Can you ID this plant?

10 years ago

I posted this at Name That Plant, but so far no answer.

It has come up right at my front porch each year for the 10 years I've lived here. Thinking it was a weed, I have pulled it up, cut it down, and tried to kill it every way I could think of.

This year I decided to just let it grow, and now it is 7 feet tall. The little red blooms are not on this plant, but on a nearby hanging begonia. There is no evidence of any bloom, but I see what appears to be tiny leaf growth on the trunk. At the bottom there are 2 new branches, each a foot or so long. It needs to be moved before it "uproots" my ground-level concrete porch.

I have named it "The Bean Stalk Tree." Remember the children's story "Jack and the Bean Stalk." I've been waiting for Jack to show up.

I want to find a new home for it, but first I'd like to know what it is.

TIA

Sue

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Comments (12)

OklaMoni
10 years ago
some kind of hibiscus?

can you post a picture of the whole plant?
Terri_PacNW
10 years ago
Hmmm elderberry comes to mind..but I'm not sure that's it..the leaves look darker than the one beside my house.

Can you give us a full photo..like how the leaf clusters? Like 7 or 9 to a small branch....
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Sue_va
Original Author
10 years ago
This is the trunk. It isn't a "bush" type.

Sue
phyllis__mn
10 years ago
Sue, go back to Name that Plant forum and enter "Siberian Elm" in the search box. You can compare yours with those pictured. If it is the same, DESTROY, DESTROY!! They want to take over with their little seedlings when they appear.
Sue_va
Original Author
10 years ago
Phyliss, I went back and found info and pics of Siberian Elms; one enclosed here. The leaves are very similar. After reading up on them though, I don't think I want to pass the tree on except to someone who has a large site to plant it on.

I have copied off the pics of mine and will take them to a nearby garden center next time I am out that way, to see if they can identify it.

Sue
donnamira
10 years ago
Wild cherry?

Here is a link that might be useful: VA Dept of Forestry - Black Cherry
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
Pretty sure it is not either of those by looking at the way the leaves arranged.

Are there any thorns at all on the plant anywhere? Had any flowers?
Try posting on the trees forum.

I would consider looking at some of the plum trees.
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
My thought is the reason for the strange growth is that you keep cutting it down and trying to destroy it.
Try comparing it to the leaves of some of these prunus plums trees.
You can try the fruit trees forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plums
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
You know it may be a Choke Cherry Prunus virginiana if so they suckered really bad. Google some of those names.
OklaMoni
10 years ago
If you really want it gone, then have some strong, maybe concentrated round up in a cup, with a brush handy. Cut the plant down, then immediately brush some round up on the cut part. It has to be right away, so the plant stump will absorb it, before it shuts down.

Moni
ravencajun Zone 8b TX
10 years ago
A good way to apply Round up like that is to put some in an old mustard squeeze bottle and just squeeze out a few drops on the freshly cut area it will suck it up into the roots from the cut.
Pulling or chopping can result in pieces of roots left behind and new suckers coming up especially if it happens to be a Choke cherry they are famous for that.
Sue_va
Original Author
10 years ago
This has sent me on an interesting.search. I followed the links, and googled other places, and have learned a lot. I think the most interesting thing is that wild cherries were a staple in the Native Indians diet. And that the pits are highly toxic.

Yet I still don't know what I have, but I will find out.

In the Spring of 2011, I found a seedling in a small flower bed beside my back porch. It was about a foot tall, very pretty and I found a spot for it in my back yard. I had no idea what it was, but I took a cutting to the Garden Center and was told it is a wild cherry. He suggested, and I bought, some Transplant Formula and put that down where the roots would grow. It is now about 5 feet tall and is a perfect little tree, and it had blooms this Spring. The two trees in question don't look alike. I don't have a picture of it. My phone doesn't take pictures. My DGS was here and took the pics of the Bean Stalk Tree. He may take it and plant it in their yard if I can find out for sure what it is.

I guess I am becoming a tree saver!

To be continued eventually.

P.S. Thanks for the Round Up ideas. I'll keep that handy.

Sue