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unknown plant
linda roberts
Posts: 6
in Plants
Hi some years ago went walking n Manchester with my daughter and saw fab plant by a river ranging in different rates of growth. I would never take a plant from the wild unless they were in abundance
I took a small seedling and wrapped n wet tissue brought it home to my garden in Wrexham.. the plant grew steadily but remained about a foot tall.
this year however with all the rain it is nearly six feet tall and so beautiful besides the pond.
1. does anyone know the name of this plant?
2. will it die now or come back.
3. will it seed?
4. can I grow new plants from seed or cuttings?
it looks like angelic in its stem formation and now with that they tend to last 2yrs.
0
Posts
giant hogweed
it's a beast of a thing. the sap can be a major skin irritant and it seeds prolifically . personally, as dramatic as it undoubtedly is, I'd get rid of it.
It's also an offence to grow it in the wild or to cause it to spread. It really is a beast.
The sap really is dangerous - please be careful http://www.nonnativespecies.org/index.cfm?pageid=152
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
http://www.uk-weedcontrol.co.uk/giant_hogweed.htm
You need to get rid of it and do it very carefully as Dove says.
Oh dear- I wonder if there is something similar and safer Linda could plant in its place?
I grew this for a while many years ago and I've dealt with it in other peoples' gardens, one in particular had a fine stand. It's never attacked me but I think it has times when it's more or less nasty. It's photosensitive. I'm not sure if that's an accurate use of the word but the rash is made worse in sunlight.
A lot of the family are like that to some extent, celery for one. Celery rash is a condition of market gardeners, my son got it on a holiday job when he was a teenager. My mother says I got it from cowparsley as a child but never since and I've handled enough of it
I stopped growing it because it seeds everywhere, not because it hurt me
In the sticks near Peterborough
try rheum palmatum, or gunnera manicata for similar effect
I've seen a child badly 'burned' by this - I treat it with real respect.
I would cut it down, but only on a dull day and when wearing good protective clothing and eye protection.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
get rid of it quick before it seeds, otherwise it'll take over!!
I've had personal experience of the chemical burns it can produce when the palm of my right hand pealed off after exposure to the sap, not pleasant at all!
Sounds like the inspiration for triffids!