Help with identification of shrubs please!

[Splaker]

Hello folks,

I'm a first-time poster and pretty novice gardener!

I just bought a property on a half acre lot. The previous owners, who were not here for very long, did not keep up with the maintenance of the lot very well.. Many shrubs are over-grown and in need of attention. I want to prune some back. I have already started on a couple that I was able to ID on my own - a red-twig dogwood and a purple-leaf sand cherry. I cit back the dogwood aggressively because it had become wild looking, with lots of old, dead and large trunks. I saved a few of the younger shoots cutting them back a fair bit too but not completely. I am going to tackle the sand cherry today as it has also become scraggly and over-grown. I plan to target all of the big branches and even the smaller ones cutting them back as close to the ground as possible. I hope this is the proper strategy for this plant under these conditions.

I need help IDing a few others and I will start with this one for now since I am going to also prune it today or tomorrow. By the way, I am in zone 4 (or 5b). Thank you very much in advance!

 

[LIcenter]

I have no clue what that is, but I gotta say; what a tangled mess! Is that one clump, or is there something else growing thru it? Looks like it needs a good opening up from the inside out.

 

[Splaker]

I have no clue what that is, but I gotta say; what a tangled mess! Is that one clump, or is there something else growing thru it? Looks like it needs a good opening up from the inside out.

Thanks for the reply, LIcenter. I might as well take the pruning sheers to it and cut it back. It's still cold here (high 30s/low 40s) so should be a good time... I heavily pruned a red-twig dogwood yesterday that was close to this. Any chance it's a lilac? I thought the buds and branches would give it away..

Any other guesses out there?

 

[LIcenter]

That looks awful knarly to be a lilac, and the buds look too big also.

 

[Bootsy]

Bare leafed trees are extremely difficult to identify.

That looks awful knarly to be a lilac, and the buds look too big also.

It's highly unlikely to be lilac as most lilacs have a different growing habit.

 

[DrCase]

No clue what it is . I would clean it up and make it look like a tree

 

[Splaker]

No clue what it is . I would clean it up and make it look like a tree

You should see the other stuff on the property!! Seems like every shrub is a mess... they lived here for 3+ years and I'm pretty sure they did nothing except cut the grass... It's going to take me 2 years to get the place in order...I have no idea about the ID of several other plants... want to know soon so that I can begin pruning before the warm weather hits.. Might take samples to a good garden centre.

labor of love, i guess...

 

[Bootsy]

want to know soon so that I can begin pruning before the warm weather hits

It will be very difficult to identify any plant without being able to see it in leaf or flower. The usual thing to do when in a new property is to take it slowly and try to identify everything before getting too heavy handed with the garden. If you try to cut things back too early you may lose some good plants.

 

[Splaker]

It will be very difficult to identify any plant without being able to see it in leaf or flower. The usual thing to do when in a new property is to take it slowly and try to identify everything before getting too heavy handed with the garden. If you try to cut things back too early you may lose some good plants.

i know, you;re right... Can certain shrubs then be at least slightly or modestly pruned once they've greened up?

 

[Bootsy]

Most can but it depends on what it is whether you might lose that year's flowers. Reducing the height won't cause loss of flower and it looks as though it could do with a really good thinning out - without causing harm.

So reduce the height now - if that's what you want to do - and wait just a while until we can see what it is. Do you know about thinning out?

 

[Splaker]

Most can but it depends on what it is whether you might lose that year's flowers. Reducing the height won't cause loss of flower and it looks as though it could do with a really good thinning out - without causing harm.

So reduce the height now - if that's what you want to do - and wait just a while until we can see what it is. Do you know about thinning out?

Actually, I'd love some tips on thinning out a shrub or the like. What is involved? Which branches to select? Thank you kindly...

 

[Bootsy]

It depends on whether they're shrubs or trees. Also it depends on what they are.

Thinning out of trees, as your photo seems to be, is normally done by removing branches that face in towards the middle of the tree and are criss-crossing each other. They can, sometimes, be removed completely or pruned back by one third or two thirds.

Shrubs can be similar to trees or similar to bushes. Either pruning back where they cross (and shortening if too tall) or just cutting with shears or hedge cutters.

That's why it's important to know what they are before doing too much. Also, with a move to another house it's normally recommended to wait a year to see what comes up.

 

[Splaker]

thanks for the info... will at least start on that pictured one... You say it's a tree but it seems to be more of a shrub to me... Maybe it's a more common plant variety in Canada, since that is where I live? I am in zone 4b/5ish.

 

[Splaker]

Here's a pic of a red twig dogwood - I gave it a major haircut based on internet information. It was a HOT MESS.

 

[Bootsy]

Re tree/shrub: this may be a language barrier problem .

In the photos it appears to be as tall as the house!

Dogwoods (Cornus) come in a large variety of forms. The majority of them are grown in gardens mainly for the coloured display of the bark in the winter but there are varieties that are grown for their leaves or bracts and they should pruned in early summer. There's one variety that is grown for its winter flowering! Gets complicated, doesn't it.

Yours seems to be the coloured bark variety, but I haven't seen it in leaf.

Here's some pruning info (saves me typing!)

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=161

The majority of Cornus come in shades of red but there are a number of different colours (yellow is also quite common) and, certainly, a lot of different sizes.

And here's one of ours that we grow just for the variegated foliage