tree ID plz?

[catfish chapstick]

I dug up this tree and i have no idea what it is. Any ideas?? Thanks.

 

[coh]

Looks like it could be a box elder. Are those common in your area?

 

[bonsai barry]

Looks like poison sumac to me! ... Just jokin'

 

[Jessf]

looks like box older to me as well. In fact the Amur maple I thought I had is in fact a box elder. If you can plant it in the ground it will grow like crazy. All assuming it's a box elder, of course.

 

[Oliver Muscio]

Third vote for box elder here. I'm pretty sure that's what it is.
Oliver

 

[catfish chapstick]

awesome! thanks!

can it be a bonsai tho??

 

[treebeard55]

Box elder, yes, in case you wanted another vote. They're indigenous here, so I've seen a few.

As for bonsai: I've never seen one that I can recall, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. I'd suggest aiming for a fairly large final tree, because of the size of the compound leaves.

 

[Bill S]

B Barry, I was thinking poison Oak. No bonsai experiance with these for me.

 

[catfish chapstick]

update

well it seems to be healthy.

 

[Mike423]

Yep its a box elder. I have one myself I collected out of my yard with some decent trunk thickness on it. Don't know if I'm going to keep it though (if its even worth it). Seems like it just doesn't want to cooperate when it comes to shaping, and I heard that its very hard if not impossible to work with them.

 

[catfish chapstick]

Yep its a box elder. I have one myself I collected out of my yard with some decent trunk thickness on it. Don't know if I'm going to keep it though (if its even worth it). Seems like it just doesn't want to cooperate when it comes to shaping, and I heard that its very hard if not impossible to work with them.

yeah i tried to wire a young branch and it broke off. im just gonna shape by pruning. grows like a weed.

 

[Zach Smith]

Yep its a box elder. I have one myself I collected out of my yard with some decent trunk thickness on it. Don't know if I'm going to keep it though (if its even worth it). Seems like it just doesn't want to cooperate when it comes to shaping, and I heard that its very hard if not impossible to work with them.

Box elder is a trashy, all too common tree where I live. I tried one or two 20 years ago and gave up. The wood is extremely light, rots quickly, and the branches are brittle and will die off for no apparent reason. Plus you have the compound leaves on the end of long petioles to deal with, which limits how much reduction and ramification you can expect.

Zach

 

[Mike423]

Yeah like I said, I might give it another year of trying, but probably throw it out and make my effort more worth while by using that effort on something better.

 

[catfish chapstick]

im gonna just grow it and see what happens. maybe someday i'll put it in the ground. its an enjoyable plant in my eyes even if it's not likely to become a great bonsai..

 

[catfish chapstick]

Here it is without leaves.