Pretty & luxurious plant returns each spring. Trimmings spell like pine.

View attachment 18396 I am new to Garden Stew and not sure about size of photos uploaded ... I let this plant grow because it is so pretty and soft, but I trim it because it can become leggy. I hope it is safe to my pets and need to know what it is and if I should allow it to stay.

 

Can you try a different photo format ? This one is not enlarging so we can see the plant ! Thumbnails are just too small ! Oh,, And welcome to the group !

 

I uploaded a larger image; hope this helps, and thanks for your quick response to my post.

 

I think they are delphiniums.

 

Beats me.
But welcome Phyllis!!

 

Wow ! Great plant but I have no idea what it is ! Where are you located ?
Does not look like any Delphinium I have seen ! Can you post pics of the foliage for the ones you are talking about Odif ? Looks fern like to me !

 

The plant smells like pine. I have asparagus ferns. They don't have the pine fragrance. My asparagus ferns always have very thin branches or stems. The stems on this plant get bigger than a pencil, and the leaves are more like velvety pine needles...they are very soft & fragile. The plant seems to bolt in very hot weather....After I clip the stems, they then branch out. Before trimming, they just keep growing taller and taller without creating the symmetrical branching. We live in zipcode 28659...or the foothills of North Carolina.....when it is daylight, I will get pics of the branched effect that occurs after the stems of the plant are trimmed.
.

 

I did research delphiniums and was directed to larkspur which looks a bit more like this plant. Except...the "needles" on this plant a all straight like the needles of a pine tree. The articles I read stated that the larkspur leaves or sepals are often conjoined. The leaves or needles on this plant never join or shape into a curved "V" like the larkspur. Furthermore, this plant has never bloomed. If it should turn out to be delphinium or larkspur, I would need to destroy it because I just read that both plants are poisonous if ingested, and we have pets.

 

Sorry it is sideways, but these are what I meant.

 

truly, I have never seen our cats or dog bother these plants. but I am not convinced they are either larkspur and not delphiniums for sure. I honestly am a little baffled as to what they are at this stage. and if you have never seen them bloom I am really thinking it is not larkspur. nor does larkspur smell piney.

 

I still think its a member of the fern family ! I would not worry about pets !

 

I agree with Mart re the pets

 

The first think I thought about was dill.
But you mentioned that there was a smell of pine, right?
There is a frilly plant called Amsonia hubrichtii, but I am not sure that it is your plant.
If you finally can make a correct identification, I hope that you will let us know. This is interesting.

 

Take a stem to your county extension agent ! If they do not know they can send it to a university that can find out ! I have used them before and they sent my sample to Texas A&M !