That is not a tomato. It is Datura and is highly poisonous.

I agree with the ID. And it IS a member of tomato family, Solanaceae, which does contain any number of toxic plants.

Most opt not to keep this as a garden ornamental due to its rather significant toxicity.

Darn. So rare I get anything to pop up that is beautiful. I'm assuming moving it to a place in woods won't work as it needs the sun. For safe disposal I just need gloves?

I can be a forgetful gardener and do things too fast and might forget it's toxic or bump into it. The neighbor will be happy.

Thanks,

Al

You would actually need to eat some part of it in order to experience any toxic effects. But since the plant is also considered hallucinogenic and therefore somewhat appealing to those who might want to experiment with it, probably better to remove and destroy for the safety of all concerned.

Ok. Thanks GG.

I have another odd looking fern I'm going to post in another thread.

Al

if it freely seeded itself into your garden... one might suggest you not encourage it by freeing it in the wild ...

kill it ... and good luck trying to dig it out ... any piece left might well come back: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Datura+plant+roots&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

you might be best off cutting it to the ground.. and using a killer ... and if and when it pops up again ... you do it again ...

btw ... do the neighbor kids often break into your yard for food??? ... lol ...

ken

Just dig it up and watch for others sprouting in the future.

I was thinking of cutting it off at ground first. Let it dry up and shrink then putting in weed bag with other weeds for city to take away. Then dig up the root ball. Such a pretty flower and huge! If it wasn't for the kids I'd probably leave it and put a big sign on it to remind myself. Thanks all.

Since it is an annual (or a non-hardy perennial, depending on species), then just cutting off at ground level should be sufficient. Just make sure none of the spiky seedballs are left behind, otherwise it will reappear next spring.

Thanks GG.

Oh nooo don't dig it up! That's a beautiful Moon Flower! It's my wife's favorite flower and I planted one myself last year. It's come back this year even bigger. My kids help me water it once a week (ages 2,4 and 5).

Yes it's poisonous, but that's part of teaching kids. There are a lot of things that can be harmful and life lessons are crucial. However i also understand these are not your kids, nor is it your responsibility of teaching them life lessons, so you do what you think is safe.

Just know, you have a beautiful flower growing there 😁👍

Thank you! Robert!

I think so to. And I'm in a yard that is so very difficult; slopes, clay, shade and here I have this one beauty popping up in the only place where there is sun. I'm torn. The neighbor is alright with me keeping it but I can be so forgetful I fear I would grab the spiky seed ball and from what I've read you can die. I've never seen such beautiful big blooms. And it's taking over where I need help as those nice neighbors don't take care of their yard so we need it. I wish I could put it up for adoption.

LOL!! Grabbing the spiky seed ball will not kill you!! Or touching/handling any portion of the plant. You have to actually ingest - eat - a portion of the plant to suffer any ill-effects.

Ahh. I only read one article and said if you get pricked that could be really bad but I didn't research a lot. What could I propose to the neighbor with small kids? Could I put a structure around it? I know I wouldn't make the mistake of eating it. The other wrinkle is that it is near the border with my nice neighbors where I take care of about 20 sq. ft of their yard due to weeds. They will only mow. SO I have some leverage. But we get along great.

IDK what to tell ya :-)) I have no issues growing toxic plants myself but tend to be cautious about them when small kids are around. However, there is nothing about this plant that would entice a child to sample it - no appealing or colorful berries/fruit, etc. I would be more concerned about adventuresome teenagers using the plant for a cheap but potentially deadly 'high'.

I feel better about keeping it and I'll just have to talk to the neighbor. Maybe a wire fence around it will help her accept. We have no teenagers around :) We do have dogs but the plant is on outside of fence.

Thanks Robert. I'll see what I can do.

Is it transplantable/movable?

I have another area where it would get mid day sun and dappled sun all afternoon but no morning sun.

Al

I vote to keep the beauty. It will be dead come winter. If it pops up again. You can move the seedling then.

Your vote has been tabulated and is in processing.

Thank you.

It can be moved, easily actually! I got mine as a division from a co-worker

I see it all over here in north Georgia. Nobody is going to try to eat. Anyone that would (like a 2 yr old who puts things in mouth) isn’t left alone in yard anyway. I have a 3/6 year old , dogs and grow castor bean. They all leave it alone along with everything else that isn’t a berry. Even my three year old knows not to try an unknown berry without asking

I will try to convince the neighbor. Will it work with mid day sun and afternoon sun?

And when should I move it? I have a spot where it would be the star attraction all day.

Thanks,

Al

Is suspect it would do just fine where ever you put it, provided it gets at least a couple hours of direct sunlight.

You can move it now. Do it when the sun goes down in the evening. That way it isn't being scorched by the sun mid day. And give it a good soaking of water and some fertilizer to get it healing up before the end of the growing season.

Ok. I'll do it. At mid day it would get about 2-3 hours of direct sun overhead in one new spot and at late afternoon it would get sun coming in at an angle for a few hours in a second possible spot. I have some ugly azaleas I can move to make room.

Do deer know not to eat it? It will be near the deer who eat my plants!

Id hate to find a herd of dead deer. Maybe.

Thanks

They wont touch the stuff. It's pretty foul tasting.

Good luck, and post some pictures of your finished transplant when your done!

Ok. Will do. Probably this weekend after the rain. Thanks all.

It's a toxic weed around here. You see them everywhere! We get rid of every one we see, but next year they're baack!!

That's scary. So far mine and we're on year 3 is just one plant that has tripled in size. Perhaps less sun in it's new home will help keep it in check.

HI All,

Got it transplanted. It had no real rootball so I just had to carry it to the other side of the yard.

It had grown some more since first posting. And the main stem had grown horizontally along the ground so that's how I had to replant it. I assume I don't need to prop it up so it's more vertical . Watered it and didn't amend the soil.

Some pics.

The last pic is a new one coming up in old spot? Or is it something different?

Thanks

Something different :-) That is pokeweed, Phytolacca americana.

Thanks GG. Should of known as more and more of it is poking up in that area.

Another dangerously poisonous plant. In this case one that presents its berries at small child head level.

Yes. I'll be removing it. Fortunately the mother is on the ball with informing the kids. Very responsible. I assume as long as I get the tap root out then it won't come back.

Agreed, I'd also recommended removing that second one. I find them in my ground and i dispose of them.

ok