Look what I found growing! Help me identify this flower?

[mink_bikini]

We'd (or should that be weed!) call it a Thistle, and I would get it before it seeds or those little blighters will be everywhere, the roots are likely to be really thick too so cut a big area around it if you dig it up. Don't put the dead weed on your compost heap though (if you have one) or that will contaminate your compost and you'll end up with tons more.

[Velvetdragon]

It's a spiny sowthistle.

I'm a good friend with most of my weeds.

[SunflowerSmiles]

thistle...I'd get that bugger out...it's not your friend make sure you get the tap root...the loonng root that looks like a carrot...they suck all the nutrients and water out of the soil so your other plants will suffer...also..some one recommended vinegar...be very very careful with that...it will ruin your soil for a loooooooooooooooooo ong time.  Round-up, a weed killer actually breaks down really fast...I would do that.

[skankamaggot]

I knew you'd guys would have known!  I'll take care of them this week!  There's another pretty growing in the front yard, this one I KNOW is not a weed, it's too pretty, I'll post if on here when I can, maybe somebody can tell me what that is too?  You  guys rock!

By the way, I do have some REAL sprouts in my flower garden that I am VERY excited about !

[SunflowerSmiles]

another idea....if you go around and chop all the thistles heads off...(where the seeds are)and make sure you don't let any escape then go and spray them all with round up ..making sure you don't hit any grass (although you can get some that's safe for grass)and plants you want to keep,wait a few days until they croak and then pull them...then you don't have to worry about the tap root breaking when you try to pull them out.  If part of the tap root stays you end up getting the bugger back.  Just an idea

[Yarn or Fabric]

I have nightmares of thistle from my old house - I was clicking on new with pictures and saw that and I was like oh noooooooooo!  A thistle!
Wait for it to rain and pull it out - if you leave any of the root behind it will come back - but if you keep on top of pulling it out as you see them come up when they are small you will get on top of them and get rid of them for good.

nasty wicked thistle weeds. ick!
You poor thing - at least it has not gone to seed yet!

[homebunnyj]

My mother would remove thistles by getting a large carving knife from the kitchen and sticking it into the ground to the hilt all around the thistle, then running the knife around where she had stuck it to loosen the soil and cut any roots that had grown out from the tap root. She then would grasp the plant at the base, wiggle and twist it to finish breaking the taproot loose,then pull. She had pretty good success with this method. The only weed killer I use is poison ivy killer. I use more old-fashioned methods such as this one for most weeds. It's just personal preference.