Hi, would love a name for this shrub, which is flowering right now in the Waitaks. It has quite fleshy (rather than woody) stems and is spreading enthusiastically. Seems to be semi deciduous. If it is a weed erradication info also appreciated. Thanks in advance.
It appears that it maybe one of the Salvia family, but other than that I can be of no help. Sorry, good luck
zirconium,
Mar 5, 5:21am
Could be, but it doesn't really die back in winter like the small mints do. Also, the stem is not really fiberous nor at all square. Do all the salvias have square stems?
ro42,
Mar 5, 6:32am
Are the leaves scented or smelly at all? It looks like one of the amistad salvias
zirconium,
Mar 5, 6:53am
Thanks ro42, the leaves and stems look VERY similar to that. Only a faintly pungent smell, i think when the stems are crushed. - It is growing in the native bush, and in my opinion is taking over a bit. However, salvia sadly doesn't seem to be on the pest plant list. Might have to keep my destructive tendencies for the ginger, lol.
oh_hunnihunni,
Mar 5, 7:33am
It is a salvia (I want a cutting lol), not noxious, or a weed as such but many salvias are serious takeover artists and without stern discipline can be dangerous companions in any garden. I am addicted to them, they're the largest of the plant families and with so many varieties it makes them a fascinating subject for the collector. there's a salvia for every environment, if not several.They also interbreed easily enough, so new forms are available all the time. Your's is a particularly striking colour - it'd look fantastic with my dark purple, lol.
oh_hunnihunni,
Mar 5, 7:38am
Btw, haul it out after cutting back, and remove all pieces to eradicate. It strikes very easily from careless cuttings, and I suspect that's how it got started. Pick the pretty flowers, carry them along a ways and drop them further along into some nice damp leaf litter and hey presto a new plant.
I've struck viable cuttings from day old rescued garnish, lol.
piquant,
Mar 5, 9:17am
My feeling is that it is Plectranthus (probably ecklonii) which is on the weed list in your area. Sorry, but you'd be in large do-do's if you propagated it.
Sure it doesn't stink? Looks exactly like wooly nightshade to me. If you squash the leaves it smells like diesel.
The flowers - rather pretty - become berries which turn yellow when ripe. It's highly poisonous although not to birds who happily eat the berries and spread the damn stuff everywhere. And yes, on the MUST remove list - not just the pest plant list.
zirconium,
Mar 6, 5:08am
Hi all, thanks everyone. Definitely NOT wooly nightshade or buddleia. Sadly, i'm all too familiar with getting rid of them both. Buddleia doesn't produce very many flowers (none that i've seen) in the bush. - You have to go by the very soft wood and white undersides of the leaves. Wooly nightshade does have a much stronger smell, which is why it is also called the kerosene plant. WN has quite fluffy leaves. This has soft dull leaves, so it probably not a plectranthus either. :( oh_hunnihunni, you are WELCOME to it, it grows more than 2m tall, sob. Will have to stop hubby attacking it with the weed eater! - Pretty convinced it is a giant salvia. I've got peppermint growing wild elsewhere, maybe we can breed giant peppermint? :)
lythande1,
Mar 6, 6:19pm
Hope you're right. you also said: "spreading enthusiastically."
Indicates a weed to me.
ro42,
Mar 6, 10:07pm
yes, I think you're right - I couldn't remember the name! That's why I asked whether the foliage had a smell - plectranthus sometimes does. Pretty though!
grassman,
Mar 6, 10:38pm
Send photo to Geoff Genge at Marshwood gardens in Invercargill. He has one of the National collection of Salvia's there so should be able to confirm if it is a Salvia or not. genge@xtra.co.nz
oh_hunnihunni,
Mar 7, 3:34am
I'm already fighting the good fight with my enthusiastic acquisition of a red pineapple sage that I thought would work well with my dark purple. I swear those two triffids are laughing at me everytime I water them. Still, the prunings fade back to nothing when I drop them, and I do love the salvias. If only I had acres again.
I don't know how to upload pictures so that they show up large sorry. :( - That salvia is very pretty.
The flowers here are on branched stalks, and the stalks of the flowers themselves are purple. The flower stamens are white or cream, and poke out well beyond the extent of the petals.
Anyway, pretty sure it is a salvia, and is not therefore removable in covenanted bush.
zirconium,
Mar 7, 7:26pm
Thanks grassman, i wanted it to be something i'm allowed to eradicate. :( It will definitely be a salvia of some variety. - They do cross pollinate a bit so can look different and have differing pungencies in different environments. Thanks all!
oh_hunnihunni,
Apr 28, 11:47am
Yup. Closest I could find fast online. Pretty thing - but then I think all salvias are pretty things, lol.
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