Is this a weed?

[Carrie76]

Before I pull it up is this a weed?

Hmm I think it is. Is it a campion?

It is a weed where I live in Canada. Spreads like mad.

Yep! It's a weed.

Thank you, thought it was but wasn’t certain!

It’s Pink Campion, more a wildflower than a weed. Butterflies love them.

I've got lots of red campion in my garden, I don't think it's that. Campions have a sort of bulbous bit behind the flower (bad description, I'm sure google image search will illustrated what I mean). The leaves and overall size don't look right for that either, though I may be misjudging the scale.

I think it's one of the small flowered willowherbs, more weed than flower.

It’s a willow herb they are really annoying-get rid!!!

I'd agree that it's a willow herb, definitely a weed and pops up in any neglected pot or ignored spot of soil.

On the plus side, it's got really shallow roots, and is easy to just pull up. I wish it was willow herb I was battling with in my garden, rather than ground elder.

www.downgardenservices.org.uk/willowhb.htm

Do you like it OP? Do you think it is pretty? Are you going to remove it because it is described as a 'weed'? This is not aimed at you personally, just a generic question really, but what constitutes a 'weed'? I have many plants in my garden which would be classed by many as 'weeds' eg Selfheal, Yellow Archangel, Hedge Woundwort, Wood Anenome, Green Alkanet, Meadowsweet.....the list goes on. But I put them there because they are pretty, are edible, smell nice, attract insects or are nitrogen fixing like vetches and wild liquorice. Don't forget that all cultivated plants that one would grow from seed or buy from a nursery stem,(pardon the pun!), from wild flowers that have been selectively bred or hybridised over the years. Some are so pretty that if one had to hand over hard earned cash for them one would cherish, nurture and show them off ...and yet many of them grow, reproduce and beautify our gardens for free! However, a good many do self seed very freely and can become overwhelming - yours, (yes, it is a Willowherb), is a case in point, and at the risk of being hypocritical is not one I would wish to have and I would remove it too!

I just pulled a lot of these out today from my dying off daffodils in pots. Never knew the name of it.

I pull out small willowherbs like the OPs, but if I get a large one (Great willowherb, I think) I'll keep it if it's in a place it suits but avoid letting it seed.

I wish I'd done that with the campion and herb Robert...

Pink or red campion. It’s a wildflower. Have never considered it a weed !

It's definitely not a campion. It's a willowherb, probably broad leaved willowherb Epilobium montanum.

It has 4 petals (divided, so it looks a bit like 8) Campions have 5 petals. No. of petals is pretty fundamental in plants (a bit like the difference in the animal kingdom between 2 legs, 4 legs, 6 legs etc), so is a good thing to take notice of when you're trying to identify.

Beekeeper1 is nearly right in saying all garden plants have been selectively bred/hybridised from wild plants - but what she hasn't said is that some of them heven't even been selectively bred or hybridised - they are wild plants - occasionally even UK ones, but usually wild plants from elsewhere in the world.

So, yes, it's up to you whether to keep or leave. I too would (and do) uproot all the willowherbs (they seed too freely), but I encourage campions - useful plants with good flower display, and of course sea campion Silene uniflora (formerly Silene maritima) has long been sold as a rockery plant.

This is red campion - note that it has 5 petals not 4. Why do people keep saying the OP's flower is a campion?

Campions can be too much of a good thing if the conditions in your garden suit them - a charming woodland wildflower may turn out to do too well!

OTOH, I do some conservation volunteering on a local nature reserve, and the main summer job is controlling Himalayan balsam. A pretty plant introduced into gardens which exploded into the wild with no natural controls. Where it's a monoculture we slash it and stomp on it(enormous fun) but if it's growing among native plants, including willowherbs, then we hand- pull. Plants you wouldn't want in your garden such as nettles and brambles are also preferable in this context.

There’s a good book Wonderful Weeds for any fans of weeds
I actually am a fan of many weeds. There is a spear thistle in my garden which I know is invasive so I will have to monitor it but the flower is popular with bees
I adore salsify and goats beard and wish they would grow in my garden. They grow everywhere else locally!
Instead I am over run with willow herb and bindweed