Please help identify these Seattle plants

Susan C

7 years ago

These are in Seattle and I see them everywhere, including our front yard! I'm wondering how big they'll get. Thank you!

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

7 years ago

It depends on the type :-). There are tiny, little-leafed dwarf rhodies, small sized ones, mid-sized ones (the most common) and large, tree-like ones. Our native Rhododendron macrophyllum (WA state flower) grows easily into tree-like proportions. There are even species of rhododendrons that grow as a ground cover.

Most of the rhododendrons planted here in my Bainbridge Island garden are at least 8' tall, many taller.

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Comments (10)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
7 years ago
The first one is a rhododendron and size is extremely variable.....anywhere from a few inches to 20' or more. Most are in the 4-6' range.

The second is Mexican orange, Choisya ternata, and if happy, this can get to be 6-8' wide and 6-8' (or more) tall.
Susan C
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you so much gardengal48! I've never been much of a green thumb but now that we're in Seattle and going on these gorgeous walks thru the neighborhoods, I'm interested! When you say the rhododendron is variable, does that depend on the particular type, or how it's taken care of? I do want something that that will grow 6'+.
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@hc mcdole thank you so much for all of the information and the wonderful pictures! Yes, he got them from Kroger! I was shocked as they are nothing like the typical plants I always see there so I went the next day to see what else may be there that he decided to pass over and there was a huge red and green maranta that stopped me in my tracks! It was splayed out in the center of the table and taking most of the space- so other plants were around....and on it. I would have taken it home then but would have needed more space so planed to return after my son's karate class.....well we know how this story goes! It was of course GONE and I was heartbroken yada yada lol but back to the ones my husband did get- the begonia was BEAUTIFUL day one and two as you can see from the pic.....but by the 3rd 4th day before I finally had time to repot it this weeked) it started declining rapidly. I think it was in too went soil for too long. The very tips started to fold down then the leaves started to get darker and soggy looking then crispy one by one. There are a few large leaves that still are darkened like this about halfway, but the smaller leaves were just crispy and barely hanging on. The roots were....okay as far as I could tell during the repot, Im just not sure if it will bounce back from this or not. Im hoping so its a beautiful plant. Would you suggest I do anything in particular?
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Susan C
Original Author
7 years ago
Is there no way to know until it starts growing? I'd really like it to reach up to our front window, which is at least 6' above ground. But if it's not going to, I'd rather get something else planted now so it has more time to grow.
fig_insanity Z7b E TN
7 years ago
Susan, you'll have to wait for it to bloom and hope that some of us can identify the variety. It wont be too long until it blooms, a couple of weeks from the look of the buds, no more than a month I would think. Take a photo of the flowers and post it here, and we'll take a stab at identifying it. If it's a common or distinctive cultivar we can then find out how large it will ultimately grow.

John
Susan C
Original Author
7 years ago
thank you so much John! I'll keep an eye on it and take a photo when it blooms.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
7 years ago
going on these gorgeous walks thru the neighborhoods, I'm interested!

==>>> first.. whomever planted yours.. planted it ON THE FOUNDATION .. or so it looks ... and being that it is already 3 feet tall .. it should have been planted more than 3 feet from the house..

as you walk the area.. look to see how some peeps properly space thing inn the garden.. and how others.. have no concept of how big things can get ...

pruning can tame a plant.. but its much better to start out with proper spacing ...

after yours flowers ... watch to see how much greenery grows .. and that will give you a fair clue as to how fast it will get large ...e.g. if it grows a foot.. then in 10 years.. it could be 10 feet larger ... if it grows only 3 inches ... in ten years.. it will be 30 inches larger ...

that is the annual growth rate... and that is how you determine how much potential any given named variety can get.. in 10 years ...

i know nothing about the orange thingee.. but again.. you can observe.. how much it grows this summer .. etc ...

pruning rhodies .. can be tricky ... you can do a post in the shrub forum.. if you ever get interested in that ....

ken
Susan C thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Embothrium
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Rhododendron has a couple discolored leaf whorls near the bottom of the picture, which could indicate a root rot problem (this is common with these). Also the mulch near that side of the plant looks puddled, as though there is wetness there.

For future size estimation look at the spaces between the current whorls of leaves on the very outside of the plant and the ones immediately beneath them. This is how far it grew last year, except in any instances where a branch had more than one growth flush (there was probably little, if any of this on this particular specimen). Multiply that shoot length by any given number of years to get a rough estimate of how big it will be then, keeping in mind that some slowing with age is typical.
Susan C thanked Embothrium
Susan C
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you both. Do these plants do most of their growing between certain months? Or do I need to measure now, wait one year and measure again, to give me a sense for how big it will get overall? It was professional landscapers that planted these, but all the landscaping is pretty minimal IMO, probably with the goal of selling the house.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
You are not measuring the height of the whole plant You are measuring the annual growth so you can measure last year's growth now. Looking at those big topmost buds measure the length of the green stem below the bud. That length of stem grew last year. The reddish brown below the green grew the year before. To estimate the size in 10 years multiply the length of the green stem by 10 and add it to the size of the shrub at present. But remember this is not all going to be height. It will grow outwards too.