that is not poison ivy. looks like tree seedlings to me.

They could also be Virginia creeper seedlings, Parthenocissus quinquefolia.

Thank-you both for your input. I did plant a bunch of seedlings last Spring but they don't look like anything I planted. Could be VA creeper...or they could be trees and I'd be inclined to say box elder?

It's difficult to be certain, but I'm thinking the leaves are in opposite pairs rather than compound leaves.

If so, definitely neither poison ivy nor box elder.

Virginia creeper has toothless, heart-shaped dicotyledons, and often the first compound leaf has 3 leaflets (rather than Virginia creeper's expected five leaflets).

PI's dicots, in contrast, are long ovals quite similar to Viola sororia's dicots. The first PI true leaves, when they are quite small, may appear to be single rather than compound leaves.

Just want to make sure I understand. I agree these seedlings have dicots (opposite) and 1 pair of leaves (opposite) so they can't be PI or BE but they can't be VA Creeper either because there would be 3 leaves as opposed to 2? Any guesses as to what they might be?

I was leaning towards creepers because though I have not seen VA creeper in the 3 yrs I've been here, they seem to be coming out of the woodwork this Spring! I'm thinking they may have piggy backed in the mulch I put everywhere to try and kill the stiltgrass!

VC is know to have weird immature leave configuration ... that might be part of the confusion ... in a week.. when they are 8 feet long.. you will know.. lol ...

and i dont know why you would rule out birds ...

ken

Thanks Ken! Birds are not ruled out (entirely) but to go from no creepers to creepers everywhere in one season over a fairly large area (not huge but a couple of acres), an area over which I poured wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of mulch over, smacks more of mulch than birds! By the way, creepers are welcome....I've just been out swinging around on the bittersweet vines.....wish the creepers could climb up the bittersweet and pull it down so I don't have to :)!

There are cotyledons, then the first leaves. I thought VA creeper when I saw them too. If you wait until you're sure, they're still easy to pull, when you see the first 5-leaf.

Thanks...I think I'll go with VA creeper...but I don't really want to pull it...is it that bad?

Box elder.

Ok...now that I'm sure they're creepers...you throw a fly into the ointment....I think I'll just call them box creepers and wait 'til they grow a bit bigger :)

Thank-you!

Space is usually an issue for the home gardener for VA creeper, a US native (not insisting that's what it is, just answering the question.)

Maybe you can add an update pic in a week or 2?

Box creepers - LOL!