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Hope this is an aruncus #833149

Asked June 01, 2023, 11:24 AM EDT

Please identify this volunteer in a planter on my deck. It is pictured next to a clothespin to give you some idea of the current size.

Baltimore County Maryland

Expert Response

The plant is too young for us to make an ID with any certainty, especially since unrelated species sometimes have nearly identical foliage or change foliage shape/size as they mature. (Plant ID relies heavily on flower traits.) We can say that the plant does look similar to Aruncus, but if you don't happen to have a mature Aruncus that went to seed somewhere else in the yard, one appearing on its own is less likely since it's not commonplace in the wild in Maryland. (There are some documented populations in Baltimore County, but more isolated than in our western counties.) Still, perhaps a passing bird deposited a gift in its droppings, so you never know. You can leave it to mature and flower if you'd like (being a young plant and presumably perennial, this might not happen this year, but may be in its second or third year) and we're happy to attempt another ID when it blooms.

Miri

Thank you for the information. I do have an Aruncus dioicus elsewhere in the yard, so maybe I will be lucky and this will be an Aruncus. This will be the third year since I planted the Aruncus in our yard and it is currently less than 2 feet tall and it did get a flower plume this year! Assuming the plant in the photo is an Aruncus, when would be the best time to move it and plant it in the yard? The plant in the photo came up in a container that is on our deck.

The Question Asker Replied June 08, 2023, 8:10 PM EDT
Aruncus are reportedly difficult to transplant after establishment, so it should be moved while still young, though we haven't seen a specific time of year mentioned in references we checked. You can either move it now, in early summer, or could wait until early autumn; either time should be followed by careful monitoring for watering needs as it acclimates and roots-in.

Miri

You were correct - the plant that I hoped might be an Aruncus has more leaves now and it looks much different. Could you please identify this plant now that it has grown some?

The Question Asker Replied July 20, 2023, 9:38 PM EDT

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