Is this a (beast of a) weed?

[MeOnSea]

Hello, I’ve tried a few plant identifiers to no avail. We have a wild bit at the bottom of our garden, a mix of weeds and wildflower seeds. This beauty is narrow and very tall - about 6 feet at the mo - and just wondered if anyone knows what it is?

Technically most wildflowers are considered weeds when they grow somewhere the gardener doesn't want it. So do you like it or not?

I'm not sure what it is but I have something that looks similar in my wildflower 'meadow' area. Leave it and see if it flowers, it might be easier to identify then.

I have no problem with weeds (we certainly have more than our fair share) but after a couple of years of battling ground elder since moving on, figured it would be good to know if it’s horribly invasive

Poss a willowherb, but not sure which one. The jagged leaves are confusing me!
Mere will know...

If that's rosebay willowherb, which I think it is, then woe betide you if you let it flower and set seed. You will have a hundred thousand of them next year.

They look sensational as massed ranks of them all together in flower on a railway embankment or waste ground, but you don't want that in a domestic garden.

Google suggests it may be a sedge - possibly Canada Goldenrod?

I have some alot in my garden and cant decide of their weeds or not

Maybe let it flower so bees can enjoy it and you can identify it, and pull it up before it seeds if you want rid of it.

Rosebay willowherb have straightsided leaves and don't usually fork so they just have a single stem.
Horseweed ? which I think is found in the uk - my search engine brings up mostly US stuff.

Could be great willowherb though not sure leaves are right for that.

www.seasonalwildflowers.com/great-willowherb.html

Willow herb, seeds itself like nothing else around here 😡😡

Thanks all, have been googling the suggestions, can’t quite see that one’s the right fit yet, but no flowers as of yet. Looks more like the horsetail picture than the willowherbs, from googling...

It looks familiar but I don't think it's any of the plants mentioned yet - those jagged leaves rule out quite a lot. Does it look like it's got any flower buds developing?

Could it be a form of goldenrod? There’s a giant version I think.

Using your second picture (the close up one) the app called “Picture This” comes up with Guernsey Fleabane. I know very little about gardening, which is why I have this app in the first place, but have attached the description and photo from the app - hope this helps :)

@Stanislas

Could it be a form of goldenrod? There’s a giant version I think.

That looks to have smooth edged leaves too.

@MeOnSea

I have no problem with weeds (we certainly have more than our fair share) but after a couple of years of battling ground elder since moving on, figured it would be good to know if it’s horribly invasive

It would have invaded by now if it were

@MeOnSea

I have no problem with weeds (we certainly have more than our fair share) but after a couple of years of battling ground elder since moving on, figured it would be good to know if it’s horribly invasive

It would have invaded by now if it were

We have this which looks remarkably similar. It's in our cottage bed and neither of us remember planting it. 🙈. It's about 3 feet and about 18 " wide. I'll all for getting rid of it but my husband wants to let it flower before we bin it!!!

MeOnSea. Do you think it's the same as yours?

Oh It’s hard to tell, leaf shape looks similar but overall shape seems to differ: yours looks fuller at the bottom, whereas mine has been growing straight, very pole-like, until the last few weeks when it’s ‘expanded’ a bit more at the top...

catwithflowers yours looks like an aster - small blue or purple daisy like flowers

@wohmum can asters get that big? This is going to be enormous, at least 5 feet tall 😳

It would have invaded by now if it were (invasive).

It hasn't flowered yet so it hasn't has chance to invade.

Come back with a photo the millisecond it starts to bloom @MeOnSea and it's easier to identify. Then we can tell you if you need to raze your garden to the ground before it takes over actually that could make it worse if it's a pioneer plant

Ah - that does seem a bit big, ours get to about 3ft