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What is it? (Before I chop it down!)
green fingered finch
Posts: 278
Does anyone jnow what this shrubby plant is? It hasn't done anything since we moved here in February except grown bigger and bigger. It was very straggly when we first got here. It's now about 7 or 8 feet tall and my fiancé is now bored if it and threatening to cut it down! I don't want to chop it in case its something beautiful which flowers on previous year's growth (or somesuch). Can anyone shed any light?
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A cornus of some sort. You might get good autum colour. The young growth might have coloured stems in winter. If it doesn't do either of those it won't do anything else worthwhile
In the sticks near Peterborough
I don't want to frighten you gff, but it looks horribly like japanese knotweed to me! Google it and look at the images.
Looks like a cornus (dogwood) to me.
They usually have gorgeous coloured stems in the winter when the leaves have fallen. What you do is cut it down in the spring - right down - coppice it. It will then grow new shoots - the new shoots have the best colour - then in the autumn when the leaves fall you'll have glorious red stems throughout the winter
Does that make sense?
Like this
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Not Japanese Knotweed.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dove, so it may or may not be any good. Think I will leave it until the spring and see what happens. Thank you
And I do know its NOT Jap Knotweed!
Cut it down in the spring and wait until next winter - that's when it will have lots of new brightly coloured stems
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Agree, looks very much like a dogwood i have just seen.
Definitely not Japanese Knotweed.
Agreed, most definitely not Japanese Knotweed!! Why do people say that about plants which are nothing like it?
It may not be a cornus with good winter-coloured stems. There are good varieties.
But totally agree, cut down to the ground in Spring.
It IS Cornus (Dogwood). Follow the advice to cut it down to a few inches in late Match so that you enjoy the colour of the stems for a long time.