Is this thing a weed or?

[redleader74]

So recently I found this thing growing out of the pebbles and dirt next to be garage. It's not near my front or back lawn and there's nothing else growing in this spot. At first I thought it was a weed, which it may well be, but I really don't know enough about plants to know what this thing is. It's very firm and robust and is continuing to grow without any involvement on my part. Can someone help me identify this?

[MorpheusPA]

Do you want it growing there? If not, it's a weed.

I've no idea what that actually is, although it's actually fairly attractive.

[ken-n-nancy]

MorpheusPA beat me to the punch. Basically, a weed is simply a plant growing where it isn't wanted. Wikipedia says "A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, 'a plant in the wrong place'."

So, a few takeaways from the above:

1 - any given kind of plant isn't fundamentally a weed. In my yard, if there are tiger lilies or violets or strawberry plants growing in the lawn, they are weeds! On the flip side, grass which has spread into the tiger lily bed is a weed.

2 - you get to decide what is a weed and what isn't a weed in your yard. As Morpheus said, "Do you want it growing there? If not, it's a weed."

Personally, if that was in that sort of area in my yard, I'd be curious about what it is and would let it grow more until it flowers or produces something which makes it identifiable. I'd then decide if I wanted to transplant it to a place I'd like it to be, or if I wanted to pull it out to get rid of it.

[Riverpilot]

Looks like a daylily to me. I have quite a few planted on the side of my house. They will flower as the season continues. Cut them back in the late fall, and they'll grow back every year.

[redleader74]

Looks like a daylily to me. I have quite a few planted on the side of my house. They will flower as the season continues. Cut them back in the late fall, and they'll grow back every year.

Ok thanks! I have discovered a second one in my backyard and they've both gotten really big. And yes, I've been waiting to see if suddenly a nice flower will come out of it. I just doesn't have that "weed" feel to me. At this point is it actually possible to dig it out and plant it into a pot (assuming you are correct and that it's a flower and not a "weed")?

[MorpheusPA]

Theoretically, daylilies can be potted up, but dislike very cold winter temperatures combined with wet conditions, which will cause rotting in a pot. To me, your January temperatures are an amusing joke (we call that a nice evening in October), so they shouldn't have any issues in a pot at all.

In your climate, they may not go dormant at all, and that's fine. If they do, try to keep them on the dry side, but not completely dusty-dry. Water once a month or so.