Knowledgebase
Identify a plant in my garden #870923
Asked May 31, 2024, 11:30 AM EDT
Hello! I’m having a challenge identifying a plant that is growing vigorously by my backyard deck. Unfortunately, I didn’t document what I bought and planted last year as well as I should. I thought this was a type of bellflower I had purchased from a local garden store, but now I’m worried it is a stinging nettle or something really not worthwhile to cultivate. It has little needles along the stems, not very painful ones.
Ingham County Michigan
Expert Response
That does look a lot like stinging nettle, but I think it might be Campanula trachelium, or Nettle-leaved Bellflower.
https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/campanula-trachelium/
The main way to tell the difference between this plant and stinging nettle is to wait and look for the flower. It looks like you should know for sure within a few weeks to a month.