Where should I plant this if I don't know what it is? Please help.

June 2, 2013 1:44 PM

Got this plant as a gift from inlaws. I'd like to identify it so I know how big it will get and where to plant it. Any ideas? It's about 2ft. tall right now still in the pot. I'm in south texas. Leaves remind me of a mesquite, But I doubt that's what it is. Honestly i have no clue. They got at it as some event where they were giving away all sorts of plants. Thanks in advance!
posted by gabem to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

I'm not sure on the id, but it looks like a metasequoia to me. If so, they get quite big. As I said before, I am not sure that that is what it is. So get confirmation from another source.
posted by sciencegeek at 2:14 PM on June 2, 2013

It's a bald cypress, I think. It would be very unusual to happen upon a dawn redwood in south Texas.
posted by purpleclover at 2:23 PM on June 2, 2013

My first guess would be some kind of cypress. If it is a bald cypress, they're frequently used as parking lot trees these days because they're very hardy. They can handle being very wet, and generally grow in swamps in the wild, but do not require that to grow at all. They can get tall under the right circumstances, but more like 100 ft than like a redwood.

Oh, also, if you're not familiar with them, they're called 'bald' because they loose their needles in winter like a deciduous tree, even though they're conifers. I would hate for you to think it died next fall when the needles fall off and dig it up. The needles are a very popular mulch.
posted by hydropsyche at 2:40 PM on June 2, 2013

My first thought (as a native New Englander) was that it looked like a fir tree. Are the needles flat? Do they smell kind of piney?
Also, it might be possible to call the event organizers to track down the nursery that donated the plants and see if they can identify the picture. Or, you could drive it over to a local nursery (or even bring in a sprig) and ask if they can identify it.
posted by pompelmo at 4:15 PM on June 2, 2013

I thought that it was a bald cypress too. They like moist locations and they get really big, though they don't grow that fast.
posted by Ostara at 5:06 PM on June 2, 2013

Looks like yew to me.
posted by raisingsand at 7:51 PM on June 2, 2013

Your local County Extension should be able to help, they usually have a master gardener on staff. Also great for gardening and canning advice.
posted by annsunny at 9:00 PM on June 2, 2013

Taxodium distichum, Bald Cypress, native to southeast Texas and southern US.

I was hesitant at first, for some reason I was looking for a leaflet in pairs ( I moved away from Texas 25 years ago, so a little rusty). Metasequoia (Dawn Redwood), Sequoia (Coast Redwood) have similar leaves, but being South Texas, I would bet on Bald Cypress.

It's a good tree, it LOVES water.
posted by Xoebe at 1:33 PM on June 3, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I'm thinking I'll drive down to my local nursery just to make sure, but yeah I think it's a bald cypress too. I was hoping it was a smaller size tree; I may have to donate to someone as I don't have the space for it in my yard :( .
posted by gabem at 7:44 AM on June 4, 2013