Can anyone tell me what these Roadside Flowers are: They are in bloom now and they are Blue along the side of the road. I dig some up to put in my garden and would like to know what they are called. I thought that they had a very pretty blue flower so why not put them to work in the garden.
Roadside Flowers
Not sure what flowers you are referring to....do you have a picture?
I am sorry that I have no picture, but it is alongside the road now in bloom and it is Blue. Go on your county roads and you should see them.
I know there is a weed that has pretty blue flowers....one mans' weed is another mans' flowers!!! Or WOMAN!
Like they say a weed is a flower to a flower lover.
They are ONE of the versions of Bachelor Buttons.
Probably Cichorium intybus or common Chicory.
Not real pretty close up but great at 65 MPH..... LOL!
Ric
I would bet that you are seeing Chicory. I've always thought that it would be nice to have a chicory growing in my garden since there is almost nothing out there that is THAT color of blue. But, I've read where they are invasive. The plant can get quite large, I understand, and there is supposedly a tuber that feeds it that grows to China. Once you have it, it seems it's almost impossible to get rid of it. But I do enjoy it growing by the road mixed with Queen Anne's Lace this time of year.
Does anyone else have any experience with growing chicory for the blue flowers?
I love looking at the wild flowers along the road while driving the interstates and turnpike. I've often said to my husband that even if there were no cultivated flowers, you could still make a nice garden from the wild flowers that grow in your area.
Linda
Sounds like chicory to me too. I think they produce a taproot, and therefor probably wouldn't transplant well, but I'm sure they would be easy to grow from seed. They're very tenacious and tolerate tough conditions, so they may do too well in the garden environment and be thugs.
That's exactly what I've heard too, gemini_sage. As a matter of fact, there is a law in a nearby community that prohibits people from growing them in their yards. But, they do grow wild in this community, along the road. Wonder if the plant-police go through people's yards looking for cultivated chicory????
LOL
Then perhaps I should not grow them or even try to plant them since they are so hard to kill. Wouldn't want something that would take over and could not kill it.
Probably one best enjoyed from the car while passing them on the roadside :-)
There are two roadside flowers blooming now. One is chicory which has a form like an aster or a daisy. The other is tall bellflower. It has tall stalks of flowers. The chicory would probably transplant OK but might speard. The bellflower, I tried to transplant myself last year. It was OK last year but did not come back this year. Sigh!
I did notice that there is a Yellow flower plant along the roadside also don't know what it is? It looks like a Dandelion flower much taller.
Could it be Hypochaeris radicata AKA Common Cat's-Ear, False Dandelion?
I've seen a few around here lately.
We were out in the country today and I was able to get a good look at the blues.
Most common was chickory.
Ric
This message was edited Jul 26, 2009 10:32 PM