Hmmm What do I have here?

[Chilekat]

Greetings folks,

I hope that this is the right place for this message, I tried to make sure first! I have something in my garden and I don't know what it is. When we moved in last year this stuff was covered in white flowers and so I thought it was pretty... now it's died back over winter and starting again, I can see it looks more like some kind of invasive plant.... can anyone identify it for me please?




Thank you in advance,

Kat :-)

[2dogs2000]

Hi and welcome to WAB.
I am not a plant expert but I think the plant you have is bindweed. If I am correct it is a pain to remove.
Someone will give a positive i.d. soon.

[Chilekat]

Bindweed crossed my mind, but the flowers are small and not big and trumpet-like as bindweed flowers are....


....and thank you for the welcome :-)

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by Chilekat

Bindweed crossed my mind, but the flowers are small and not big and trumpet-like as bindweed flowers are....


....and thank you for the welcome :-)

Welcome. It is Bindweed, Calystegia species, probably C. sepium as that has the smaller white flowers.

[Chilekat]

Thanks all,

and without wishing to sound ungreatful, I'm still not convinced it's bindwees because of the small flowers and the fact that it doesn't seem to clime like a vine.

I'm more inclined to think it's something that someone just suggested to me - Houttuynia cordata.

I'd appreciate any opinions, thank you :-)

Kat

[lizard orchid]

Dear Kat,
This looks to me like one of the cultivated Persicarias. A family of plants that have members with pink flowers. Sorry not sure which species yet but when I did gardening as a job in the past I had come across this plant and divided up clumps of it during the winter months.
Sorry Aeshna5.

Brian Laney, Northamptonshire.

[lizard orchid]

The latin name for a number of this group of plants is Polygonum.

Brian Laney, Northamptonshire.

[lizard orchid]

And yes some members have white flowers in this family.

Brian Laney, Northamptonshire.

[Hedera]

Most polygonums have long heads of flowers on a stalk, not separate flowers. The leaves are not convolvulus shape. Houttuynia a possible, it's like mine which has variegated leaves. I would wait for it to flower as you liked it last year! Keep it in trim if you don't want it to spread, or put some in a pot.

[Chilekat]

Houttuynia it is!!! I've been out there for the last few hours, clearing all the dead sticky-outy bits and removing years of leaf litter and guess what I found - a really old plant label! "Houttuynia Chameleon"

Thank you to everyone who helped identifying all my plants :-)

As an aside, is Houttuynia worth keeping? it is everywhere.... perhaps I'll dig up bits some and keep others. I'm assuming it's not considered a pest as it has a label.... ?