This is one of those weeds that you see and don't know the name of, it looks a bit like a cabbage of some sort but it's grey green and hairy and even black pepper and butter wouldn't help. We're not doing a great job of talking it up here but there is something rather ornamental about it, in fact it would look smart in your border in amongst all of the more cosseted plants that generally go into your garden.
We'll follow this specimen with interest and see what develops but we suppose that really we are at the wrong end of the growing season to monitor real progress. A better plan might be to dig it up, pop it in a large pot in the greenhouse and see what develops.
I'm sure it has yellow flowers on a long stalk but then again…
Probably verbascum as your describe John
ReplyDeleteYes, Verbascum thapsis, the Common Mullein. They have a very long tap root so sometimes tricky to transplant. Biennial so the plant grows the rosette in yr 1 and then sends up the huge spike of yellow flowers in yr 2, then dies. The many 1000s of tiny seeds remain viable for decades! Drought resistant and needs very little soil to survive. Look out for Mullein Moth caterpillars munching the leaves next summer!
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