Plant ID - Ask Extension
This plant is a foundling.... found as a small sprig of leaves growing between rocks on the edge of my garden pond in VA. Not at all sure what plant ...
Knowledgebase
Plant ID #867832
Asked May 10, 2024, 12:31 AM EDT
This plant is a foundling.... found as a small sprig of leaves growing between rocks on the edge of my garden pond in VA. Not at all sure what plant it is, but it's grown in ever bigger pots in my house (now I live in Maryland) until it looks like a small tree. I think it possibly belongs outside in the ground, but I just don't know if it could make it through the winters here (although they're getting milder all the time). I have some thoughts about ID, but will let you the experts look at my pictures. Also, any sign of disease on these leaves?
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
It's hard to identify the plant with certainty without blooms, but it resembles one of the evergreen species of Privet (botanical name Ligustrum). Several species of Privet are sold/grown, so leaf characteristics can vary between them a bit (for example, some lose leaves for winter and some do not).
If this is Privet, it is an invasive species that spreads by seed into natural areas and woodlands, displacing native plants. Given that, and we do not recommend growing it. As a houseplant, it might survive for a while, but cold-hardy plants like Privet tend to require a winter dormancy period to grow and flower normally. (It would survive our winters here, but we don't encourage letting it do so since it may eventually spread.) It also won't get enough light indoors, though putting it in the sunniest window would be the best approach if you intend to keep it as an indoor accent plant until it declines. (It probably won't flower indoors, and if it does, Privet blooms have a scent that is generally not considered appealing.) The leaf symptoms that look like blistering are hard to see, but may indicate not a disease but that the plant is being over-watered. (Too little sun and high humidity or poor air circulation can contribute to that, which is called edema.)
Miri
If this is Privet, it is an invasive species that spreads by seed into natural areas and woodlands, displacing native plants. Given that, and we do not recommend growing it. As a houseplant, it might survive for a while, but cold-hardy plants like Privet tend to require a winter dormancy period to grow and flower normally. (It would survive our winters here, but we don't encourage letting it do so since it may eventually spread.) It also won't get enough light indoors, though putting it in the sunniest window would be the best approach if you intend to keep it as an indoor accent plant until it declines. (It probably won't flower indoors, and if it does, Privet blooms have a scent that is generally not considered appealing.) The leaf symptoms that look like blistering are hard to see, but may indicate not a disease but that the plant is being over-watered. (Too little sun and high humidity or poor air circulation can contribute to that, which is called edema.)
Miri
