Is this a weed?.... HELP PLEASE!!!

[Claireycsi]

Hello,
I've attached some pics of this plant / weed that crops up year after year. It grows like wildfire, even if I try cutting it down. It also grows from dead wood / stems from the year before, looks very much like a clematis ( & grows in amoungst my own clematis, but grows from the ground, not my pot)




Pics look a bit small, so you may need to click on them for a better look!
Any help as to whether this is a clematis / JK, or any other type of weed would be much appreciated!!
Thanks,
Claire x

[nightshade]

It looks like another Clematis to me, an earlier one than the others and well established. I would like to see the flowers when they come please.

[Claireycsi]

Ok thanks Nightshade, last year I just let the plant mingle in with my current clematis' so didn't really pay much attention to whether it actually had flowers of it's own or not!! oops. Won't chop it down just yet then
Many thanks x

[Gill Catton]

A weed is just a plant you don't like anyway. There's no defined definition I certainly wouldn't get rid of a plant because someone else said I should.

I quite like teasels for example, a plant many would remove in horror (and the plant sea-holly in its place!!)

Also things like bitter cress and chickweed are yummy in a egg sandwich or salad so have stopped being weeds to me and become a crop

[Dorts]

Claire, your plant is certainly a Clematis and is probably one of the large-flowerd varieties. Just let it wind its way up, (might need a bit of string or trellis to help it on its way), and hopefully you will be rewarded with some spectacular flowers in June/July.
Dorts.

[Claireycsi]

Oh Dorts, thank you sooo much, (thanks also to Gill) you've made my day, it grows 100x faster than my other clem's which is why I had my doubts, Will let it do it's 'thing' & will pay more attention to it this year!! Maybe it's flowers got lost amoungst my other clems in previous years! Thanks again for your help, Claire x

[Dorts]

The 'worst' it could be is our native Clematis, 'Old Man's Beard' which although quite vigorous, is not unattractive, and the bees love it.
Dorts.

[Hedera]

It could be one of the Montana clematis, which grow vigorously. It may have been in the ground before you put your pot on top of it!

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Dorts

The 'worst' it could be is our native Clematis, 'Old Man's Beard' which although quite vigorous, is not unattractive, and the bees love it.
Dorts.

Yes and it's fluffy seed heads look good in an autumn flower arrangement too