greene said:I'm looking at your photo; where are these "carrots" please? I don't seem to see them.
Oops, I forgot to ask what your location is.
AlyssaBlue said:It's not a dumb question. Is this the first year you are on the property? Wondering if someone had a garden prior to you. Also, maples will drop the little twirlie things- sorry don't know the exact name but we used to use them as pinocchio noses when we were kids. One could've landed in a garden, and a little tree started growing. (Lots of trees will drop and seed.)
greene said:Is the carrot orange?
AlyssaBlue said:Merida72- when you are out taking the photo tomorrow, also note of what is around the area, for example, tiger lilies (Carolina lily) or other plants. We are all waiting to see what you dig up.
Danita said:Do all the "carrots" have an attached sapling or was it just the one?
AlyssaBlue said:Merida72- here's my thought:
Pampas grass can have a huge roots system (rhizomes), so even though the grass is dead above ground, it doesn't mean the root system has disappeared. They can be very big, and multiply below ground, into a giant mass of heavy, hard to pull out roots. So, I'm thinking the rhizomes are what looks like the carrots.
Then, if the twirlie thing landed where the pampas grass had been growing, roots developed and they grew into the pampas grass rhizomes making it appear that a tree was growing from "carrots".
You also mentioned gophers in the yard. They probably love eating the rhizomes, so you've got a food source in the yard for them. They may have even killed the pampas grass. OR you think the pampas grass is dead, only because it's constantly being eaten by gophers.
Looking forward to the photo.
Weedwhacker said:Those are definitely some big honkin' roots, but not carrots and not maples, as far as I can tell (leaves aren't right for either one); maybe someone else can ID the plants from your photo, though!