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We had a section of our pasture cleared several weeks ago and everything was dumped in a pile. This morning, I found this tree, still alive and budding, sticking out of the side of the pile of debris. I was able to pull it out and dumped it in the bathtub that we have for the horses water to soak. I know we had some wild cherry growing in the "jungle" area we had cleared and this doesn't look like the pictures I've found of wild cherry, but I want to make sure it's not anything toxic before I try to transplant it in my front pasture where I desperately need some trees. I've seen them growing around here and I'm sure it's pretty common, but I'm just not at all familiar enough with everything that grows around here yet to know what it is. Can someone ID it for me please and let me know if soaking it was the right thing to do and if so, how long should I soak it before planting it. I'm sure I won't be able to get my dh to dig me a hole deep enough for it with the tractor until this weekend.
thanks,
Kristen
Take a close look at the branch and bud arrangement; looks oppositely arranged to me. Can't be Prunus or Malus then.
I'd go with Resin's assessment. If not red maple (Acer rubrum), then silver maple (Acer saccharinum). Both of these (as with maples generally) are oppositely branched species.
Kristen:
Wild cherry (Prunus serotina) is one of the main trees to be concerned about toxicity for horses, but not the only one. I used to manage the landscapes of several large thoroughbred horse farms here, and there are quite a few different plants to be wary of. Most people aren't aware that red maple (Acer rubrum) has been fingered in poisonings of horses, and that will come as an unpleasant surprise to those that have invested in one of the most popular shade trees of the past twenty years.
I have in the past week just read through the veterinary literature on this issue pertaining to red maples. You should check with whomever you use for your horses. I would plant a different species in your pasture, or anywhere you expect that your horse can reach to nibble.
Thanks everyone! Cherry was my main concern, but I'm aware that maple and oak can cause problems too. We have several maples in the pasture already and they seem to ignore them but I won't be putting this one in the front pasture now. I'll find a different spot for it. I love the red flowering buds on it and it survived the dump pile so obviously wants to live.
These guys are a lot better IDers than I, first gance I thought peach tree. What's worse is I have peach trees seems like I would know exactly what one looks like. SC address may have colored my thinking.
Core, I know...I think it's the little whispy flowers that made me think some type of fruit tree at first too which is what got me on the mind set of cherry :-)
Look at the bark a red mable will have tight bark. A silver will have bark that peals at the top and bottom and attached in the middle. A silver generally lives along rivers and creeks. I would call it a red. I think reds actually don't have alot of red branching vs a silver has long red branches on the new growth.
