I'm fairly certain this came from my mother's garden. I've always just called it the pink bush. It is blooming now, deciduous, large round shape, maybe 7' tall and about as wide. I think I figured out what it is once, but have now forgotten. If anyone knows the name of this beast, let me know and I promise to write it down this time. Thanks. It's an effective screen but otherwise rather bland.
Is it a lonicera?
I have a similar question: What is the shrubby tree thing that is blooming along all the roadways? It has white panicles like lilac but its leaves are fingery like a marijuana plant. It may or not be fragrant.
I think summerkid is right, a Lonicera. Possibly Loncera hispidula, which is native.
Summerkid, I'm not sure but I went through my pnw wildflower book. Are any of these what you're thinking of?
Sambucus racemosa
hydrophyllum tenuipes
oplopanax horridus
cimicifuga elata
actaea rubra
Lupinus albicaulis
lupinus leucophyllus,
I apologize if these are it but I can't see the leaves well.
I'm pretty sure it's not any sort of honeysuckle, although I can see how one might come up with that from the photo. The shrub is big and very rounded, not at all vining. The flowers have no scent, all bloom at about the same time, then fall off with no subsequent re-blooming. I'll try for a better shot, although the flowers are fading and starting to fall off. It may just be the pink bush forever...
Hmmm - on researching, perhaps it is a Lonicera tatarica. Nothing but negatives about it, seems to be invasive. I've had this shrub for 30 years and it has never done anything other than get big and bushy - no babies, no suckering. It has never impressed me much - not too showy, no fragrance, no fall color. Almost dug it out this spring but decided it makes a good screen. I would never have thought of it as a honeysuckle, but can't figure anything else for it.
I bought seeds for Tatarica because it looks a bit like the beautiful bush-shrub one my niece and I saw at Seaside. She seemed to like the blooms so I had bought seeds for the plant but didn't know they were invasive. Now I'm looking for alternatives with similar blooms.
If it's not spreading and has been there for ages your garden must have the secret ingredient to keep it from spreading!!
Another thing it's good for is feeding hummingbirds. Have you seen any visitors?
I think it's Lonicera tatarica - I have it, too. I was worried about putting it in, but an inquiry here revealed that nobody in this forum who had it had had an issue . . . I've had it for about 3 years and haven't seen evidence of spreading . . .
SK, have you taken any pictures of your tree/shrub thing, yet? There's a native Hawthorne, but the leaves are more like small oak leaves than fingery.
Katie, I finally uploaded a few weeks' worth of pix, and here is that shrub/tree.
Looks like an elderberry.
I also think it is red elderrberry, a native shrub, Sambucus racemosa.
Oh, that makes sense. Feathery, fragrant. Haven't seen any berries on them but never got up close either till moving out here.
Sure enough. A very happy Sambucus!
Does anybody else think that Sambucus smells like peanut butter when it's cut?
Have never cut any!
I love how subtle the fragrances are out here. My yard always smells like something, but I have to follow the aroma for awhile ... pieris, sambucus, viburnum, a lone lilac ...
I THINK I have the same plant, bonehead. I got it from my mother, who dug it up from her flower garden a couple years ago and gave it to me in a pot. She told me it was a "hummingbird" plant. I too had no idea what it was or is, but it seems to be surviving even though it's small. I thought it died over winter, got all brown and shrivelled up but tada! it came back to life. The little flowers are softly fragrant. I hope it's an elderberry, that would be great!
That was my very first guess. Are these trees or shrubs?
Katie59, I think I might have to encourage my Dad to plant one somewhere just to find out if it smells like PB. If it does then I'll also encourage him to plant a Banana Shrub.
Gosh, looks like it could be either lonicera or trumpet vine, only not very vinelike at this point! Definitely not elderberry.
Unfortunately, Elderberry don't smell like peanut butter until you cut them. :-(
But a plant that for sure smells like peanut butter and is semi-hardy up here is Clerodendron (Clerodendrum).
Resurrecting this thread -- now that I know I have a bush honeysuckle, any pointers on how/when to prune it. This year it is about 10' tall and as round, with tons of tendrils reaching out. I'm contemplating just wacking it back hard in the winter and see what happens?
