Unknown volunteer

June 2nd, 2009 in gallery
MontanaGardener MontanaGardener, member
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Two volunteers showed up in our garden next to our rhododendron. The one on the right looks like a young apple tree, but I have no idea what the one on the left is. Anyone else have any idea? I haven't found any other plants in my yard with this leaf pattern.


posted in: The Gallery (beta), volunteer apple tree

Comments (3)

MontanaGardener writes: Just to clarify: the edges are serrated. It's young, so I can't tell much at this point about berries, etc., but it does not appear to be glossy. I'm thinking it might be a black chokeberry. Garius, thank you for your information because it helped me find the black chokeberry! Posted: 6:34 pm on June 7th
MontanaGardener writes: Does buckthorn grow in Montana? I've never seen it before. Could it possibly be black chokeberry instead? The leaf veining in both is very similar... Posted: 6:26 pm on June 7th
Garius writes: It looks like Buckthorn to me. Non-native and invasive. It will persistently sprout from the stump if you cut it to the ground, so dig it out if you can. If you keep it, it does get lots of black berries that the birds like, but then you will get millions of little buckthorns all over the place. It's a problem in the woodlands around where I live, since it will take over the understory (it grows to be a small shrubby tree, about 10-15 feet tall). At one house where I lived, I naturalized the back third of the yard and spent a lot of time trying to get rid of buckthorn. Can you tell it's not my favourite plant? Posted: 10:47 am on June 3rd
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