Plant ID - Ask Extension
Hi! I have three large volunteer plants in my dog yard and I need to move or remove them. I'm attaching some of the pictures I have of them in the hop...
Knowledgebase
Plant ID #423563
Asked August 26, 2017, 4:22 PM EDT
Hi! I have three large volunteer plants in my dog yard and I need to move or remove them. I'm attaching some of the pictures I have of them in the hopes that you can ID them. I'm hoping one is birch, I think one is a willow shrub, and I'm pretty sure the third is a cottonwood or poplar. I'm attaching the possible birch (a full shot and a leaf) as well as a picture of the leaf from the possible cottonwood. I will send a second email with more pics. Thank you!
Sherburne County Minnesota
Expert Response
Hello and thank you for contacting AaE for help.
You may be right about the Birch (in the second picture) but it may also be a Hop Hornbeam. If it's a Birch, I can't be sure of the type it is. It may be a Paper birch or a Yellow Birch from the leaf veining but a definitive identification can come from a combination of things such as the tree form, twigs, fruit and in the case of Birches especially the bark. The tree appears to be a little young to tell by the bark at this time.The third picture is a little more difficult to tell from just the leaf. I don't think it's a Cottonwood, though. It may also be a Birch as well. Again, more information such as its fruit, bark and twigs.
If you have more information to provide, feel free to send that in and we'll take another look.
Hi! I took some better (I hope) pictures of the plants. Here are three of the same one, which corresponds to the previous picture of the leaf in the bag.
Sorry. Computer trouble. Here are those pics.
Plant number two corresponds to the heart-shaped leaf from the original post. On an unrelated note, when is the best time and what is the best way to transplant that goldenrod?
Final plant. This one seems to be some kind of willow. Thanks!
Tree ID from leaf photos is a challenge. However, for what it's worth here is a second opinion based on the latest pics.
The leaf in the plastic bag and corresponding recent photos might be an apple. Compare here:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/~/media/mgs/images/issue-19-vol-4-2013/grow-an-apple-tree-from-seed-in-sin...
http://st.depositphotos.com/1077338/3005/i/950/depositphotos_30057617-Green-leaf-of-apple-tree.jpg
Three photos of a likely cottonwood sapling? Possibly. Compare:
https://rampages.us/fbaw14/wp-content/uploads/sites/84/2014/06/EasternCottonwood.jpg
Three photos of a willow? Very likely (we don't know what species). Maybe Bebb's willow with rugose leaf texture.
https://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/herbarium/trees/salbeb01.htm
https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Salicaceae/salix-bebbiana-le-dcameron-a.jpg
Goldenrod is easy to divide and transplant by division in spring.
The leaf in the plastic bag and corresponding recent photos might be an apple. Compare here:
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/~/media/mgs/images/issue-19-vol-4-2013/grow-an-apple-tree-from-seed-in-sin...
http://st.depositphotos.com/1077338/3005/i/950/depositphotos_30057617-Green-leaf-of-apple-tree.jpg
Three photos of a likely cottonwood sapling? Possibly. Compare:
https://rampages.us/fbaw14/wp-content/uploads/sites/84/2014/06/EasternCottonwood.jpg
Three photos of a willow? Very likely (we don't know what species). Maybe Bebb's willow with rugose leaf texture.
https://www.uwgb.edu/biodiversity/herbarium/trees/salbeb01.htm
https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Salicaceae/salix-bebbiana-le-dcameron-a.jpg
Goldenrod is easy to divide and transplant by division in spring.
