How to identify a weird bush in my yard
Standard photo-matching tools and online databases often fail to recognize rare local shrubs or unusual varieties. This leaves people unable to figure out if an unfamiliar plant is a harmless native or an invasive weed threatening their garden.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since July 2026.
- It is not one crowd: 29 people on Reddit and 2 on Stack Exchange ran into the same thing.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Asking online communities for identification help2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2Asking online forums for plant identification2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 3Searching for images online and asking on community forums for helpDid this help you?
- 4Using physical identification guidebooksDid this help you?
- 5Asking online gardening and botany communitiesDid this help you?
- 6Guessing the grass type based on appearanceDid this help you?
- 7Using non-selective weed and grass killerDid this help you?
- 8Covering the affected area with a tarpDid this help you?
- 9pull a few clumps to check the rhizomes, roots, and leaf collarsDid this help you?
- 10guess based on visual appearanceDid this help you?
- 11Using plant identification apps like Picture ThisDid this help you?
- 12Searching with GoogleDid this help you?
- 13Pulling the weed up manually before buds openDid this help you?
- 14Using reverse image searchDid this help you?
- 15pull them down off the trees and pull as many of the roots out of the ground as I canDid this help you?
- 16Applying glyphosate or triclopyr to remove unwanted plantsDid this help you?
- 17Asking online forums for identificationDid this help you?
- 18Comparing physical characteristics like size and stemsDid this help you?
- 19Using image search tools to look up the weedDid this help you?
- 20pulling it out in little clumpsDid this help you?
- 21using special spray instead of pullingDid this help you?
- 22Asking online communities for weed identification and removal adviceDid this help you?
- 23Spraying with glyphosateDid this help you?
- 24Using products containing sulfentrazoneDid this help you?
- 25applying standard weed killersDid this help you?
- 26using 2,4-D or DicambaDid this help you?
- 27hand pulling while making sure to get the entire taproot outDid this help you?
- 28comparing physical characteristics like bloom size to known varietiesDid this help you?
- 29Posting photos to a gardening forum for plant identification and replanting advice.Did this help you?
- 30pulling the plant manuallyDid this help you?
- 31killing the plant with herbicidesDid this help you?
- 32Comparing the plant to pictures onlineDid this help you?
- 33Asking gardening forums for identification and care instructionsDid this help you?
- 34Posting pictures on landscaping and gardening forums for crowdsourced identification.Did this help you?
- 35Downloading a plant identification app on a phone.Did this help you?
- 36Guessing based on visual similarity to known plants like parsley or wild carrots.Did this help you?
- 37Applying a broadleaf herbicide immediately before it spreads.Did this help you?
- 38Asking online gardening communities for visual confirmationDid this help you?
- 39Asking online forums and communities to identify the plant based on visual descriptions or photosDid this help you?
- 40Guessing the plant species based on leaf and branch appearanceDid this help you?
- 41asking human experts on gardening forumsDid this help you?
- 42searching for flower characteristics onlineDid this help you?
- 43Posting pictures and descriptions on community gardening forums to crowdsource identification and a diagnosisDid this help you?
- 44Asking online gardening communities to identify the plant based on visual characteristics and leaves.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I had a number of marigolds but this was a volunteer in another part of the bed.”source ↗
“I can’t find the label from when I bought this from a local nursery in the spring.”source ↗
“When i run these images through my plant ID app it consistently tells me it can’t ID it, no matter what angles I take pictures of.”source ↗
“I just want to know if i made a mistake in my native garden by putting a non-native in”source ↗
“I am new to gardening and had lettuce planted far away from this location, but I think this is my lettuce transplanted into a different container.. Can someone help me confirm this?”source ↗
“My partner planted a plant he was gifted and it suddenly started turning a different color at the ends and it has something sticky on it.”source ↗
“Does anyone know why the plant is like this and what it’s called?😭”source ↗
“What is this tree. Can I take cuttings and root it.”source ↗
“It used to line my back yard property line and was so nice. Crack head tenets cut it all down. I miss my beautiful privacy.”source ↗
“Is this actually butterwort, cause it doesn’t quite look like the pics online?”source ↗
“How to care for it?”source ↗
“I’m not sure that my seeds were labeled correctly. I ordered the Dwarf Blue Curled kale seeds from Botanical Interests, but this plant doesn’t look curled or like any kale I’ve seen in stores. It also has little tiny spikes on its leaves and stems. What have I grown?”source ↗
“I'd like to know what it is and whether it's an invasive species or something more local to the area.”source ↗
“I have this bush in the Asteraceae growing next to my house, but I've never seen it anywhere else and can't place it from images online.”source ↗
“My lawn has a lot of common weeds as the grass grows in but I’m unfamiliar with this weed. Can you help identify it?”source ↗
“What kind of grass is this? We are located in Central Kentucky”source ↗
“I’m new to the central Florida area and have been fighting these weeds basically ever since I moved into my home. Can anyone tell me what kind of weeds these are and the easiest way to get rid of them?”source ↗
“Can someone help me ID this weed in my St Augustine grass.”source ↗
“It's almost identical to the St Augustine and has these long arms that stretch across my grass and grow in a huge patch.”source ↗
“Should I pull it or kill with something?”source ↗
“Sprayed tenacity on this 2 weeks ago and it had no affect. Anyone know what this is?”source ↗
“Not sure if this is the sub for this. Could someone identify what grass this is?”source ↗
“It came from my neighbors yard and has slowly taken over my front yard and the side of my house. Please help!”source ↗
“I’m hoping for some help identifying this grass type based on the provided pictures.”source ↗
“I’m ultimately trying to figure out what it is so I can then determine a good lawn care routine.”source ↗
“I live in southeastern Idaho and there’s these weeds that grow up from the ground very quickly and wrap themselves around the low branches of these evergreens on the property line between mine and my neighbor’s house.”source ↗
“Does anybody know what these are and if there’s a way to effectively and responsibly deal with them? Because I think they’re starving and killing the evergreens and it may even be too late to save them.”source ↗
“Tried searching up with the images and can't find any results. Any ideas?”source ↗
“it pulls out in little clumps. it doesn’t seem like Nutsedge but I have very little experience with sedge.”source ↗
“Tried to kill it with glyphosate, mabye 60% success rate. It smelled of strong lime when mowed and did die off from the glyphosate but is shooting new growth back. Is it nutsedge?”source ↗
“Yeah, like the other post says, looks like Kylinga to me.”source ↗
“I sprayed glyphosate on labor day, and it came back after the browning but it’s definitely thinner for sure”source ↗
“Plantain? Standard weed killer”source ↗
“Looks like a Dandelion to me! 2,4-D will knock them out. You can also hand pull, just make sure you get the entire taproot out or they will come back!”source ↗
“I had the same weed and it spread fast.”source ↗
“What weed is this and what’s the best way to get rid of it?”source ↗
“I bought a house in rural TN over the summer and I am trying to identify a bush we have by our driveway.”source ↗
“Not sure if this is the right spot to ask, but can anyone ID this thing?”source ↗
“Found in my garden a bunch of them I’m wondering if it’s snake eggs?”source ↗
“do I trim this? does it stay small?”source ↗
“do I mulch around the base? do I use landscape tarp?”source ↗
“I’ve been dealing with this stuff in my mulch beds. It’s taken to growing through my phlox. If it is sedge, how do I attack this without killing the phlox?”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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