A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 Obedient Plant... foxglove relative

What is this plant? I had listed it previously and was fairly sure that it was a liatrus. I'm thinking that the flowers are all wrong for that now. Could it be a foxglove of some sort? I always thought foxgloves were very tall--not a mere 18 inches! Thanks!!


Also, are those black things on the upper tips of the flower seeds??

The leaves dont look like foxglove but the flowers look like its related.
The black tips are the stamen, thats where the pollen is.

reminds me of obedient plant. Mine are just now blooming.
Diane

The flowers definitely look like a foxglove but the leaves look nothing like my foxglove.

Diane/Buzylady's right on the money!!!!

Obedient plant is exactly what this is! Thanks gals!! Now, does anyone know how to get seeds from it? I read that it is supposed to be an invasive plant, but it hasn't grown into any other parts of the flowerbed in the 4 years I've lived here. Thanks again!!

Just wait for the flower head to turn brown,
and brittle like..
The open cone like things will turn into round balls like and the seeds will be inside...
*very tiny if I remember correctly*

You know, I read it was an invasive plant too,
but I never had it get outta control like some plants do...

THank-you!! I already dealt with bee balm seeds, so at least I'm "practiced" with very small seeds.

Sarah

Full sun/part shade - how's the light where it's growing.

Whatever it is, it looks grand - keep it going.

It's getting about 4 or 5 hours of direct light a day and is only water by mother nature, or on the rare occassion I have the hose out that direction. It was competing with a rather large clump of irises, which I recently removed. I wonder if the obedient plant will spread more without the irises there.

I started out with a 1 gallon pot of the obedient plant. It now takes up 6ft x 3ft in my garden. I did yank some out because it was encroaching on the cone flowers. Bees and even hummers come to it. It blooms late so I like that.

Debnoel,
Do you cut the flower head or dead head the flowers?
Or do you let it just go?

Very curious?

I had some white stuff...
and cut the flower heads off..
*and really abused it actally*
and it didn't survive...

I just let it go. I didn't remove anything last fall so this spring I had to go out and cut off all of last year's stalks. I will probably remove the stalks this fall. Also I usually use that shake and feed stuff in the spring. The only problem I have had is the neighbor's cat who likes to hide in it to stalk birds! I keep chasing him away but some of the back ones got flattened by him.

I probably should have let a few go to seed,
but I didn't want it taking over the bed....
but that's a lesson I learned...
Some they say are aggressive plants, and then there ARE aggressive plants.. and just gotta find out which one's are which...