Mysterious renegade plant

[katanoate]

Hi there!

Due to a misunderstanding with a plant-sitter, some of my VFT's are now at death's door. BUT, they are in fact still alive, with very small but strong new growth coming out, and they will hopefully be nursed back to health by the summer.

The strange thing is...one of the VFT's ended up having some completely strange plant growing right next to it, and I have no clue as to what it is. The renegade plant seems to be flourishing, and I was hoping someone on the forum might be able to identify it. I've posted photos here:

http://www.katanoate.net/images/VFT/IMG_2065.jpg
http://www.katanoate.net/images/VFT/IMG_2067.jpg

Thanks so much for any ideas,

-K

 

[pingman]

Looks like a weed to me!
Peter.

 

[macamus3]

Looks like a weed to me too.

 

[katanoate]

weed!

Haha...and here I thought it would be something cool. =) Should I clip it at the base? Pluck it? Set it on fire?

 

[Not a Number]

Pull it out. Your potting mix is sphagnum peat moss and perlite/pumice/sand - free of fertilizer - correct?

 

[katanoate]

Yes it is. Thanks everyone for the input! I'm sad it's not a cool plant, but happy to get rid of a weed.

 

[jimscott]

Largus weedus. Welcome to TF!

 

[Alien1099]

I notice that the original poster's VFTs are in unglazed pots. I read somewhere on here or elsewhere that they can adversely affect your VFTs due to the soil pulling "stuff" out of them. Is there any truth to that?

 

[Not a Number]

There are many lines of thought on this matter.

The pots are fired and should be inert.

However, one should never serve acidic foods in unglazed earthenware because stuff like lead will leach out. Even glazed earthenware should not be used to store acidic foods. So some leaching under the right conditions can occur.

Another thought is that since the unglazed pots are porous dissolved solids will accumulate in the pot material and go back into solution when wet.

And since they are porous the media dries out faster.

If you flush the media with top watering and not allow the runoff to accumulate (e.g. a tray) dissolved solid build up should not be a problem. It's just easier to use plastic or glazed pots.

 

[katanoate]

weed RIP

It's a relief to have my VFT free of the pesky weed. Look at that root!

http://www.katanoate.net/images/VFT/IMG_2069.jpg

 

[katanoate]

and thanks, Jim! TF rocks.

 

[yaric]

Go plant it outside! Weeds deserve to live too...