Plant I.D.

[Larrytx]

Can someone please help me with identifying this plant in The below picture? I live in north-central Texas, zone 8.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Looks a bit like some weird Viburnum..

Also looks Privet-ish...

Sorry! I’ve never worked with one of these.

 

[HorseloverFat]

I’m looking again.. and definitely not viburnum.

 

[Esolin]

I agree it looks like a privet or maybe some variety of eugenia. You might have to see its flowers/fruits to get a positive id.

 

[Larrytx]

It’s growing in my son’s pasture and I put a couple of cuttings in with a potted Gardena. Both rooted. I don’t know if that will help or not, but thanks for the help.

I agree it looks like a privet or maybe some variety of eugenia. You might have to see its flowers/fruits to get a positive id.

Thanks. I’m going to collect it this Spring. No knowing what it is, I don’t know if it would make a decent bonsai.

 

[just.wing.it]

A little hard to tell....but my money goes on common privet.

 

[Michael P]

Glossy privet, Ligustrum lucidum.

 

[penumbra]

Nailed it! ^^^

 

[Shibui]

Privet. Tough as nails, in fact weedy in many places so it will make a hardy bonsai. They also transplant very easy so don't bother trying to save lots of roots.
This appears to be one of the large leaf species so leaf size can detract a bit from bonsai design - larger sized bonsai design will be better than trying for shohin size.

 

[Larrytx]

Privet. Tough as nails, in fact weedy in many places so it will make a hardy bonsai. They also transplant very easy so don't bother trying to save lots of roots.
This appears to be one of the large leaf species so leaf size can detract a bit from bonsai design - larger sized bonsai design will be better than trying for shohin size.

 

[Larrytx]

Can I go ahead and dig it, or wait until spring? Thanks for helping with this. As you can tell I am very inexperienced with bonsai. It’s an after retirement endeavor to get me out of the house.

 

[just.wing.it]

I say wait!

 

[Shibui]

Can I go ahead and dig it, or wait until spring? Thanks for helping with this. As you can tell I am very inexperienced with bonsai. It’s an after retirement endeavor to get me out of the house.

I just had to scroll all the way back to the start to try to find out where you live. It makes it so much easier if you add some more details, especially location to your profile so it is visible every time you post.

I guess it is early fall in Texas and winters will be mild. Coupled with privet resilience I would say that transplant now would be possible but no guarantees. Given that it is a large leaf privet and not really very interesting trunk it won't be a great loss if it does not make it but the process should be good learning experience.
You should be able to find a much better candidate for bonsai if you keep looking so don't get too precious about this first candidate.
Spring transplant generally gives more assurance so we will have to leave the decision to you.

Don't underestimate the work involved in transplant.
The hole required to extract any tree will be at least twice the size you imagined.
Trees seem to weigh around twice what you estimated before starting so work out a feasible way to get it out of the hole and to transport from collection to growing site.
I firmly believe that removing soil from around a trunk allows it to expand so when it is out the tree and roots will be much larger than you estimated so won't fit in any of the pots you had available.

Just letting you know before you start.........

 

[Potawatomi13]

I guess it is early fall in Texas and winters will be mild.

Yeah, like last winter. How many died from cold? In agreement this is not interesting trunk for future tree. Maybe to grow in yard. Normal to wait until Spring, however MAYBE will survive if very hardy?

 

[Michael P]

Agree with everything Shibui wrote. The main danger to this species in North Texas is the rare extreme winter cold, as we experienced last February. Old specimens in the ground were killed or severely injured, and a ligustrum in a pot would be even more vulnerable. If you decide to collect it now, protect the pot and roots by putting it in a mulch pile, and be prepared to move it into a garage or other cool but above freezing place until the bad weather is over.

I actually tried a few of these years ago. I thought of them as ficus I could leave outside during the winter (most of the time). But they developed severe whitefly infestations. Whiteflies are treatable, but I decided the pre-bonsai privets were not worth the effort. If they were good trees that I had spent a lot of time or effort on, I would have treated them.

Good luck! I am in Dallas, so my conditions are similar to yours. If your son has land, look for some cow-browsed cedar elms--those are often very worth the effort to collect.

 

[ShadyStump]

Newby + un-killable plant = experience

Dig it when you feel like it, and see what happens. If it lives and it's ugly, mess with it until it's dead or beautiful. Repeat to your heart's content.

 

[Larrytx]

I will wait until spring. At least it will give me experience with an ugly plant instead of practicing on a decent specimen. Thanks for your help!

 

[Larrytx]

I just had to scroll all the way back to the start to try to find out where you live. It makes it so much easier if you add some more details, especially location to your profile so it is visible every time you post.

I guess it is early fall in Texas and winters will be mild. Coupled with privet resilience I would say that transplant now would be possible but no guarantees. Given that it is a large leaf privet and not really very interesting trunk it won't be a great loss if it does not make it but the process should be good learning experience.
You should be able to find a much better candidate for bonsai if you keep looking so don't get too precious about this first candidate.
Spring transplant generally gives more assurance so we will have to leave the decision to you.

Don't underestimate the work involved in transplant.
The hole required to extract any tree will be at least twice the size you imagined.
Trees seem to weigh around twice what you estimated before starting so work out a feasible way to get it out of the hole and to transport from collection to growing site.
I firmly believe that removing soil from around a trunk allows it to expand so when it is out the tree and roots will be much larger than you estimated so won't fit in any of the pots you had available.

Just letting you know before you start.........

I got that profile changed and apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your help.

 

[TN_Jim]

I will wait until spring. At least it will give me experience with an ugly plant instead of practicing on a decent specimen. Thanks for your help!

could put me a in a barrel, fill it with fish, drop off of any random hillside and open fire at me & I would still find equally ‘decent’ privet within close reach

dig it, take it to the breaking point, put a hockey mask on it

 

[Larrytx]

could put me a in a barrel, fill it with fish, drop off of any random hillside and open fire at me & I would still find equally ‘decent’ privet within close reach

dig it, take it to the breaking point, put a hockey mask on it

Oh come on Jim. Tell me how you really feel about this case.