3 ms·

I’m in Adelaide and was thinking this week that agapanthus has to be the most socially accepted weed (or close enough) in town. I can appreciate the value of gr

by prawn 3y ago

I’m in Adelaide and was thinking this week that agapanthus has to be the most socially accepted weed (or close enough) in town. I can appreciate the value of greenery in a dry location though. I have jasmine as a ground over and sour sobs through it are very difficult to weed out each year. Drives me nuts. Those from the article that we get here are thistle and mallow AFAIK.

danwills 3y ago
I couldn't agree more! Agapanthas are absolutely-everywhere around Adelaide but it's hard to call it a 'weed' when people are actively-planting-them all-over-the-place! (they love our climate but I don't think they are too-invasive, thank-goodness!!!) Sure, it's a hardy-AF plant in SA (stays green, yaay) but it also completely dominates the landscape that it grows in, and has a particular smell (I'd call a stink, surely there are some that probably like the smell, so this is just an opinion). I guess it also just doesn't seem to be going-anywhere to me, sorta stuck in its meme, especially if it's meant to be there as an ornamental plant. I know it has lots of plant-relatives over in Southern Africa where it is from.. and there's some cool variety there.. where's the breeding? It seems like people in SA planting them everywhere just fell into some default-standard-Agapantha-attractor and can't climb-out. Seems like a bit of a lack of imagination to me.
danwills 3y ago
Yeah definitely see mallow around Adelaide quite a bit too! The photo for what the article called thistle looked a bit more like a dandylion-of-sorts to me, I'd usually expect thistle to be spikier, but maybe this is what young ones do look like? I've certainly seen some (very spiky, vaguely artichoke-like) thistles about in SA as well!
- prawn 3y ago
  Mallow is very common on farms and vacant blocks. Not overly ugly en masse at least. I think there might be a huge variety of thistle forms. You get the gamut from small and smooth up to the thicker, spikier ones as far as Scotch Thistles, plus low, flat ones that escape the mower like stemless thistle - https://www.google.com/search?q=stemless+thistle&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=stemless+thistle&tbm=isch In a backyard garden sense, I can cope with thistles, but things that infest soil like soursobs, mint, dichondra can get annoying. Watsonia, ivy and couch grass also give me grief.
demandingturtle 3y ago
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by prawn 3y ago

danwills 3y ago

I couldn't agree more! Agapanthas are absolutely-everywhere around Adelaide but it's hard to call it a 'weed' when people are actively-planting-them all-over-the-place! (they love our climate but I don't think they are too-invasive, thank-goodness!!!) Sure, it's a hardy-AF plant in SA (stays green, yaay) but it also completely dominates the landscape that it grows in, and has a particular smell (I'd call a stink, surely there are some that probably like the smell, so this is just an opinion). I guess it also just doesn't seem to be going-anywhere to me, sorta stuck in its meme, especially if it's meant to be there as an ornamental plant. I know it has lots of plant-relatives over in Southern Africa where it is from.. and there's some cool variety there.. where's the breeding? It seems like people in SA planting them everywhere just fell into some default-standard-Agapantha-attractor and can't climb-out. Seems like a bit of a lack of imagination to me.

danwills 3y ago

Yeah definitely see mallow around Adelaide quite a bit too! The photo for what the article called thistle looked a bit more like a dandylion-of-sorts to me, I'd usually expect thistle to be spikier, but maybe this is what young ones do look like? I've certainly seen some (very spiky, vaguely artichoke-like) thistles about in SA as well!

prawn 3y ago
Mallow is very common on farms and vacant blocks. Not overly ugly en masse at least. I think there might be a huge variety of thistle forms. You get the gamut from small and smooth up to the thicker, spikier ones as far as Scotch Thistles, plus low, flat ones that escape the mower like stemless thistle - https://www.google.com/search?q=stemless+thistle&tbm=isch https://www.google.com/search?q=stemless+thistle&tbm=isch In a backyard garden sense, I can cope with thistles, but things that infest soil like soursobs, mint, dichondra can get annoying. Watsonia, ivy and couch grass also give me grief.

demandingturtle 3y ago

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