girlkat187
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Please help me identify this shrub

I responded to a "you dig" ad on Craigslist for a mock orange, but when I got there, the shrub was not at all what I expected! I didn't want to be a craigslist flake so I dug it up anyway hoping it was just some variety of mock orange I had never seen before. Now that I'm googling it, I'm pretty sure it is not a mock orange at all. So now the question is, what is it? I need to know so that I select the best spot in my yard for it. Can anyone help? I attached a photo of what it looked like stuffed in my car.
image.jpg

imafan26
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The leaves don't look that much like mock orange. Mock orange does bloom, the flowers are white and small like those. But, I don't remember seeing that much pink in them. check out the blossoms on this website and compare the flowers. They may be in the same family. It might be a pittosporum instead which has a common name of mock orange.
https://www.pbase.com/hjsteed/mock_orange_philadelphias

girlkat187
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Hey, I've been doing some detective work, and I think it's a viburnum! Anyone have any opinions on that?

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applestar
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I was thinking viburnum, too, but there are so many varieties. Do these blossoms have sweet fragrance?

girlkat187
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Yes, they do!

imafan26
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Unfortunately, mock orange also has a sweet fragrance, but it does have citrus undertones. Mock orange is also a common name for a lot of plants with citrus like fragrant flowers.

It does look like viburnum too. Try to compare the leaves of a mock orange with a viburnum. Yours looks a little like viburnum "Eve Price". Click on the photo for a closeup of the flowers and capsules and compare it to your plant.
https://davisla.wordpress.com/category/ ... eve-price/


The way to identify a plant is usually with a leaf, a seed, and a flower. Take a close look at the flower. Pay attention to its' shape, number of petals, if the petals curl forward or back, their shape, edges smooth, or curly, the way it clusters, number of anthers, color. Members of the same family will have similar flowers.

girlkat187
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Thanks! I do believe that is it. I had fun IDing it and I found some really great sites to help with that.

So now that I've moved it and replanted it, who can tell me what its odds of survival are? It's massive, mature, and HEAVY! Probably 7 or 8 feet tall...more on a few branches. And I did a terrible job getting it out of there. Had to cut some big roots back because they went under the house and the patio and another shrub. Had to break some roots under it even though I knew I shouldn't, because by then I was too physically spent to do a better job. Any tips for helping this thing survive the shock?

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rainbowgardener
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Just keep it well watered. Not soggy, but never let it dry out. Don't fertilize it until it is putting out new growth and then gently, maybe half strength.

imafan26
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If you cut a lot of the roots off, you may have to cut back the top. Since I don't grow viburnums, maybe Rainbow knows if it does o.k. even with the roots cut.

Most of the plants I move, if I have to cut a lot of the roots, especially large roots, I also have to cut back the top and almost always (exception, impatiens, fuschia, and orchids), have to cut off the flowers so the plant has a chance to recover. A reduced root system has trouble supporting flowers and a lot of branches.

girlkat187
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Location: Portland, OR

I thought that! But then it was mentioned by a neighbor that that might shock it more. I'd love some extra voices to chime in and back that up or not!



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