Unidentified Tall large leaf 'Beanstalk' in Hostas

by tina payne
(blairsville, ga)


Every summer a tall (as tall as our garage), large leafed 'beanstalk' grows mysteriously in my hosta bed. This year there are two of them! My husband pulls them up by the root and still it comes back!!!

Stop pulling them up - you're encouraging them!

I don't know what this could be - my first thought was maybe Hollyhock (Althea rosea), which get really tall, but they are biennial (taking two years to flower), and you would be able to identify it from the flowers which are spectacular and trumpet shaped all up the stem.

The leaves don't really give much away, except for the size, could they be some kind of tree?

It also resembles Castor Beans (Ricinus), but those are an annual, and wouldn't come back every year.

You don't say what happens if you leave it; does it die back to the ground? Branch out? Flower? Maybe that would tell you what it is, if it's some kind of perennial.

That will be your mission, should you choose to accept it; let it reach it's full height, and pay close attention to any flowers, and if it dies back or keeps growing the following year.

Sorry I can't help with it but I'm really curious as to what it will turn out to be!
Jacki


Edited to add; I found this picture of hollyhock on Dave's Garden Website; it might not be exactly the same kind, but the leaves look close, for sure; Hollyhock.

Comments for Unidentified Tall large leaf 'Beanstalk' in Hostas

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Jul 06, 2013
 Sunflower or hollyhock...no flowering clues yet.....
by: Tina Payne

We have never let it just do it's own thing because it is between the garage and walkway and really takes up a lot of space! When it gets too big we jerk it out of the ground. We are going to try and let it grow to see what it could be. So far we are thinking a giant sunflower or hollyhock, since I have planted both of these in the past but never had much success with either. I will keep you posted.

I wouldn't think a sunflower would keep coming up year after year - they are annuals, and if you pull it out, that would be the end of it; however, it's possible that you somehow have more seeds germinating every year.

I'm still leaning towards Hollyhocks...
Jul 14, 2013
 "Beanstalk"
by: Kristie

It looks like a Paulownia tree to me. We had them in our yard where I grew up in western KY. They are very fast growing and somewhat invasive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulownia

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