Last year I had $1 left on a prepaid card so purchased what was supposed to be coleus seeds from China but they were tiny round seeds so don't think were coleus, didn't sprout last year. I repotted some stuff and think the seeds were in that dirt and that is what is growing, though it could just be some random weed, it doesn't look like a typical FL weed; I have seen pods like that on weeds down here, but it wilts in the midday sun so don't know. Anyone know what it might be?

do you know for sure that these are the seeds? You may have planted the seeds, maybe they did not germinate for whatever reason but a weed grew there and you have been taking care of a weed?

It's black nightshade.

https://southern-gardener.com/... Here is a link to an article about harvesting coleus seeds, and photos of what they look like. They are tiny tiny black round seeds. They look like a poppy seed to me. They come up very prolifically if you have certain varieties. They are like a weed in my yard. I pull gobs of them every year. I suspect that they need to be very close to the surface of the soil to germinate, if there is much soil over them they won't germinate.

Frillylily said: do you know for sure that these are the seeds? You may have planted the seeds, maybe they did not germinate for whatever reason but a weed grew there and you have been taking care of a weed?

It's black nightshade.

Yep, that's it. Thanks

Ironically, for seeds purchased from China, it looks like Solanum americanum:
Black Nightshade (Solanum americanum)

This species is also called "black nightshade"
Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

Frilly, are you saying Coleus comes up like weeds in your yard, or the nightshade?

Nightshade is an alternative host plant for the tomato hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) and I consider it worth growing for that reason.



They're awfully cool...

Great pic! Looks like it likes 4'o'clocks too. Which species of nightshade? A lot of plants are called nightshade.

At my house... I just grow whatever nightshade is in the seed bank...
I found this....

https://www.rootsimple.com/201...
Unripe (green) fruit of Solanum nigrum does contain solanine and should be avoided, but the ripe fruit is perfectly edible and quite delicious. People all around the world eat Solanum nigrum. In parts of the US Solanum nigrum berries are made into pies.

The tomato hawkmoth uses tomato, various nightshade, datura inoxia, various nicotiana... to eat when a caterpillar...

As an adult... yes, it uses as a nectar source, 4 o'clocks, datura, cleome, other stuff... In the summer time at about dusk thirty.... Go out with a flashlight and watch the various hawkmoth swoop...

http://gardens-in-the-sand.blo...

purpleinopp said: Ironically, for seeds purchased from China, it looks like Solanum americanum:
Black Nightshade (Solanum americanum)

This species is also called "black nightshade"
Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

Frilly, are you saying Coleus comes up like weeds in your yard, or the nightshade?

yes coleus

and I guess what I was saying earlier, this person may have planted 'seeds from china' but that doesn't mean that is what this plant is-the seeds may not have grown and instead this weed grew in that spot and he/she assumes this was from the seeds. Hope that makes sense.

@stone ,
so if I grow tomatoes will the hawkmoths still prefer them or will they eat the alternate plants? I love hawkmoths and I don't kill the caterpillars but they do eat my tomatoes something fierce. I have found that even with many of the leaves stripped they still make tomatoes though.

Yes, I get that, we don't know if the plant came from the purchased seeds or other seed that happened to be in the soil.

I don't think Coleus seeds can stay viable in your zone. I wonder if you have shiso (Perilla?)
Shiso (Perilla frutescens)

No, its not Shiso (or a Coleus ). with Solanum americanum.

purpleinopp said: Yes, I get that, we don't know if the plant came from the purchased seeds or other seed that happened to be in the soil.

I don't think Coleus seeds can stay viable in your zone. I wonder if you have shiso (Perilla?)
Shiso (Perilla frutescens)

yes,! I have that! Sorry, I thought of it as a type of coleus. I do though occasionally get a more fancy one pop up I guess from seeds,I do plant a few each spring, but normally just rebuy them as the fancy colored ones don't reseed easily for me, I assume they do for people in warmer winter areas. But some around the house pop up from time to time.

DaisyI said: No, its not Shiso (or a Coleus ). with Solanum americanum.

sorry, were talking about something else and hijacked the thread

Yes, the Coleus/Perilla discussion is a sidebar that developed. Nobody suggested the asked-about plant was Coleus or Perilla.

Frilly, that makes much more sense, shiso, which is reportedly a very exuberant volunteer in your zone. ; ) I never encountered any when I lived in OH, but if I had, I would have brought some home. Where I am, a Coleus sprout is pretty rare, even though I let them bloom and drop seeds all summer, and leave the dead plants in place for winter to decompose into the soil.

Frillylily said: @stone ,
so if I grow tomatoes will the hawkmoths still prefer them or will they eat the alternate plants? I love hawkmoths and I don't kill the caterpillars but they do eat my tomatoes something fierce. I have found that even with many of the leaves stripped they still make tomatoes though.

Yay!
I've found that the hawkmoths will naturally lay eggs on the alternates as well as the tomatoes and peppers.

Move the caterpillars to the alternates, and they're perfectly happy...

Of course, there's a lot of depredation from birds at my house... I actually see the birds visit my tomato plants and don't see damage to the tomatoes...