Given up trying to identify these sucker shoots....please help

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

Hello, I'm probably being thick but have spent most of the evening trying to work out what these are....they're both growing from existing trees so are suculose shoots or sucker shoots?

The first one is growing from a felled tree which id assumed was dead...its about five foot tall.

In June I put down a load of compost in my garden and sowed some grass seed, and suddenly have at least twenty of the second type growing directly from roots. The roots were exposed as we've had alot of erosion That one is worrying me...they've each grown 6 or 7 inches in just a few weeks.

I've tried using leaf snap and other identifications tools, but can't seem to recognise these....any help would be great!

[steppemum]

I think the second one might be ground elder, but that is really a guess.
If it is, you don't want it at all.

First one is very interesting, never seen leaves like that

[steppemum]

just reread your op, that it is growing from felled tree. How big is the tree? Is it a shrub or a proper tree? If it is a shrub, the leaves look a bit like rhododendron leaves.

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

The dark green one is growing from the tree which was felled about two years ago, never knew what it was, it fell in a storm before I moved in. It's a sapling rather than a bush.

The other one is freaking me out....they're cropping up everywhere from the roots of a massive tree at the back of our garden, and I don't know how to stop, or whether it is a good thing. I think they came about because of the damaged roots which had been exposed through erosion.

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

We do already have ground elder in our garden, I recognise the cow parseley, but ... These are growing directly from the roots of a tree, so can they still be weeks? They're definitely roots not rhizomes

[steppemum]

sorry confused by the cow parsley reference.

If they are ground elder, they can crop up anywhere, the disturbed ground can cause seeds to sprout.

[steppemum]

Ok, googled it. I didn't realise that ground elder flowers look like cow parsley!

I don't think the leaves are right for ground elder though.

[steppemum]

dark green one could be rhododendron. The leaves are dark and thick and glossy. but they should be in rings, so not sure if they develop that as they get bigger?

[catsrus]

def not ground elder - I know it well, it's ground cover, not a tree. I think the one on the right is a sweet chestnut. the one on the left is a bit like a bay but the leaves are usually more pointed. If you scratch it with your fingernail what does it smell like? if it's a bay-like smell then it might be one of the laurel/bay family

[NerfHerder]

The first looks like privet leaves, or Rhodondendron/Azalea, or even orchid leaves- they look thick and 'waxy'. Orchids are saprophytes/epiphytes, so feasible they could grow on fallen trees... but I'm assuming you're in UK?

[steppemum]

pretty sure it isn't a sweet chestnut as they have a variegated edge and grow in hands of leaves, not singly.

Could the one on the right be a walnut tree, or a cherry tree?

I don't think the dark green one is a bay tree, bay leaves are longer and pointier and less thick.

Could it be a fig?

[CuttedUpPear]

The one on the right looks like cherry.

I've had some like the one on the left, but they are hydrangea petiolaris, coming through a wall.

[wowfudge]

How big are the leaves on the one on the left?

[PigletJohn]

If you want to kill suckers, it is (amazingly) true that you can spray them with Weedol. It will kill the suckers and, better than pulling or cutting them off, they will not regrow. Unlike glyphosate, it dies not kill the whole plant (the suckers are presumably coming off something quite big, and you are only spraying a few leaves or green shoots).

I first hear of this using Paraquat, but Weedol is something similar. I do my bay tree and it really does work.

[Haggisfish]

The

[Haggisfish]

One on the right looks like it may be Himalayan balsam or possibly Japanese knotweed. The fact they are growing do quickly and have c

[Haggisfish]

Sorry-come in with top soil concerns me a lit. I hope it isn't either of those plants. Who brought the soil in? Where from?

[Haggisfish]

Sorry, just reread op and I misread it first time round-unlikely to be either of those!!

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

My main issue is whether I should be panicking or not, they're growing so quickly. It's a big garden and I'd love more trees in it, so it doesn't bother me...but it's growing so fast it's concerning.

The only things Ive brought into the garden are 1. Wildflower seeds from. &q

80l compost because the ground was so badly eroded....from Morrisons.

If sucker shoots impede growth of the tree, that would be fine because its already growing towards the house. Basically I think I've fertilised the bloody roots too much, is that possible?

Thanks so much for your replies, ill google all suggestions one by one and come back later today

[FergusSingsTheBlues]

Haggis fish, you had me panicking there!

[CuttedUpPear]

You won't have fertilised the roots too much, don't worry.

If these shoots are growing from a stump, get yourself some SPK weedkiller (from hardware shops or garden centres). You need to apply it to fresh cut wood so either cut the stump back with a saw or get a drill and dill loads of holes into the top of the stump.

Make up the weedkiller according to the bottle and pour it into the holes, get as much in there as you can.
I use a pipette for this, and also for killing off errant bamboo shoots.