The 1st one is a Spiderwort. The 2nd one is a Ligustrum Sinensis.

I'll have to take a better picture of the first one. I don't think the flower looks like a Spiderwort. Thanks for the Lignustrum Sinensis. I wonder why the previous owner planted it. Guess I'll be removing it.

Thanks

There are a couple of different species of spiderwort, and those petals look a little strange, but it's definitely spiderwort. Why would you remove the ligustrum, unless you're deathly allergic to the flowers? Bees love the flowers and it looks to be a variegated form. Why not try to prune it into shape and let it stay?

Small birds also love to nest in ligustrum.

I'm looking to have more of a natural/native backyard and I've read how they are invasive. I'm all for bees but I don't want the seeds spreading by birds...

Here are 3 more plants that I'm having trouble identifying. I asked someone for extra pots and they gave me these with plants in them so I'd like to figure out what they are before discarding them.

Thanks in advance!

Their are people on the forum that are much better than me at identifying plants (both by common and botanical names) but I think that first pot has at least some cherry laurel in it (at 11:00 o'clock).

I planted #2 in the ground and didn't see any finger-like fleshy roots. I'll see if they bloom and then post another picture.

Are Cherry Laurel bad? Good eyes pointing that out from the crowed picture. Anyways I re-potted it by itself and will see how it does along with the elm looking tree.

Cherry laurels and camphors are a cheap way to make a privacy hedge. They can become invasive, but it's as easy as pulling out unwanted seedlings. I like to use them for privacy because they are free and grow well without any care.

Begging to differ w/ above on cherry laurel - I have had an ongoing problem w/ the suckers from a tree that was removed. They invaded a bed next to the house & have separated a low planter wall from the side of the house. The wood is very hard & roots are about as tough as ficus. It's a very rapid grower, vigorous & prolific here - very hard to eradicate!

I have acreage and have to come up with cheap privacy ideas. I suppose it all depends upon ones needs. I have the room to let the cherry laurels do what they want. They most certainly would not be good for a small lot, next to the house, or near manicured beds.

Crape myrtle :)

Cherry laurels are probably one of my least favorite plants, because as Carolb said, they sucker like crazy, and it can be impossible to get rid of them, short of getting an excavator out. When they sprout up on the fence lines, you may eventually have to take the fence down, to get to the suckers.

Spiderwort is sometimes called Florida asparagus. If you get the more tender stems and flower heads and cook them in a little water, butter, salt, and black pepper, they're not bad at all. Best of all, they have their own pollution detector built in. If the flowers are purple, they're good. If they're pink or white, there is pollution in the area. I notice the ones that grow closest to the road are often pink.

Xentar thanks for the info! I've noticed the Cherry laurels are all coming up in pots with other plants. I'm going to remove them before they get too much to handle. The Spiderworts are growing real well in my yard. I made cuttings from one stem that fell over and hope to get some more plants going.

Here's an odd one, this came when I was trying to start zucchini from seeds outside. The zucchini never took. Any idea what this is?

I think it might be a velvet leaf (Abutilon theophrasti). The leaves look like a hibiscus and I was fooled because I put out a bunch of native hibiscus seeds along a creek bank and these started showing up ... and I ignorantly left them. Apparently it is very invasive. I'd much rather have my native wetland hibiscus to this.

Maybe do a google image search and see what you think. I ripped all of those out because I'm trying really hard to get native hibiscus to grow along the creek bank and not get over run by this guy.

Thanks, looks like Velvetleaf to me. I wonder if it came out of the zucchini seed packets, though that would be obvious with how big zucchini seeds are. First one I've seen around my yard though.

I think they were washed in during the rainy season at my place from nearby properties, but I'm not totally sure. You would certainly have noticed they weren't zucchini seeds when you were planting your seeds. The seeds are round, and small, like many wetland type hibiscus seeds. Maybe birds or other wildlife spread the seeds? Maybe someone will come along and tell us more.

Yup-velvet leaf, AKA poor man's toilet paper!

Here's a new one. I see these growing all over the place and they bloom every now and then. Anyone know what it is?

Commelina benghalensis also called tropical spiderwort or benghal dayflower. The new tips and flowers are edible. Actually, all the leaves are edible, but IME, only the tips are worth eating. Here's some info on it. Some people grow it in hanging baskets for its pretty blue flowers.

Commelina benghalensis

Spiderwort: does color change with air quality? Xentar, you sent me investigating online.

Did find this: "Spiderworts are great indicators of radiation and pollution levels because their flowers are highly sensitive to radiation and higher levels of pollution."

A different source - and note, it refers to only the stamen hairs: "The cells of the stamen hairs of some Tradescantia are colored blue, but when exposed to sources of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays, the cells mutate and change color to pink; they are one of the few tissues known to serve as an effective bioassay for ambient radiation levels."

Yet, I half-recall reading somewhere the color percentages of a field of spiderwort (e.g., 1 percent white, 3 percent pink, 96 percent blue/purple, and that the differences don't involve gene mutation.

Anyone?

That's fascinating! I'd never heard that before.

I think that the pink-flowered plant is Justicia carnea, and the vine with white flowers just starting to open is Clerodendrum thomsoniae.

Carol in Jacksonville

Lucky you, Cody!

No kidding! I should have said that, too, Irma. :) How awesome to "find" all these great plants already on the property. Many of them can be easily propagated, too.

We wrote the previous owner about how we like gardening and want to keep up what she started before she accepted our offer on her house. I think that had a lot to do with accepting our offer $10K less than what she wanted (which was still at the top of what we could afford).

I also found a gardenia bush blooming on the side of house.