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| I realize to most this isn't anything special, but it is the only thing other than dirt that grows under the 8 horrible pines at the side of my house. I'd like to divide it up and get it to take over there.
Any suggestions what it is so I can research best ways to divide? Thanks in advance! |
Image link: Can you help? (51 k)
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I believe it is bedstraw, Galium sp. I assume it is growing wild, and not something planted there? I grow our native bedstraw as a ground cover...it spreads all by itself. I'm not sure how easy it would be to divide and move...I just moved ones that were dug up when I was digging a hole to plant something else, and didn't pay much attention to whether each individual clump lived or not when I moved it. |
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| correct, is this something I would be able to purchase and plant in that area so as not to disturb the patch that is already growing good? |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Tue, May 29, 12 at 14:42
| Bedstraw is a bit different (and a lot more weedy) than the cultivated form of galium - Galium odoratum, aka sweet woodruff. A very common shade loving groundcover, although it can be an overly aggressive spreader in some situations. You can purchase it easily at any retail outlet that sells a selection of groundcovers but I wouldn't worry about transplanting either. IME, this is an extremely tough plant and just a small rooted portion laying on the ground can establish and form a dense colony. One of the other common names for bedstraw is stickywicky (also catchweed, velcro plant) and that is a good thing to keep in mind when differentiating the weed from the cultivated species. Galium aparine - the weed - has tiny but rough, hairlike structures on leaves and stems that are responsible for its grasping nature ('aparine' comes from the Latin word 'to grasp'). Sweet woodruff lacks these grasping hairs and has a much lower and more dense growth habit. |
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- Posted by fatamorgana Zone 5/6 (My Page) on Tue, May 29, 12 at 15:40
| Just to be clear, the picture is of sweet woodruff, Galium odoratum. FataMorgana |
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| Don't know about other sources but the usually thorough Arthur Lee Jacobson does not actually list bedstraw for Galium aparine in Wild Plants of Greater Seattle - Second Edition (2008): Cleavers (Galium aparine)...Velcro plant is the modern name for this clinging weed, unmatched in its ability to clutch. Unmistakable and fascinating, it is also known as cling rascal, sticky willie, gripgrass, catchweed, hayriff, goosegrass, beggar lice, robin-run-the-hedge, sweethearts, sitck-a-back, sticky bobs, and gentleman's tormentors |
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| A quick google of typing in Bedstraw and weed came up as a choice for it immediately. Seems Catchweed Bedstraw is a pretty popular common name for Galium aparine. Remy |
Here is a link that might be useful: Bedstraw Weed Google Results
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- Posted by fatamorgana Zone 5/6 (My Page) on Tue, May 29, 12 at 21:02
| I recently heard people calling G. aparine "farmers' corsage" - I hadn't heard that name for it before. I've also read that "goosegrass" is a common name for it as well. Gee, that one will make for some confusion since other plant(s) are called that as well. I love the color of common names but it can make it pretty darn confusing to know if you are all talking about the same things. :) FataMorgana |
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