Persicaria 'Maculosa'

Help me identify this plant, this has sprung up out of nowhere?! friends are telling me it's a foreign buddlia that will take over? should I remove? thanks!

Hello Nicky 👋 Thanks for posting your first photo. 👏 You can find other like-minded gardeners to follow by tapping on Discover and then "Popular" or "Recommended". If you need to reply to a user or just want to say "hello", simply @username an individual i.e. @teamgardentags and that person will get an alert in their profile. Finally, if you would like guidance on getting the most out of the app, please check out our tutorial videos: http://gardentags.com/Tutorials Enjoy using GT! 😃

Thanks also for asking us to help identify your plant #PlantID. Fellow GT'ers are you able to help Nicky? @barbaramatthews @Garyg @jamesshobbs @joanboston @KariSamuel @kathy @lexijane @linfoster @mikethegardener @mrsflowerpot @PlantDoctor @richard.spicer.7906

I have one of those, no where near as big (likes the patch of poor gritty soil I/we all have) and I'd love to know it's name too.

Welcome to Gtags! I know this only as an #invasive #weed, but do not know it's proper identification. I pull it out the moment I find it, and it is never placed in my compost bin! #plantid-weed @jpea

Eek, I hope mine is different!!!

Thank you @KariSamuel - I didn't think it was a Buddleia!! why do weeds always grow bigger and better than anything else lol - I shall did it up now!! thanks again

It could be a type of Polygonum now called Fallopia, not a weed. Or a weed called redshank is similar.

Thanks @PlantDoctor, I have actually pulled it out now! I know I haven't grown it and it sprung very quickly and very large!! ... it gives me more space for planting!! always a bonus!!

When I'm in a client's garden and am unsure if it's a weed or not, I try to look at the whole picture and ask; Was it purposefully planted? Does it appear in a grouping or as an individual plant? Has it sent out runners to every nook and cranny? Does it LOOK like anything near by? Rarely has this failed me...

@KariSamuel that is really good advice, thanks☺! I am just starting out, so I am questioning everything I do or don't do!! - 🤔

This is Redshank or Persicaria maculosa, a wild flower short lived perennial. Self seeds but is easy to remove. A thin plant flowering late. If you like it, it is not a weed.