Looks like the evergreen Carolina Cherrylaurel to me.

Check to see if it's evergreen. If so, then likely it's Prunus caroliniana. Crushed leaves should smell lightly of maraschino cherries. Older bark, when wet, can look very dark.

This post was edited by dave_in_nova on Fri, Sep 5, 14 at 14:48

if that doesnt work.. compare with prunus serotina ...

regardless... i would bet my shiny nickle.. the seed shot out of some birds butt... that is why its so close to the fence ...

and nothing that shoots out of a birds butt... is worth having.. especially if you have a small yard ...

and if that was its source ... dont be surprised.. if you end up finding many seedlings around the property ....

get rid of it .. can you dig it up .... or do you want to know how to kill a stump cut flush with the ground???

we can probably offer replacement suggestions in a new post... with a better pic of the whole yard ...

ken

P. serotina does not produce such smooth, leathery leaves. It is likely to be the laurel cherry instead.

Thank you. It looks like it might be the laurel, which would probably mean it's too big for the space. I will post a photo for suggestions in a separate post.

If it is Carolina cherry laurel (or laurel cherry), they grow quite fast and can get large. Older specimens can have trunks of a foot to 18" in diameter, or more.

Old specimens are attractive when limbed up (to me) and remain nicely evergreen. Even though these plants are probably a weed in Atlanta, I would value one up here in Northern Virginia, but in the right spot.

Berries can be a staining nuisance on sidewalks and the birds do spread them around a fair bit. So choose an appropriate location with enough room for them.

By the way, if you like the glossy evergreen leaves of this plant, there are more diminuative cultivars available at nurseries.