Have I inadvertently grown docks??

Discussion in 'Identification Area' started by Millie16, May 28, 2025.

  1. Millie16

    Millie16 Gardener

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    :noidea: So the label in the pot says Cephalaria gigantia but the leaves don’t match the ones I have in the garden, then I thought did I sow Verbascum? Leaves look similar but then checking on google images it’s coming up with common dock! I had initially labelled the pots back in Feb/March, but I could have very easily mixed up the seeds as I had collected them the year before. Then again I wouldn’t have collected dock seeds!! Maybe I’ll have to wait to see if they flower ?

    Any suggestions? (Other than make sure I label things properly) I find the white labels ping out of seed trays & pots when I’m watering or moving things about or critters get in amongst the trays and pots & knock the labels!
     
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    • SherwoodArrow

      SherwoodArrow Gardener

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      A photo would help us to help you :).

      I've never had a problem with the white pot labels, I use a Sharpie pen on them and push them well in the pot. :biggrin:
       
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      • Millie16

        Millie16 Gardener

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        Oh yes forget to add picture !! . I used cheap supermarket compost so maybe that had seeds in it from weeds?
         

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      • Escarpment

        Escarpment Total Gardener

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        Yup, those look like docks. If your pots were outside the seeds likely arrived on the wind. I get docks and nettles in all my pots.
         
      • Millie16

        Millie16 Gardener

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        Haha! Oh well they are probably the best nurtured docks ever!!
         
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        • Butterfly6

          Butterfly6 Total Gardener

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          Some persicaria leaves look very like docks when young
           
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          • fairygirl

            fairygirl Total Gardener

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            What a shame @Millie 16. Put it down to experience - most of us have been there, or had similar problems.
            I'd agree that it's likely they've come in from somewhere. You may have to resow your seed if you have any left, because the docks will likely have prevented germination of the seed you've sown.

            Re your labels - I find Sharpies useless for long term labelling as the weather just removes too much of the lettering. I use a Chinagraph pencil, but ordinary pencil can often be better. If you find them being removed [again - a tricky problem to sort] you could try pushing them right into the soil/compost, or even putting pots of the same plant together and then having a note on your phone [or if you're like me - in a notebook ;)] of what each group contains. It's never foolproof, but that might be a possibility, especially if you don't have hundreds of different things.
             
          • Escarpment

            Escarpment Total Gardener

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            Yes, I have a clump that I only planted a couple of years ago, and this spring I had to keep resisting the urge to pull up the new leaves.
             
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            • Escarpment

              Escarpment Total Gardener

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              I found the same with the sharpies, and also with a pen that came with the labels and was supposed to be weatherproof. Pencil lasts well. Last autumn I bought a paint pen for labelling my bulb pots and that held up through all the rain.
               
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