What are these invading the plot?

[Westi]

My plot is full of these at the back, last year they blew toward the front & I had little plants everywhere. Easy to pull straight up when tiny, but last year they were hidden under the Rhubarb & difficult to remove when the Rhubarb died down as put out horizontal roots which were hard to track back as snapped off. Still have them popping up there, fortunately the back where they have accumulated this year is not so covered so I can see any little plants & seeds & remove them.

I can guarantee they are no variety of Gum Tree, but I have no idea what trees & shrubs are in the hedge row, especially now the farmer is not cutting them back due to the railway work in this area.

4yfWFYgXQsKT%W5KE2Upuw.jpg (3.75 MiB) Viewed 3615 times

Thanks in advance!

[Primrose]

Just pray they're not sycamore seedlings - don,t think so or you,ll have a sycamore woodland in no time. I think they shed double "propellor wingsL when they shed their seeds.

[peter]

Closest two matches match I can find in the Phone App "LeafSnap" are:

1 Sibthorpia Peregrina AKA Madeira Moneywort, "it forms dense mats of finely pubescent leaves and miniature yellow flowers."

2 Bramble.

[Westi]

Someone looked it up on their phone & felt the little plant & catkin & seeds are not related & the plant is likely to be Field Maple, but like Bramble neither have the rose tinge to the leaves like these, even though leaf shape is similar. I might add others I asked came up with completely different things as usual. My only option is to pull the wee plants as I see them I suppose & just check the seeds are empty pods & remove any of the others. As if there isn't enough to do!

Only another 12 months or so until the extra rail line is completed & the railway will be out of the field & the farmer can attack the hedge row & control the spread of these invaders.

Many thanks!

[oldherbaceous]

They also look like, Heuchera seedlings!

[retropants]

that's what my brain and later the leaf ID app told me! Not sure about the catkins though, but there are loads in the park where I walk.....I'll see if I can find out any more....!

[oldherbaceous]

And I think the catkins are Poplar Catkins…..

[Westi]

I can add that whatever they are they are good at spreading. My neighbour strimmed my front for me so I thought I might as well tackle these flower beds so they look nice. More time spent trying to remove an accumulation of these all around one of the roses than general weeding. These leaves were bigger with no pinkish tinge but quite a vivid lime green & the root snapped really easily so I could only really follow them in clear areas, so only took them back to the fence line . The root is not very deep but hard to find the wee broken bits & lots intertwined with the rose roots. No satisfaction digging these as unlike bind weed you just can't follow the root as it seems just looking at them makes them snap.

I got everyone passing the plot to have a look at them for me to help ID them but all differing results. I think I may just paint them with weed killer to try to control them as at least that should stop the root snapping & creating more as with any luck should follow the root. I'd prefer not too, but when needs must & I won't be spraying so should be OK as controlled target. I'm pretty sure this will need a several paint jobs as I believe the new weed killers have a time limit to their effectiveness now so benign if accidentally find their way to the water ways.

[retropants]

The catkins at the park are all fallen underneath a maple/acer type tree.

[Westi]

Re-enforces that they could be field maple then. Thanks for taking the time to look retropants!

[oldherbaceous]

Just to confuse things a little more, I have a hedge that is field maple and it doesn’t have catkins and the seedlings don’t have hairy stems, or long, thin white roots!

[Westi]

It's driving me batty trying to figure out what it is, maybe something was disturbed on the railway embankment & blew my way? When I have caught up with the chores I shall get on with painting the older ones. I note they are also on the neighbours side as well & outside his fence line....probs trying to figure out how to turn around & advance the other way on my plot that is clear to date!