How Do You Identify Shrubs & Ornamentals?
Shrubs and ornamentals add beauty and aesthetic appeal to any landscaping project. Identification can seem an overwhelming prospect when you are faced with the variety of cultivated ornamental species. However, identifying shrubs and ornamentals is easy with the use of a plant key. A plant key guides the identification process through a series of questions, each focusing on one particular aspect of the specimen. In this way, the task is simplified by concentrating of plant features in a systematic way. Most field guides will include a key. Determine if the plant is conifer or a broadleaf. Conifers are easily identified by the presence of needles, which are in fact leaves. Broadleaf as the name implies, are leaves with a greater surface area. From here, identification will proceed based on the broad category to which the shrub or ornamental belongs. Note the shape and size of the needles if the shrub is a conifer. In particular, you will want to notice if the needles are flat, scale-lik
