name that flower bush please... - DPChallenge Forums

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

06/08/2005 08:58:44 AM · #1

I have a huge 50 year old bush-tree in my yard, about 12 feet tall and wide, with drooping flowers. I have always thought of it as a "honeysuckle" variety, one of the 300+ tyoes, but what type is it?
can anyone identify the type?
Is it lonicera? some variation? please help.

Oh by the way, when asked to use the word horticulture in a sentence during a parlor game, Dorothy Parker replied,"you can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."

Message edited by author 2005-06-08 08:59:37.

saracat

Pentax K10D

06/08/2005 09:23:01 AM · #2

Might be weigela.

Weigela info

Hope this helps.
Sara

idnic

Canon EOS-60D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

06/08/2005 09:25:15 AM · #3

Looks like azalea to me

ladyhawk22

Sony DSLR-A700

Sony SAL-50F14 Normal 50mm f/1.4 Autofocus Lens for the Sony

06/08/2005 09:44:21 AM · #4

azalea or rhodedendron

saracat

Pentax K10D

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

06/08/2005 09:49:07 AM · #5

Here's some examples:
Azalea

Rhododendron

You can see that the spots on the azaleas and rhododendron are on the upper petals while on the flower in question they are on the lower petals. The flower shape (especially the petal tips) are also different.
Sara

*edit - typos

Message edited by author 2005-06-08 09:51:21.

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

06/08/2005 09:58:58 AM · #6

Thanks for all your help. Here is one more shot that may give it perspective. Its a big bush.

I know its not a rhododendron :) or azalea, because the flowers are tiny, I checked out weigela, but the bush is too small.

saracat

Pentax K10D

06/08/2005 10:13:29 AM · #7

The fact that the sizes listed are shorter than your plant may not rule out that it is a weigela. The sizes that most plant specimens are 'supposed' to be are a general guideline, and yours has had 50 years to grow. I have the suspicion that most flowering shrubs don't last that long.
Now that's not to say that you're not correct in saying it's not weigela! I just haven't run across anything else that it looks like. You might try calling your local agricultural extenson office and providing a description. You'll need shrub height; leaf color, size, growth pattern, and edge description (smooth or serrated); flower color, number of petals, etc. and so on.
Or you can do what I do and browse online gardening catalogs!
Good luck in finding out what this is. You've got my curiosity up now.
Sara

dahkota

06/08/2005 10:24:01 AM · #8

I would agree with Saracat. Cultivars grown now have no resemblance to ones planted 50 years ago. I also believe its a weigela. Flowers on the second image don't have right placement/size for azalea. My mothers weigela bush is now 7 feet tall and its only 3 years old...

d

Samsung Galaxy S24, S24+, S24 Ultra

06/08/2005 02:28:45 PM · #9

I am in the process of breaking down all the info and I will try to rule out weigela- but you all have such a great knowledge of the situation, the bit about the 50 year old cultivars verse now- ah-hah! I will press on!

Thanks again.
Paul

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm f/4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

06/08/2005 02:50:28 PM · #10

Paul,

Nice to see someone else loves that old quote. For the record, it's "...but you can't make her read." A little more piquant that way, eh?

Robt.

06/08/2005 04:42:00 PM · #11

thanks for the correction. I'm amazed at how much I shoot off my mouth with half-quotations and malaprops. Its the psuedointellectual in me.
I guess my father was correct in passing on the famed quotation most attributed to Aristotle... "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing." or something like that...