"x-archive:no" wrote:

The one by the dog dish is about 3 feet tall now. The leaves are about
6" long and about 1.5" inches at the widest points. It has about and
inch long, narrow, pointy bud at the very end of the trunk on the top,
like a something is about to bloom.
They leaves are close to the trunk, alternate, are not lobed, serated
or hairy. The are shiney dark green on top and light dull green on the
bottom, a sage color. Both ends are tapered
The closest I can come to identifying it myself is some sort of
Magnolia or Mountain Laurel. The leaves also look like Shingle Oak
leaves. But the plant itself looks nothing like a tree since the
leaves come directly off the trunk. Any ideas? Isn't 8A out of the
Moutain Laurel's normal habitat and the wrong time of year for blooms?

It is not Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia, since the leaves are too
long. Mountain Laurel leaves are 2-3 inches long and never over 4
inches. It blooms from late May until the first of July

The normal range for Mountain Laurel is United States -- AL, CT, DE, FL,
GA, IN, KY, LA, MA, ME, MD, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA,
VT, WV

Also, Magnolias have large single flowers and Mountain Laurel has
clusters of small dainty flowers.

Here is a key to identifying magnolias:

Key to the species of Magnolia
1. Flowers appearing before the leaves... Magnolia kobus
1. Flowers appearing with or after the leaves... 2

2. Leaves green beneath... 3
2. Leaves glaucous beneath... 4

3. Leaves widest near or below the middle, scattered along twig; winter
terminal buds hairy... Magnolia acuminata
3. Leaves widest well above the middle, in terminal whorl-like clusters;
winter terminal buds glabrous... Magnolia tripetala

4. Leaves acute to broadly rounded at base... Magnolia virginiana
4. Leaves distinctly cordate at base... Magnolia macrophylla

Hope this helps.

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