Am I just a weed?

last year

last modified: last year

I noticed a few little guys popping up in the garden. Are they just weeds or something I should be nurturing just because?

Featured Answer

Embothrium

last year

last modified: last year

Source plants will be visible nearby somewhere. Unless these are bird-dispersed, there is a bird feeder or other particular attraction present and birds are bringing them from some distance away. Or they came in some mulching material you brought in and spread.

Comments (22)

peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
last year
Reminds me of Hibiscus syriacus seedlings. Do you have any plant(s) in your garden?
Ghibie19 thanked peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
last modified: last year
Can we start by establishing where in the world this is growing? You’ve posted in houseplants and tropicals, so does that mean you are in the tropics?

Btw pretty sure it isn’t Hibiscus syriacus.
Ghibie19 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
if you stepped back a little farther;... it would be almost impossible to focus on your plant ...

my first impression was also rose of sharon ... go figure.. great minds ... then holly.. then i wondered why its so shiny.. as in it almost looks like plastic ...

ken
Ghibie19 thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
I can’t even see leaf arrangement or whether the stems are woody. We need more information.
Ghibie19 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
" Ilex usually have dentation with sharp prickles. "

Only a few species have these characteristics. Many species of Ilex have entire leaves and no prickles.
Ghibie19 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
This plant is in a garden, so it may well not be native. And since we don’t know where on the planet the garden is, we don’t know what the natives might be. But anyhow, it looks nothing like any Ilex I’ve ever met.

I repeat, we need a lot more information.
Ghibie19 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
There are over 500 species of Ilex so limiting the judging base to only 21 species seems overly narrow. And two native species - Ilex glabra and Ilex verticillata - have entire or very lightly toothed, non-prickly leaves. As do ALL cultivars of Ilex crenata.
Ghibie19 thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
Kukane Wyndell
last year
It might be just a weed. You should show it to Sheni the next time you get lucky and run across her. She might know what it is.
Ghibie19 thanked Kukane Wyndell
Jordan (z7)
last year
Could be a variety of oak.
Ghibie19 thanked Jordan (z7)
Jay 6a Chicago
last year
A bluntly serated Holley Oak?🤔💡
Ghibie19 thanked Jay 6a Chicago
Ghibie19
Original Author
last year
Thank you peren.all Zone 5a Ontario Canada

I did a search on the Hibiscus syriacus image. The plant is so very pretty! Especially the flower color lavender! I really really really like it.

Thank you very much for your suggestion.
Ghibie19
Original Author
last year
Thank you Embothrium

The “bird- dispersed” theory does make sense. I will need to keep an open eye when I do the nursery visit.

I think it is very pretty whatever it is.
Ghibie19
Original Author
last year
Thank you gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

This is a new one to me. I do need to find out it’s ideal growing conditions so I can continue to keep it happy.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
last year
last modified: last year
@Ghibie19, we really do need to have some idea where in the world you are. For instance in my yard, it wouldn’t be likely to be holly since most of the evergreen hollies do not grow well in my part of New Hampshire. and most plants have lost their leaves if they are not evergreen. What grows in New Mexico or Brazil or England will be different as well.
Ghibie19 thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
Yes. We’ve repeatedly asked for a location. Without it we are just guessing wildly. Better pictures would also help so we can see the leaf arrangement and stem. And is the shine natural? Fwif I don’t think it is any of the plants suggested so far. If there are lots of them, however pretty, it may be something you really do not want.
Kukane Wyndell
last year
Any luck IDing this guy yet?
Ghibie19 thanked Kukane Wyndell
woodrose
last year
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK The OP gave the location : Zone 5, Ontario, CA. I don't even see a picture.
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
last year
That’s peren’s location, not the OP’s.

tj
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
There was a pic here before.
Jay 6a Chicago
last year
last modified: last year
The original pic is of no use. It may be a plastic, fake, faux plant, with the glossiness, and it matches nothing that I, or google lens can come up with? We need better photos. If it is real, it's so unusual, that we need a location and better shots, unless this photo rings some bells for someone here?

original pic enlarged

faux Fiddleleaf Fig?
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
Other posts said SE Thailand.