, and come in a variety of colours, the ones I have seeds of have a pink outer and paler pink midrib. The leaves are a mid green ovate shape. When the flowers are over, if you pinch the base very gently, the whole pod curls up and releases its seeds.

It seemed to have a number of stems, not really woody so prob a perennial rather than shrub and was about 4ft.

I do have loads of pictures but am such a complete technophobe I can't post, I'm afraid. Any ideas as to what it may be appreciated.

OP posts:
isthatporridgeinyourhair · 17/08/2010 16:27

Himalayan Balsam?

It is pretty but a pest.

taffetacatski · 18/08/2010 07:03

porridge you are spot on. thank you

am very impressed

what a shame its a nuisance. can't believe I've never seen it before. shall destroy seeds. :(

OP posts:
RustyBear · 18/08/2010 07:10

That was all over the garden of our new house when we moved in - it took us years, literally, to get rid of it, probably because at first I liked it & tried to just confine it to one area. That never worked though & in the end I had to be ruthless & get rid of it all. I never knew what it was called though!

isthatporridgeinyourhair · 18/08/2010 08:06

It was the exploding seedpods that gave it away!

FerminaUrbinoDaza · 18/08/2010 08:34

Yeah, it's lovely but an absolute nightmare to have in the garden. You might be able to get way with having it if you were to remove the flowers when they're finished. It's be loads of work though and you'd be bound to miss some...

New posts on this thread. Refresh page