This tree sits outside of my work place here in the southern oregon hills...it's obviously been pruned so i'm not sure of the natural shape.. it is about ten feet tall, it bears a dark purplish cluster of berries later in the year....any help would be appreciated.
I've taken three seedlings from under it home to grow..it is so beautiful in bloom.
This message was edited Jul 1, 2006 2:28 PM
I'm far from an expert on plant ID, but it has some traits of a Laurel.
There are about four pages of laurels listed in DG plant files, but this is the closest photos I could find -- maybe a Portuguese Cherry Laurel?
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/56270/index.html
We have ~10 Russian Laurel growing along our back fence. The Russian has a similar flower with purpley-brown berries.
This message was edited Jul 1, 2006 2:08 PM
thanks, that is it!
I will now plant them as a flowering hedge on a side where a neighbors junk is an eyesore....that russian one is beautiful too!
now i'm all excited about the baby plants i have!
This message was edited Jul 1, 2006 2:31 PM
Oh and i just found out Portugal laurel isn't a true laurel..it's actually of the cherry family...interesting!
Ah, very cool! :-}
I love laurel. It's pretty and is a fast grower.
Here's our Russian Laurels spring 2004.
Getting my camera...let me show you how they've grown in just 2 years. BRB.
They are against a 6-foot fence.
Pretty amazing growth, eh?
And a photo of them last weekend, taken from standing nearby.
(Watching the hot air balloon land just beyond our community.)
:-)
Wonderful - and a perfect, darling greenhouse!!!
And your own hot air balloon show - wow!!!
oh wow !!!! that much growth in just two years??? now i'm really excited!!!
Figure i'll put these lil guys in the ground in the fall and look for more under the tree at work. I'm also going to try to get seeds this fall...will see if that works...
I love watching balloons, how nice to have them in your view!
Thanks so much
Perfect privacy screen Tiff! I wonder if McClendons will have those? That's the perfect answer to our need for a screen. In our back yard, one section is this ugly small red fence and an even uglier mobile and yard behind. I don't want to look at it, and I don't want them looking in! And as fast as they grow, that is great.
Just called McClendons in Sumner and Puyallup.
The Sumner one has 4 or 5 of the Portuguese Laurels at $6.99 for one gallon size. The Puyallup one had none but did have a few Arborvitae.
I will call back in a week or so I guess as I need 15 or so for my privacy screen but if any of you are close and just need a few, go get them!
We got half of our Russian Laurel from Windmill Garden in Sumner and the other half from a little nursery (umm, I think the nursery name is Gorder's) on East Valley Highway, just North of Sumner.
$6.99 is a great price!
I paid ~$250 for all 15; they ranged from 1 gallon to 5 gallon in size.
Was talking to a nursery I insure and he suggested arborvitae. He will get me 15 at wholesale prices that are between 4'-5' tall =D Haven't been to Windmill. Don't even know where they are. They're owned by the big grower behind the John Deere on 410 I think. Usually I pop into McClendon's on lunch break or every once in a great while treat myself to Peninsula Gardens in Gig Harbor but only when I have a coupon! They are expensive but good quality.
Yes, Windmill is owned by the owners of that bulb nursery...DeGoedes, I think? Windmill is kinda pricey, but have punch-card discounts for regulars and specials every once in a while. They are pretty honest and easy to work with if you have a problem with any plants that are under warranty (shrubs, trees)...good customer service...and most of their employees can knowledgeably answer plant questions or point you to the right person to answer.
To get to Windmill Gardens from McLendon's in Sumner, go Fryar to Main Street (left). Then continue heading east on Main through downtown, past Fred Meyer, past Aversano's Pizza. Windmill is just down the street on the left, across from a bright yellow auto parts store.
Arborvitae would be pretty. Will you keep them trimmed in an inverted triangle 'christmas tree' shape, make 'em boxy, or let them grow unfettered?
Going to make them boxy. If you chop the tops off, they bush out fatter, which is what I need. I only want a 6'-8' barrier, nothing taller. It would be on the east side of my back yard, and I want sun back there before 11 AM so I don't get a problem with the ground not drying out. I have a septic system back there as well, and although I'm sure it has good drainage, I just don't want to take a chance on wetness and the problems associated with that. Plus my vege/herb garden needs as much sun as possible to make up for my lack of a green thumb hehe.
LOL!
I might just head to Windmill after work today. Thanks for the directions! I think I know right where that is. I have lunch at the Mongolian Grill every once in awhile and that's not far from it.
You are right, DeGoedes is the name of the grower, and the word is they do alot of the fuschia pots for Home Depot and other stores, about 36,000 of them a year *gulp*
I have a 'volunteer' portugal laurel in my yard. may purchase a few more to make a privacy fence next to cyclone fence.
It looks like a Portugal Laurel. Over the last 3 years, I have planted 14 of them along the eastern and southern fence. There are three stages of growth - sleeping (planted recently and last fall), creeping (planted last spring), and leaping (this is their third summer). The three leaping specimens bloomed this year, just like your photograph. It's a hardy bush, drought tolerant once it's established, and can take some shade. I was worried about one of the first three I planted because it's on the north side of neighbor's fence, so the plant sits in the fence shade all winter due to the sun sitting so low in the winter sky with some light coming through fence. The other two are planted farther into my yard at an angle to create a boundary between yard and yardwaste bin/gate and a small cement slab that the previous owner had put in for his dog kennel. The one I worried about responded favorably to fertilizer in the winter. The leaves were not up to par like the other two, many yellow leaves dropped, unlike the other two. The bushes do drop old leaves, usually from inside the plant in early summer, which I think is a good thing for ventilation and light. Now all three are the same size, color, but the one closest to the fence had less blooms. Still, a good background shrub for perennials, and so much better than Photinia; it gets black spot like our roses. I don't do 'black spot.' On my walks, I've seen these plants completely neglected in the winter to the point where they look like they are not going to get through the season, but by the beginning of summer, they all look great! Hope this helps.
