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nwhillbilly

Please Help the Hillbilly identify this plant

nwhillbilly
10 years ago

I think its sick so any help with ID'ing this guy would be much appreciated.

Comments (12)

  • nel5397
    10 years ago

    Fatsia?

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    10 years ago

    Yes, Fatsia japonica. Possibly just chilly. You don't give your zone.

  • larry_gene
    10 years ago

    If nw-hillbilly as is Pacific Northwest, there has been enough cold this winter to burn fatsia leaves. Looks a little windbeaten as well.

  • carlaclaws
    9 years ago

    I'm curious as to why its stem is exposed. It should have a nice "skirt" of lower leaves (and be well mulched over its root zone to boot).

  • Embothrium
    9 years ago

    One of those plants that is prevalent as an older specimen in urban areas near Puget Sound but not hardy enough to last farther out - I can't even get it to live up on top of Camano Island, with salt water all around but still apparently significantly colder than down in the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area.

  • floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
    9 years ago

    .... It should have a nice "skirt" of lower leaves ....

    Only if that is the look the owner wants. And to achieve it a specimen this old would have to be kept cut back. Its natural state is to grow to small, often multi-stemmed, tree and to lose its lower leaves.

  • davidrt28 (zone 7)
    9 years ago

    "One of those plants that is prevalent as an older specimen in urban areas near Puget Sound but not hardy enough to last farther out "

    Strange because they are somewhat common in collector's gardens around Washington, DC, which even in a 'normal' year is much colder than the greater PNW. I'm pretty sure some of them are coming back after this year, which was the coldest in 20 years. Maybe an Asian plant that hardens better with hot summers.

  • nwhillbilly
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hello - Thank you for all of the responses. I'm zone 8, specifically Kirkland, WA. It wasn't particularly cold this winter, we did have record rainfall though. It still looks a bit downtrodden, but new growth is coming in so it appears to be on the rebound.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    9 years ago

    Actually, it was particularly cold this winter and I had damage to, or outright lost things that are fine most years. There was a week of below normal cold temps in December, and a second that broke records last set in 1949 in February.

  • carlaclaws
    9 years ago

    Fatsia, like many broadleaf evergreens, does not like morning winter sun in colder climes.

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    9 years ago

    Ideally, it is best sited in shade. Too bright a situation combined with our unique late winter weather has done some damage. Cut back hard and perhaps consider relocating in a shadier spot. In a woodsy or less exposed setting, this plant would have experienced minimal winter damage. I know of several large specimens in the foothills/Issaquah area.

  • Embothrium
    9 years ago

    It always depends on the total combination of circumstances, including soil conditions that each planting experiences.

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