There have been gardening moments when I considered the thistle to be the worst among weeds since, once established, no amount of digging or pulling up could get rid of it. So it is with some trepidation that I preserve this plant:




It's a thistle with very pale gray foliage. It's sculpturally beautiful. I love the way the purplish lavender flower echoes the gray foliage.
It lives in a barren spot where absolutely no other plant will grow. Last year there was one. This year three. And suddenly I have begun wondering if allowing them to live is going to prove a mistake.

Ideas?

I did make that mistake with a nice "flowering" weed which turned up in my wildflower garden. It was a big mistake! It seeded itself so well, it took me three years to get ahead of it. I still occasionally find a seedling. If you like the appearance have you ever considered globe thistles? They are very attractive and soft spined, and at least here easily controlled. It is Echinops.

It's a good idea to consider Echinops. I think Annies Annuals & perennials has them.

Steve, what is your thistle? Is it a native or an introduced invasive in your area? That would greatly affect my decision whether to let it grow or not.

Deb,

Great question! I think it is native. I've never seen a thistle with foliage that is quite so gray. Furthermore, it is in a part of my property that is completely wild - though I cultivate a few plants fifteen feet away. Because much of the land in this area consists of granite boulders bigger than a large house, much is left to nature here. Among the thirty closest neighbors the closest thing to turf is one small patch (10' x 14' ) of green astroturf that someone has set some outdoor furniture on. It's on a flat terraced area that, I think, reminds them of a place far away.

Are there thistles that make chemical substances that kill neighboring plants? I know black walnut trees do. Scrub oaks? I ask because I'm trying to figure out why this little patch of soil (not 100 square feet) is so uniquely barren. And why everything downhill from there dies, especially after a good rain. Is it that there's some terrible secret about the soil in that spot? Are thistles one of those frontier plants that grow "where no plant has grown before" and help transform infertile land to fertile, much as certain sunflowers do? Suddenly these thistles which I had only peripherally admired have taken on a whole secret life of their own...

Sounds like you have a bit of a mystery, which is always rather fun. I'd just let it be (since you like the looks of it), take more photos, research, and see what you find out. Keep us informed!

I was hoping it was a Cobweb Thistle. They are California natives with red flowers but otherwise look a lot like yours.

But I suspect its a Scottish Thistle (Onopordum acanthium)

That seems like a good guess, Daisy. If I were trying to raise cows on my range I'd be very worried. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

I believe I would allow it to stay within boundaries.

Bees and other pollinators are drawn to thistle blooms which would be my reasoning.

Within boundaries would mean I would uproot any escapees that invaded my garden/flower beds.

Perhaps the bloom could be cut off and disposed of before the seeds became airborn.

Can you tell if your plant is a perennial or biennial? That might be a good way to narrow your choices.

If it is a Scottish Thistle (Onopordum acanthium), then it is a biennial.

I like the idea of nurturing bees in the garden. I'm thinking that maybe birds will like the seeds. I'll deal severely with it when it actually tries to move into my cultivated areas.

Not sure that the birds have any use for the thistle seed... other than as nesting material...
That thistle seed that people purchase for their birds isn't the same thing.

Having said the above, I would still keep the thistle... for the reasons you mentioned... great photo op... when the bees and butterflies find the plant...

At my house, I brought out some thistle seed collected in town growing along the roadside... I got one to grow... and the next year? nada...

I tried it in a better location in the garden, and it's a success!

I do some deadheading on the thistle... don't really want an entire garden of it...

The goldfinches really enjoy the seeds from the globe thistles. I think they enjoy most thistle seed, as long as it is fresh.

I'm fond of goldfinches; appreciate the advice.

Steve : Read up on Yacon's. Its a thisle. Tastes like artichoke. You can eat the buds, leaves, and tubers.
Its Perrenall if protected and ground dosent freeze.
Theres different varities. I had to go through 3 seed companies to find a variety that would ship to california.

Yacon is a daisy.

It's both a root and a daisy. I knew it was a root and now I know it is a daisy. Amazing the things I learn in spite of my grey hair. Thank you.

Daisy : WHAT? Is it a daisy and thistle both ???😮???
Are we talkin about the same animal hear ???
😎😎😎

https://www.cultivariable.com/...
Not a thistle.

I have wild Smallanthus growing at my house... Known locally as a bear's foot flower.


Smallanthus uvedalia
I actually thought it was a silphium... until I found an ID.

The only thing they have in common is a family name

Yacon
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Millerieae
Genus: Smallanthus

Thistle
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cynareae
Genus: Carduus, Cirsium and Onopordum

And to demonstrate my point:

Lettuce
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Cichorieae
Genus: Lactuca