What Is This Plant?

Discussion in 'Crops & Gardens' started by Diane Lane, May 21, 2015.

  1. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    I'm really bad about identifying things, and my memory is even worse. Hopefully, if someone can help me ID this plant/shrub/small tree, I won't have to ask again.
     

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  2. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    It looks like lilac to me. Is it very fragrant, Diane?
     
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  3. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    @Diane Lane , I am pretty sure that what you have is a Butterfly Bush. They come in various colors, and are supposed to be very hardy. They get around 6-8' tall , if I remember right, so not real large, and they are supposed to attract butterflies.
    Here is a picture of one, and it looks pretty close to your picture, and the leaves look about the same. See what you think.
    Is yours fragrant ? ?
    image.jpg
     
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  4. Pat Baker

    Pat Baker Supreme Member
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    I have seen that plant in my area although I do not know the name of the plant. It is very pretty.
     
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  5. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    I think that's exactly it, Yvonne, thank you! I haven't noticed a scent to it. I think it might also be called a Chaste Tree, or Chasteberry Tree, at least that looks the same to me, but as I said, I have a real problem with identifying things. The Chasteberry Tree is supposed to be a type of butterfly bush, so that would make sense.

    Like @Von Jones (thank you, Von) I initially thought it was a lilac tree, then a friend thought it was wisteria, but I think we've finally identified it!!
     
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  6. Magalina Lilis

    Magalina Lilis Veteran Member
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    Thanks for sharing your pretty Butterfly Bush image. I, too, thought it was one of my favorites, a lilac bush. Our purple and white lilac flowers have come and gone already, sigh. However, waiting in anticipation for my Butterfly Bush to bloom. Mine is a golden-yellow, Honeycomb,Buddleja davidii.

    Besides butterflies, the bushes also attract hummingbirds! Are you noticing an increase in butterflies and hummingbirds in your yard? Well, this is what I initially thought. I did not realize there is a big debate on whether to plant these (invasive) plants in your yard or garden. Apparently, Butterfly Bushes only support the adult stages of butterflies and not the beginning stages, caterpillars. I found two articles that discussed both sides of this debate. Personally, I will keep my Butterfly Bush. It is merely a matter of trimming and planting other species of plants; such as, Zinnias, Golden Rod, Mint, and Sage (which I already have) that support the full life of butterflies, including the caterpillar stage.

    3 Reasons to Never Plant Butterfly Bush Again
    If you truly love nature and butterflies, you can't plant this invasive favorite anymore—no excuses.
    By Leah Zerbe May 6, 2014, from Rodales Oganic Life

    The Great Butterfly Bush Debate
    by the North American Butterfly association (NABA)




    [​IMG]
    Photo Credit: Burpee

     
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  7. Val White

    Val White Veteran Member
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    It looks like a miniature Buddleia

    Charming miniature butterfly bush, pretty blue-purple flowers on tidy silver-green foliage. It blooms early and continuously, without dead-heading or pruning. Can be uses as a groundcover, mass planting or in containers. Non-invasive!

    http://vanbelle.com/product/buddleia-lo-behold-blue-chip-junior/
     
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  8. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    I was just at the park/trails earlier, and noticed the yellow bush is in bloom, as well. I'll have to try to make it to the butterfly garden later this week, if the weather holds up. Maybe I can get some good pics of the plants. I had 2 butterflies flitting around on my balcony yesterday, right by my jasmine and gardenia. I like your idea of planting the butterfly bush along with complementary plants, to encompass the entire life cycle of the butterflies, rather than not planting them.
     
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  9. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    That's pretty, Val. Non-invasive is always good, although the park and trails here are full of honeysuckle, and I love it. It's considered invasive here, but I want to try planting some in my container garden, to go along with my mandevilla, gardenia, and jasmine.
     
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  10. Magalina Lilis

    Magalina Lilis Veteran Member
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    Good point about this particular variety of a butterfly bush to be non-invasive because it has no suckers and few seeds. Thanks for the information. I enjoy learning about new plants offered; such as, this Blue Chip Jr. miniature variety.

    There is a mention of this hybrid introduced from the Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina. I wonder if anyone has ever visited?

    From the Missouri Botanical Garden,

    "‘Blue Chip’ is the first cultivar to be released to commerce in a new miniature butterfly bush series named LO AND BEHOLD . This series is being developed at the Raulston Arboretum in North Carolina. Plants with additional flower colors are expected to be introduced in this series in the future. 'Blue Chip' plants grow in manageable, well-branched mounds to only 2' tall and feature intense blue flowers in spike-like terminal and axillary clusters. Flowers bloom continuously from June to September and sometimes to first frost. Flowers are fragrant, and, as the common name suggests, very attractive to butterflies. Willowy, elliptic leaves are green to gray-green. 'Blue Chip' is a complex hybrid originating as a third generation descendant from a hand pollinated cross of B. 'Honeycomb' and (B. 'Nanho Purple x B. lindleyana). U.S. Plant Patent PP19,991 was issued on May 12, 2009".
     
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  11. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    I've got another that I'd like to identify, in case anyone knows what it is. This is at a friend's house, and she has no idea what it's called. I didn't notice a scent, but didn't specifically remember to sniff, because the mosquitoes were so bad back there I was in a rush to escape.
     

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  12. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    That violent (or purple) plant grows wild here. But they have no fragrance and their only asset is for flower arrangements. I am not really well versed in plants but since my husband is so I am somehow contaminated, hahahaaa. In this modern era, we still have some wild plants here that grows when the rain comes.

    And not only wild plant that give flowers, we have here some small vines. Right now, they are fruiting. One is the wild cucumber with fruits as small as a plum. According to the agriculturist on tv, that wild cucumber is edible and can be eaten like a real cucumber. Another is the small passion fruit of which fruit is a bit smaller than the ordinary playing marble. Yellow when ripe, the wild passion fruit is very sweet.

    Pardon me from straying out of the topic, I got carried away.
     
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  13. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    There's no need to worry about straying from topics here, we're all just a bunch of friendly people who enjoy conversing, sharing information, and learning from one another. Those sound like interesting plants/fruits, I'd love to see pictures. I've never tasted passion fruit, and I'm sure y'all have some very different plants and flowers (as well as fruits and vegetables) over there, so feel free to share pics and information!
     
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  14. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    Thank you for the support and assurance, @Diane Lane. I am attaching a photo of the flowering weed. We just call it such but it's actually a wild plant, not cultivated and grows by its own especially during the rainy season. By the way, the rains are here since last week so expect growths everywhere, from mushroom to edibles and, of course, grasses of all varieties.

    Take note of that violet flower, it is as big as my hand. Maybe it can be used for flower arrangements in the flower shop. IMG_3128 violet flower RESIZED.jpg
     
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  15. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    Ooh, that's pretty. Do you have Morning Glories there? They are also considered weeds, I believe, and run rampant here, but I like them. I had them all over my back and side fence, as well as out front, but apparently the weed killer I put on the lawn also killed them :(. morning glories.jpg Your pic kind of resembles morning glories, I love the color, and how frilly they are. Morning Glories aren't that big, though, so maybe they're related, but a different variety.
     
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