Need help ID'ing a plant/bush/shrub in Seattle

15 years ago

Hi,

I'm in the Seattle area and I'm trying to identify this plant. It is a bush/shrub/hedge and is about 5' tall, growing between a fence and the side of a house. I have not seen this plant's flowers before, but the leaves are small--about the size of blueberries. It is mostly in the shade, and being in the NW, gets lots of rain.

I hope this pic is clear. On the right side, there are a bunch of red leaves on top of the plant which are from another tree (in case that causes confusion).

I have inherited the responsibility of taking care of this property and would like to catch up on any winterizing that needs to be done, and this bush it tops on my list. In order to look up any recommended practices I need to know what it is. So any help in identifying this plant would be wonderful.

Thank you!

Image link:

Comments (9)

carol23_gw
15 years ago
Perhaps Cotoneaster horizontalis.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:376956}}
Embothrium
15 years ago
Box honeysuckle. Privet honeysuckle is similar, but I think this one is box honeysuckle.
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It would be easier with the branch in my hands (as you have it), but even from the pictures, it took me about 15 minutes online to google the search terms you were *handed* about this plant, and narrow it down to a few possibles. It took another 10 to go through pictures for the possibles, and get it to one. (((Are weeping cherry or black tupelo (of all things...) used in South Asian cooking???))) Now, do your own homework!! Follow the trail of breadcrumbs you were given! Use your brain, and track it down. Then, if you need to be sure, use your nose. Crush a leaf and smell it. And talk to someone who cooks. Again..... Do your own homework!
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If you could KEEP it in your garden, it would be fine to keep it... but the reason it's all along the roads throughout Connecticut (smelling lovely, I agree!) is that it is a horrific invasive that is driving all the native flora out. Russian olive and Autumn Olive are slightly different (my guess is you're seeing autumn olive), but both are invasive and should be removed. In Connecticut, for instance, the law states ' Notwithstanding the provisions of any ordinance adopted by a municipality, no person shall [import,] move, except for eradication purposes, import, sell, purchase, transplant, cultivate or distribute any of the following invasive plants: '... and both are on the list that follows. There are many native plants with lovely fragrances that you can substitute for it, including a native honeysuckle. Check with your extension service for recommendations... but please, for the sake of the native flora, TAKE IT OUT! Here is a link that might be useful: Alternatives for invasives
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I posit that the photo above DOES show extended wings, though without further information I absolutely agree that it doesn't have the widest/biggest wings of a Euonymus alatus individual that I've ever seen. There used to be one sold as 'Monstrosus' from Chicago area nurseries that could be used as a glider. Here is an image from the Morton Arboretum's herbarium collection that looks similar to the photo above: http://redwood.mortonarb.org/images/jpg/sheet/4/0035464MOR.jpg The posted photo above appears to almost taken in "plan view", i.e., directly from above and doesn't provide nearly the information that photos from various other angles might provide. "Wings" on 'Compactus' are often/always reduced to lines on the twigs - nearly absent. I believe what I see in the photo above does not equate whatsoever with "nearly absent." I'd say they equate with "average winginess" for the species. I also think the photo angle may create an idea of denser twigginess, but examination of the number of bud breaks along the stem for additional twigs along those main branches shows that there are fewer (far fewer) than one will see on run-of-the-mill 'Compactus' in eastern US landscapes. I did not suggest that "...the plants make different wings in different parts of the country..." I suggested that when a plant is typically found in abundance in a certain region - and some participants here may have encountered it far more often than other participants - that the seeker of information consider that when assessing the posted information. I would assert that your evaluation of plants and performance for northwest coastal conditions is superior to many contributors here. I do believe that plants can express different growth characteristics in different locations (not necessarily winginess of twigs, but certainly things length of shoots during growth spurts) due to common variables like fertility, moisture levels, daylength, etc. Certainly traits like maximum size for a species will be different in the Ohio River valley region than in the Puget Sound region.
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gardenguru1950
15 years ago
My guess is Vaccinium ovatum, EVERGREEN HUCKLEBERRY. A badly treated one at that.

Joe
Carrie B
15 years ago
The close up of the foliage, together with the prostrate habit, looks an awful lot like my lonicera pileata, privet honeysuckle.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:376963}}
flora_uk
15 years ago
Or possibly Lonicera nitida. Whatever it is ithas been very badly hacked about. If it is L. nitida it will take being cut right back and will bush out again. You could take it down to a foot and it would be fine. The big picture is hard to make out. Is there something growing over the top of it from over the fence?
jampes
Original Author
15 years ago
Wow, thank you for all your suggestions. I'm thinking it must be a box or privet honeysuckle. My plan is to cut it down to about a foot (as someone indicated above).

Over the years, as it grew, the owners just trimmed the side of the shrub so that it wouldn't block the path on the side of the house. So it just grew higher and higher and now has started leaning over the path. So now it's just an annoyance and gets beat up on by anyone walking down the path.

Knowing what it is I can now get it healthy and healthy-looking again. Thank you again! Your efforts are much appreciated.

flora uk: there are some red leaves on top that have fallen from a nearby japanese maple, but it's all just the honeysuckle in the photo.
Embothrium
15 years ago
How they separate out is box honeysuckle has upright branches bearing leaves about 1/4"-1/2" long and privet honeysuckle produces spreading or prostrate branches furnished with leaves mostly 1/4"-1 1/2" long. Cultivars of box honeysuckle seen in local outlets in recent years include 'Baggesen's Gold', 'Red Tips' and 'Silver Beauty'. All have the same arching habit as the plant shown, as do other examples of box honeysuckle I have seen in plantings here.

As seen in cultivation here privet honeysuckle tends to have more of a ground-covering, herringbone appearance, poking out horizontally somewhat in the manner of a rock-spray contoneaster.
Carrie B
15 years ago
Yes, what bboy says is as I understand the difference between the two loniceras. When I viewed the OP's photo, I didn't realize that the plants were growing from below. I thought they were growing from the surface halfway up the wall, and falling/hanging over it. I thought they were growing with a groundcover habit, as opposed to upright.
flora_uk
15 years ago
Well I've learned something new ...... again. We don't use the name 'box honeysuckle' so I didn't realise that when I suggested Lonicera nitida it was the same thing. It isn't a very good choice for that spot as it has a tendency to get very twiggy and leggy over a few feet tall. As its name implies(apart from the leaf similarity) it is best kept quite low and tightly clipped. It's not too good at being tall and narrow. Cotoneaster horizontalis, which someone else guessed, would go there very well as it can be kept flat agaist a fence easily. However, you have to work with what you have so I'd start with a good hard trim and then keep it clipped back against the fence as it grows back up.

Need help ID'ing a plant/bush/shrub in Seattle

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