Does Anyone Recognize This?
June 30, 2008 · Filed Under Featured Plant, Garden
Recently I posted about my hedge, and I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of plant it is. I suspect it’s something very ordinary, but I’m not sure. I also suspect it’s nitrogen fixing, because it grows fast, makes the ground around it very soft and is the source of a lot of weeds, but now I’m not 100% sure of this either. The leaf in this picture is about 4cm wide:
Normally it looks pretty healthy, but in the last few days we’ve had hot and dry weather, and it’s looking a little ratty. There is actually a lot of diversity in the shape of the leaves.
Old growth is green, and new growth is red:
If anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them!
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4 Responses to “Does Anyone Recognize This?”
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Field maple. I’ve planted a few on the allotment in a hedge I renovated. It’s very brittle. It has some wildlife value I think. It’s native in the UK. I have a feeling that it doesn’t germinate very freely – it’s seeds go dormant – so I’d guess it’s propagated from cuttings. Not an ideal hedge plant really because it grows strongly and can’t be layed, it prefers to make a small tree really.
Simon
This resource may help you to identify plants,
http://www.colby.edu/info.tech/BI211/PlantFamilyID.html
I was going to say Field Maple too. One extra clue is the colour of the leaves in autumn; a lovely buttery yellow. I don’t agree with Simon that it cannot be laid. I had several in hedges in the UK and laid them successfully.
It’s a Field Maple!
Even though I don’t know much about these kind of plants, I really should have recognized the shape and color of the leaves. I just think of Maples as trees, and wasn’t expecting my hedge to be one.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
Maybe now that I understand what it is, I can learn to appreciate it a bit more…