Please help with tree/shrub ID

16 years ago

I finally learned how to upload pics - so here they are.

These trees/shrubs (?depends on how I trim them?) were here when we bought the house.

Does anyone recognize them? None of them have bloomed in the past 7 years, and they're all 3 evergreen. The first two look similar in the photos, but the leaves have a different texture. The smaller one's leaves are almost like leather. And it is a bit invasive - I'm always pulling up babies.

Please help!!

Thanks!

p.s. - I love all three of these plants!!

Tree #1

Tree #1 Leaves

Tree/Shrub #2

Tree/Shrub #2 Leaves

Tree/Hedge #3

Tree/hedge #3 leaves

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Comments (14)

sally2_gw
16 years ago
I'm not sure about tree 1 and 2, but 3 looks like a Viburnum, I'm thinking either the Sweet Viburnum or the Japanese Viburnum, not to be confused with the Japanese Snowball. Hope this helps.

Sally
kateyes
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Sally!
I have been impatiently awaiting a flood of replies with the names of these trees/shrubs, but you're the only one to take a stab at the mystery!! I plan to google viburnum as soon as I finish this post.

BTW - Are the pictures hard to open?? I myself have a bit of a problem opening the subject. Should I re-post and try a different method to include the photos?

I just have to find out what these trees are!!! ;-)

Blessings,
Kat
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new_in_texas
16 years ago
You might want to try the "name that plant" forum, I always get good id results there.
hitexplanter
16 years ago
I agree that # 3 looks like sweet viburnum (large leaf is another common name)and #2 looks like sandankwa viburnum (viburnum suspensum).Maybe #1 is viburnum tinus similar to suspensum but not as thick of leaf. There are several named cultivars of tinus.
The pix come in fine for me.
I can't be sure of any of these 100 % but from the pix these are my best guess.
Good Luck and Happy Growing David
paige_frisco
16 years ago
I had the same problem, bought an existing house and had little clue what was in the landscape.

I took samples of all my landscaping to a local privately owned nursery and they identified each one of my trees, shrubs and bushes.

I had all my information in about ten minutes.

Hope this helps.
Paige
PKponder TX Z7B
16 years ago
I can't ID them, but they are pretty plants. How did you get the frames around your pictures? You did pretty well for a first time picture poster!

Pam
gardenspice
16 years ago
That's intersting, I thought #1 looks like the sandankwa viburnum in my yard, other than this one has been pruned into a tree.
sally2_gw
16 years ago
You're welcome. I lost this thread, and finally remembered how you titled it. I've tried Viburnum searches, and discovered there's a whole lot of different names for the same viburnums, or the other way around, where one name applies to several different viburnums. It gets confusing. I hope you can find out just exactly what they are.

Sally
jolanaweb
16 years ago
Hey Kat, how are you?
I think they are all Viburnum, lol
Have they bloomed at all? If so, what did they look like?
jolana
kateyes
Original Author
16 years ago
Okay...I'm going to go with all the viburnum answers as the identity of these wonderful trees/shrubs...
Yipes!! They bloom?????
The one shaped/pruned into a tree-shape was like that when I moved here 7 yrs. ago, and I've kept it pruned. No wonder I've had to fight the "suckers" on the main stem and from the base!!!! It should really be a shrub???
Yipes again!!! Do they really bloom????? I prune them in the spring and throughout the summer and fall - about 3-4 times a year, to keep their shapes and to keep them in bounds (they are vigorous growers!).
So...when should I shape them so that it won't interfere with the bloom pattern? I have to follow a "pruning regimen" with my azaleas so they'll bloom - and boy do they ever!!

Thanks for all the help!! It's so strange that all three are the same type of plant! Who'da thunk it?? :-)

Blessings,
Kat
sally2_gw
16 years ago
Follow the same regime as with your azaleas.

Sally
kateyes
Original Author
16 years ago
Pam - My DH actually "took over" the pic posting while I went outside to water!! LOL

Thank you all for the help and info - but, I am soooo confused about the blooming I've never seen....
Thanks Sally, I will put them on the same pruning schedule as my azaleas, and cross my fingers for next year....

I'm sorry I'm so long in replying; I've been out of town off and on for the past week. I am now on vacation, and I'm staying home to just relax....and garden!! Whoo-hoo!! :-)
cweathersby
16 years ago
Pic #3 looks like a sweet olive to me. Are you sure it never blooms? In your zone it should bloom through the winter and early spring. In my garden it blooms in the spring. Feb and March maybe. The blooms are tiny, so you may have missed them, but they perfume the surrounding area with an apricot scent. The scientific name is osmanthus fragrans, if you want to do a search.
kateyes
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks CWeathersby for the additional info. I'm realizing that due to my seasonal pruning, I'm cutting off the wood/buds necessary for the blooming of these trees/shrubs. I do like the look of them in "tree form", so I will try to keep that shape, but a bit "shaggier" since I will have to skip 2 of my regular pruning sessions.

Any further advice is very welcome!!
Thanks again to all who replied.

Blessings,
Kat