| Author | Content |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 14, 2012 6:42 AM Post #9081948
| Hi! I chopped down some saplings last year but they regrew this spring. They're red when they sprout, but the leaves become green in the summer.
The saplings grew from ground level to 10 inches this spring. The stems are fleshy but they become woody in the summer. I guess this plant is a tree. They have never grown larger than 1 foot and the area that they're growing in is dappled shade next to a forest.
DoGooder
Click an image for an enlarged view.
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gasrocks
Portage, WI (Zone 5a)
April 14, 2012 7:28 AM Post #9082004
| My guess is that it is not a tree. |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 14, 2012 7:54 AM Post #9082034
| gasrocks, I figured it was a tree because of what it turned into by summer last year. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of it then. Last summer each sprout had turned into a 1-foot tall tree-like plant with a brown wooden stem and green leaves. What are your reasons as to why you don't think this is a sapling?
DoGooder |
growin
Vancouver, BC (Zone 8b)
 April 14, 2012 8:41 AM Post #9082078
| Peony http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/organic-garde... |
altagardener
Calgary, AB (Zone 3b)
April 14, 2012 9:12 AM Post #9082095
| Yes, peony. |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 14, 2012 10:00 AM Post #9082138
| growin and altagardener, thanks for the information! This does appear to be a peony but when I looked at photos of peonies they didn't look like the tree-like plants I chopped down last year. Maybe those trees never regrew and these plants are peonies as I do remember there were some in our yard last year.
gasrocks, since this plant appears to be a peony and peonies can be herbaceous or trees, I suppose it could be either.
Thanks everyone for your helpful suggestions!
DoGooder |
growin
Vancouver, BC (Zone 8b)
April 14, 2012 10:04 AM Post #9082143
| Looks very much like the herbaceous Peony. With the Tree Peonies you'd see some woody stems in there. |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 14, 2012 10:17 AM Post #9082150
| growin, I see. Well, the peonies haven't bloomed in years and they're in a shade area so I will probably remove them, since I read they don't do well in shade. I would much rather plant something in that area that tolerates shade like the pachysandra nearby.
DoGooder |
cathy166
Stamford, CT (Zone 6b)
April 18, 2012 8:06 AM Post #9087421
| If you cut down tree peonies, the only part left might be the original herbaceous graft. If so, it is planted too deep to bloom. Tree peonies should (almost) never be pruned as they make their new growth on the old. An the old often looks dead. Could fool anyone. |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 18, 2012 1:16 PM Post #9087798
| cathy166, thanks for the information about tree peonies' root systems. There's a peony (attached photo) that looks similar to these plants growing in our front yard and I tried to uproot it two years ago but there was a gigantic root system at least two feet wide with roots one inch thick. The rootball was about 1 foot underground and I chopped off a lot of roots but it keeps growing every year. I don't know if herbaceous peonies have big root systems like that or only the tree kind.
DoGooder 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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cathy166
Stamford, CT (Zone 6b)
April 18, 2012 5:14 PM Post #9088087
| Herbaceous peonies seem to be like icebergs. Those roots can be like an underground bush. |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 18, 2012 5:18 PM Post #9088096
| cathy166, oh well! I have my work cut out for me removing three peonies this spring.
DoGooder |
cathy166
Stamford, CT (Zone 6b)
April 18, 2012 5:20 PM Post #9088099
| Don't be intimidated. If some break off, don't worry. |
charyladams
Ottawa Hills, OH (Zone 6a)
April 18, 2012 5:24 PM Post #9088103
| congrats! I had a peony I found too growing in the shade! the helpful people on here gave me lots of info and I was empowered to move it to the sun, hopefully it will flower now. Good luck with yours too and let me know when it flowers! |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 19, 2012 4:17 AM Post #9088500
| cathy166 and charyladams,
Almost all our garden is in full shade or part shade so I've decided I'm going to throw out the peonies after uprooting them because I already have some plants arriving that I'm going to put in the few sun areas that we have.
DoGooder |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA (Zone 9a)
April 19, 2012 6:32 AM Post #9088648
| Lots of people like peonies, if you wanted to you could probably trade them for some nice shade-lovers instead of throwing them out. |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 19, 2012 6:38 AM Post #9088662
| ecrane3, I've never traded plants before. I will check the trading section of this web site. Peonies are beautiful, and most plants like lots of sun so it's always a challenge for me to give up buying very attractive sunshine plants.
DoGooder |
cathy166
Stamford, CT (Zone 6b)
April 19, 2012 7:08 AM Post #9088699
| DoGooder, if you cannot find a trade, find a neighbor who might like it. Peonies take some time to get established, and you've probably got a hardy one. You could also give it to the gardener at a senior center or day care facility. |
charyladams
Ottawa Hills, OH (Zone 6a)
April 19, 2012 10:15 AM Post #9088935
| I would love to trade you for some astible, hosta or lily of the valley if you like! |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 19, 2012 2:30 PM Post #9089247
| charyladams, I would be willing to trade the peonies for lily of the valley and/or hostas. Do you want the smaller peonies (next to the pachysandra) or the larger one (next to the shrub) or both?
DoGooder |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 19, 2012 5:54 PM Post #9089475
| charyladams, I suppose we should discuss the trade by email. Do you know if there's a Dave's Garden email system or would I need to publish my personal email?
DoGooder |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA (Zone 9a)
April 19, 2012 5:59 PM Post #9089482
| There's an email system here--easiest thing to do is click on the other person's username, and on the page that comes up there's a link to send them a d-mail. From there you can keep all the communication here on dmail, or you can use that message system to exchange real email addresses in a way that only that person can see. |
DoGooder
Hopkinton, MA (Zone 5b)
April 20, 2012 3:09 AM Post #9089791
| ecrane3, thanks!
DoGooder |
