Hi: I bought a house last year (Omaha,NE), and after the winter, plants are starting to grow in my yard. The problem is that I don't know what they are, even some might be weeds, but don't want to remove them until I identify them. I need your help to identify them and find out if I should keep or remove them. Thanks
#1 Ajuga reptans #2 Narcissus #3+4 Tulipa #6 Taraxacum officinale Dandelion All spread some over time, but only Dandelion is commonly considered as an invasive weed.
1 - i don't know what it is. it's NOT a weed though. 2 - daffodils. they're a bulb and could be yellow, white or pink flowers 3 - crocus possibly. another bulb, lots of different flower color possibilities 4 - not sure - a tulip? right shape leaves, never saw tulip leaves that color though 5 - i don't know. i'd say it's not a weed though. maybe a daisy? or black eyed susan? 6 - oh! that's DEFINITELY a weed!!! a type of dandelion. has a tap root so it'll be hard to get rid of since it's in the crack in the concrete. have any rock salt handy? mix a tablespoon or so of it in water (a couple of cups worth) and let it sit until the salt disolves and then pour it on the weed. it may still come back though - because of the tap root, that type of weed is particularly hard to get rid of!! also, they have thorns on them, so wear leather gloves when pulling it up. for those that are bulbs, once the flower dies off, cut the flower stem off. leave the leaves on though as that's how they get the nutrition they need to produce blooms next year. crocus bloom first, then the daffodil and then the tulip. the two that are perennial plants, depending on what they are (and someone else will be by that can id them, i'm sure!) you can probably take the blooms off once they die and it'll re-bloom.
ahh, i was right!! someone else did come by! :) narcissus/daffodil - basically the same thing. daff's tend to have larger flowers and are more hardy in your area. my first thought for 3 was tulip...
I agree with L.plant, other than I'm not seeing #1 as Ajuga reptans - can't suggest an alternative though! Both it and #5 are driving me crazy. For #5... Lychnis chalcedonica? By the way, the striped leaves on the tulip in #4 would make it a kaufmanniana or a greigii. (By the way, narcissus and daffodils are exactly the same thing - daffodil is a common name, while Narcissus is the genus name.)
#4 looks awfully like Erythronium spp to me.... (Trout lily or Fawn lily) Compare with these ones Foliage on #5 reminds me of snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) You may have to wait until everything blooms for definite IDs
Definitely keep all but #6. #5 is not snowdrops, it's a perennial. #3, Erythronium is possible. A bulb in any case. #1, maybe shasta daisy, not Ajuga. On the off chance you're new to gardening... Clean up all the dead foliage now around the plants if you can, as they will all grow taller and spread for the season and it's hard to get behind and around them once they are in bloom. The grass should be carefully pulled up around that tulip, at least by next year. The bulbs will go summer dormant so if you think you might want to move them or do some more digging over the summer, you can mark their place.
I think Erythronium foliage tends to be more mottled as in the picture on the thread link, whereas variegated tulip foliage is generally more striped as in the given sample in this thread. Hmmm... #1 looks similar to Leucanthemum, but the spoon shaped rosette-forming leaves, and the fact that the plant appears to be stoloniferous, based on the near-equal size of the various clumps, still makes me think Ajuga. Still not sure about #5, but definitely not Galanthus (which would be finishing up blooming at this time of year), and leaves seem a bit too glossy to be Lychnis. I'm still not much help on this one though, as I still can't quite place it.
Thank you very much for the answers. I'll get rid of the Dandelion ASAP and will repost #5 in a few weeks when the plant is more defined.
