Newbie needs help with Plant/Tree Identification

[tonybiggar]

I need help trying to learn what these are. Thanks for any help!!

One:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02443.jpg[/img]

Two:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02448.jpg[/img]

Three:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02449.jpg[/img]

Four:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02450.jpg[/img]

Five:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02453.jpg[/img]

Six:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02456.jpg[/img]

Seven:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02457.jpg[/img]

Eight:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02459.jpg[/img]

Nine:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02460.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02461.jpg[/img]

Ten:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02462.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02463.jpg[/img]

Eleven:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02467.jpg[/img]

Twelve:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/Landscaping%202010/DSC02474.jpg[/img]

[bullthistle]

Last one is spruce, could be blue
Second is sand cherry
Yellow looks like variegated privet
Red barberry
Damn feel like I am taking a woody plant test
Could be a potentilla or spirea next to beared iris
Weigelia next?
Some type of dogwood? near patio
Sorry the trees escape me.

[rainbowgardener]

Bullthistle did great, got more of them than I would have

Four: the little plants around the tree are hostas.

Five: is possibly a locust tree but I'm not sure of that

Seven: is the barberry, looks like the dwarf variety, crimson pygmy barberry

Eight: I would go with the spirea (next to iris)

Nine: I agree on the weigela

Ten: dogwood

Eleven: need more close up of the leaves

[tonybiggar]

Thanks so much for the replies!! I knew I would get expert advice on this forum.

[bullthistle]

The yellow after putting in privet, I beleive it's a wax leaf if evergreen.

[MaineDesigner]

Five is Sambucus, Elderberry

I think six is actually Spirea x bumalda 'Goldflame' or 'Goldmound'

Twelve are spruce and you want them to be Picea glauca rather than Picea pungens. Colorado Blue Spruce does not age gracefully in Eastern South Dakota or SW Minnesota. If those trees are not already growing together I would have them pruned to keep some air and light space between them. Please get someone who knows what they are doing and not some bozo with a hedge clipper.

The tree (Maple?) in three and four has some fairly serious structural issues. Sooner or later it is going to suffer some major storm damage. You could invest money in cabling it but I wouldn't do that. I would just start saving for removal and replacement. A good arborist might be able to give you an idea of how imminent future problems are likely to be.

[tonybiggar]

Thanks for the help. This site has a lot of knowledgeable people here. Which is why I thought I would post a few more to get further clarification. So more help on identification (plus some other bonus questions I had).

So here is some new ones, but also ones that give better detail/close-up of the earlier ones I posted. I will use a new naming convention to help elimate confusion in this go round - so let's use letters instead of numbers this time.

P.S. I welcome any/all suggestions on how to best care for them as well. I appreciate any insight.

A) Plant
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02500.jpg[/img]

B) Tree (does the base look weird to you?)
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02493.jpg[/img]
Close-Up:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02498.jpg[/img]

C) Tall Shrub (what is going on at the base with the extra shoots of leaves?)
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02489.jpg[/img]
Close-Up:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02490.jpg[/img]

D) Tree (is there anything that can be done about the leaning?)
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02483.jpg[/img]
Close-Up:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02482.jpg[/img]

E) Tree (I agree with the comment about this one having issues).
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02484.jpg[/img]
Close-Up:
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02485.jpg[/img]

F) Bush (are we in agreement that this is a Sand Cherry?)
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02486.jpg[/img]

G) Plant (are those dead shoots coming out of it?)
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02487.jpg[/img]
Close-Up
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/DSC02488.jpg[/img]

[bullthistle]

A-daylily
B-looks like a hickory and base is like that because of trimmer
C-needs to be pruned back, new sucker growth, don't have a clue
F-Purple leaf sand cherry-not necessarily hardy, may look like C in time
Tree is leaning because it is being blocked from direct sunlight.
G-Just trim off the dead stalks

[rainbowgardener]

The last one would be a sedum, fall flowering perennial. The brown sticks sticking out are last year's flower stalks, now dead. As noted they can just be pulled/ trimmed.

It likely will look something like this when in bloom:

https://www.youcanlearnseries.com/Landscape/Images/sedum640.jpg

[MaineDesigner]

How embarrassing, D, which I misidentified as a Sambucus from the leaves appears to actually be some stripe of Sorbia (Mtn Ash), probably Sorbia aucuparia, European Mountain Ash. This is another tree where you should start planning for a replacement. European Mountain Ash has a host of insect and disease issues and tends to be short lived (25 - 40 years).

I think B is Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Green Ash. Since I seem to be in Dr Doom mode I would recommend that you not get too attached to this tree as well. Between the root flare damage and the risk of Emerald Ash Borer I do not see long future.

If you have room for it I strongly recommend Quercus macrocarpa, the Burr Oak as a possible future replacement tree. IMO it is by far the finest of the trees native to South Dakota but it gets huge.

For a tree of more reasonable size I have had good luck with Amelanchier x grandiflora cultivars in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area. Unfortunately they are pest and disease prone here in Northern New England.

[applestar]

Isn't C a lilac? New growth sprouts from the base. Shrub can be rejuvinated by cutting thick older stems at the base. There's a dead-looking stem that can go, and the whole thing looks too tall with "bare legs" in any case.

Someone started a thread on pruning lilacs here: https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25074&highlight=
Not much action yet though rainbowgardener posted an excellent link, and more responses may follow if you ask specific questions there.

[tonybiggar]

Great stuff.

I think I have everything in my yard pretty much identified (except C which is next to the sedums and E which is next to the European Ash).

Here's the layout of my yard that I put together in Illustrator.
[img]https://i948.photobucket.com/albums/ad323/tonybiggar/515SunsetLandscaping_withNames.jpg[/img]

It seems like the guy who did the original landscaping might have been a novice at best. It seems like he didn't know how far to plant the trees to give them enough light, attacked the base of trees with a grass trimmer, and planted trees that had no business in these neck of the woods. (Maybe I am being to harsh here).

My next steps are as follows:
1) Find the original landscaper and give him a piece of my mind.
2) Have a arborist/landscape consultant come out to give me suggestions/options.

My questions are:
1) What does (should) it cost for tree removal? Should it be done by a professional?
2) What does (should) it cost for stump removal? DIY project?
3) If I do remove some trees - any recommendations for what I should put in its place. Keep in mind I do like color trees (mostly red/maroon) for the front and big trees and/or apple trees possibly in the back yard. Are these good/bad ideas? Thoughts?
4) How much does it cost to buy a small tree or mature tree and to have it professionally planted? Can I guy it at Sam's Club or does it have to be from a nursery? I would love to hear if you guys have any personal stories on this stuff. I am trying to do this in the most economical way.

Thanks!!

[MaineDesigner]

Tony, thanks for the drawing but if I can suggest a couple more embellishments please add the cardinal directions and the lot depth.

I know Phil Helland from the Landscape Garden Center in Sioux Falls but I haven''t seen him in decades. Phil is a bright guy and has been working in the trade for a very long time so he should be able to give you good advice if you can get him to come out.

Questions:
1 Call for estimates, they are free. A homeowner should be able to remove a tree up to about 20' in height IF the house, power/phone lines and other plants you want to preserve are all outside of that 20' radius.
2 The DIY stump grinders you can rent are little, wimpy (but still dangerous!) things. Hire a professional with a big grinder. You may be able to get estimates over the phone if you can tell them the diameter and any access issues.
3 For small to medium sized trees in Zone 4 I like Acer pseudosieboldianum, Acer triflorum, Chionanthus virginicus and the Amelanchiers I mentioned previously. With more caveats you can add Carpinus caroliniana, Maackia amurensis, Ostrya virginiana, Cercis canadensis, Syringa reticulata, Gleditisia and Viburnum prunifolium (usually a big shrub but you can sometimes also find single trunked, tree form specimens). With even more caveats add Crategus viridis, Crategus phaenopyrum, Cornus alternifolia, Cornus mas, Cladrastus kentukea, Cotinus obovatus and crabapples Malus. I have very limited experience with Sorbus alnifolia Korean Mountain Ash but someone else may want to comment on that tree. If you get interested in one of the trees with caveats just ask and I'll elaborate.
One colored tree or shrub can be a nice accent but multiples are rarely a good idea.
4 A "mature" tree is going to involve a big truck with a tree spade and the cost will be high. I think Wal-Mart and Sam's Club are a blight on America so I'm probably not the best guy to ask about buying plants at box stores. You definitely can plant trees of 1-1/2" caliper or smaller yourself unless you have some disability.

You might also want to contact the horticulture department at SDSU for their advice or recommendations.

[applestar]

Can I ask about the caveat for Cornus alternifolia? I just bought a small (12~15") plant -- most likely cutting or sucker propagated.

I agree about big box stores. They're not always the best source for vegetative plants let alone perennials, DEFINITELY not for shrubs and trees. Only plus they have going for them is that they usually take back/exchange anything that fail to thrive/grow, no questions asked.

Best to go to independent nurseries/garden centers. The ones that supply the local landscapers are usually the best, although I must say there is one in my area that I don't like very much because they drop you like a hot potato to attend to the landscapers. Money talks, I suppose.

[MaineDesigner]

Applestar, I love Pagoda Dogwood but...
Most understory and early successional trees have a more limited lifespan than many of the woodland giants. Growing conditions in much of the Upper Midwest seem to exacerbate this issue with Cornus alternifolia and I have rarely seen one in the original poster's region that appears to be more than 25 years old. Usually canker takes them out at 10 to 25 years. I can't point to a single trigger but collective stresses probably include too much heat, overly dry/inconsistently moist conditions, heavier soils than the tree is best adapted to and alkaline soils.
Scott Reil has accurately pointed that Americans tend not to stay in one place too long. Barring those clients who are direct about the fact that they will probably be selling the property in a few years and are seeking optimum visual presence in a three to five year time frame I like to to cling to to the illusion that I'm designing for at least twenty-five years and hopefully for a century. The phenomena of designers, LAs and homeowners who create landscapes that will already be overcrowded in three years drives me crazy and this is more the rule than the exception.

[applestar]

Thanks MaineDesigner. And I know what you mean. How many times have I seen double-flowerd (Kwanzan?) weeping cherries in a house corner foundation grouping? Most recently, a house around the corner was landscaped in the Fall and, all winter, I thought they went and planted a beech tree in the corner foundation bed. It turned out to be a weeping Cercis, but I'm still not sure it's viable in that location.

[Deb_NY]

Hi.. Newbie here with a question .. Could you suggest an ornamental and flowering tree for the front corner of the house? (NW corner zone 5 WNY)

There is so much great info on this site.. Thank you for the posts.
Happy Planting,

[The Helpful Gardener]

Sounds like a new thread Deb; no hijacking!

My take so far...

1) Need a better image. Leaf close-ups, please...
2) Sand Cherry
3) Need a better image. Leaf close-ups, please...
4) Hosta (sieb. 'Elegans' for the big blue and 'Golden Tiara' for the little one with the gold edge. Newer pics of bigger plants would be helpful)
5) Mountain ash, or rowan (Sorbus)
6) Gold spirea, probably 'Goldmound'
7) Barberry, likely 'Crimson Pygmy'
8 ) German iris on the left, dwarf spirea on the right; likely 'Little Princess'.
9) Weigelia, one of the older varieties...
10) Cornus mas
11) Need a better image. Leaf close-ups, please...
12) Almost certainly Picea pungens 'Glauca'

HG

[Deb_NY]

So sorry.. You were writing about where trees belonged and what not to have there.. and of course I had to ask the question..
Carry on..
No Hijacker here..!

[The Helpful Gardener]

No probs...just start your own thread...

HG