Identifying this plant - possibly some sort of Bamboo?

boundbooksbrightonwlvcvptk

Hello there,

I’m a newbie balcony gardener and wondered whether someone could help identify what this plant is? We are thinking some sort of bamboo? 

This is a west facing balcony in Hove (actually) 

Many thanks. 

Dovefromabove

Hello and welcome to the forum @boundbooksbrightonwlvcvptk ... you can probably wave to my relation ... she lives in Hove 😎 

That looks very like the Saponaria officinalis that creeps under my fence from next door ... not really a 'balcony plant' but there's no accounting for what the previous balcony owner may have liked.  It is pretty and you can use it to wash your clothes. 

https://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/4903?currency=GBP&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIobH-mtrD7wIViNPtCh2OXwJPEAQYASABEgIXwfD_BwE

boundbooksbrightonwlvcvptk

Thank you Dove, that’s very helpful! 

Ooh if it is that, I think I could grow quite fond of it. I think I’ll let it grow out for a wee while and see what becomes of it. It’s always nice to inherit a treasure! 

Dovefromabove

Let us know what happens ... it might be something else entirely 

clarke.brunt

No idea what it is, but you can rule out Bamboo of any kind. Bamboo is a 'grass', albeit a large one - like all 'grass', the leaf veins would be parallel, and not branching into a network like on your plant - characteristic of all the monocotyledonous (single seed-leaf) plants.

Asarum

I think it could be Centranthus ruber, red valerian.

Loxley

Asarum said:

I think it could be Centranthus ruber, red valerian.

+1

boundbooksbrightonwlvcvptk

@clarke.brunt - that’s very interesting and helpful to know, thank you. I am a complete novice at gardening and it’s useful tidbits like this that I love to learn.  

@Asarum - thank you for your suggestion. I’ve just looked it up. I may be mistaken but I seem to remember that this stuff grew everywhere when I was a child. We used to call it some variation on a wee wee plant because it was very smelly...?