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What on Earth is this?
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Posted by
Fionamck none (
My Page) on
Thu, Oct 25, 12 at 8:58
Dear All,
I planted seeds from a rosehip (taken from a wild rose in northern England) into two long troughs on my balcony in Hong Kong (lots of sunlight and warmth). Plants with huge, soft leaves came up within weeks, then produced tiny buds and then little pale yellow flowers with dark patches (part of the flower, not a disease) on the inside of the petals - see attached photo. They are not like any rose I have ever seen and certainly not like the parent bush. Have they mutated because of the different climate, are they roses at all, or did the planting of the seeds coincide with the germinating of weeds that somehow got into those two troughs (but nowhere else...)?
Very confused and would appreciate any suggestions. I'm sorry the photo is a little blurred, I was trying to focus on the leaves, too, as they are large and soft and most unrose-like.
Thanks,
Fiona |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: What on Earth is this?
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| Certainly not a rose--there were other seeds in your potting mix. You might check out the mallow family. |
RE: What on Earth is this?
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- Posted by seil z6b MI (My Page) on
Thu, Oct 25, 12 at 9:52
| It looks a lot like my sweet potato. 
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RE: What on Earth is this?
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Thank you, Seil and Michaelg, I appreciate your replies. I'm not sure it is large enough for a sweet potato, though your photo looks remarkably like another unidentified plant on my balcony (yes, I am completely new to gardening; I'm just pleased if anything actually survives when I plant it). The mallow family - I've done some searches on the internet and yes, this looks like it might be it. How bizarre. I cut open haws and planted those into the troughs, there wasn't any seed mix, but it could have been the potting mix I got from the shop. Curious.
Many thanks,
Fiona |
RE: What on Earth is this?
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| Hi Fiona, seeds of many plants blow easily in the wind, or may even have hitched a ride on your hands or clothes. A bird may have even moved them from the one trough to the second. I find tree seedlings at the top of my hill in my roses from trees growing several hundred feet down the slope. I read many years ago they found hybrid Bermuda grass seed in the Jet Stream, tens of thousands of feet in the air, over the Pacific Ocean. Not naturally occurring, but man made hybrids. It is entirely logical to get weeds and other plant seeds germinating in your potting soil. It's just "Nature's way". Kim |
RE: What on Earth is this?
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| Definitely looks like some vegetable. You'll have to see what you reap! |
RE: What on Earth is this?
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| OKRA! which is a mallow relative. |
RE: What on Earth is this?
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| My okra has much larger flowers than that. But it does look like a mallow of some sort. |
RE: What on Earth is this?
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| It is DEFINITELY in the Mallow family. Which it is, I don't know, but it is a Mallow. Kim |
RE: What on Earth is this?
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Thanks all, for taking the trouble to reply. Kim, thanks for the insights into seeds in potting mix; it makes sense. I've looked at mallows on the internet; certainly looks like it, but my flower petals do not seem separate, rather it looks like one continous petal with little stripes. But yes, mallow looks the closest. Would be nice if it was okra, since I am a big fan of it in my food...
Cheers,
Fiona |
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