OT: Name that tree and what is this growing out of it?

Pretty hard to tell. It's not a bay tree is it? damn things are like weeds. Crush a leaf and sniff. Bay is unmistakeable

I have no horticultural knowledge but I would guess that the top of the tree is something bushy grafted onto a different trunk, and the bit sticking out is a branch of the trunk species.

-- Richard

Looks like an olive tree to me but can't work out what's growing out of it.

If that's what it is, a bit of googling reveals that it is called a "rootstock sucker" and should be removed otherwise it will consume nutrients in preference to the graft getting them.

-- Richard

TNP the canopy leaves look nothing like bay leaves and the sprouting leaves lower down have no distinctive smell.

Richard, you may be right looking at the trunk at the point just below where the canopy branches out there is a slight swelling which could be where there was a graft. I will try to get a photo and see what people think. I have no idea how long the tree has stood there as we have just moved in mid July. What ever the sprouting is it grows fast the bit you can see where I cut it grew out of the undergrowth and was heading out across the drive just in the few weeks we have been here.

Its definitely NOT a bay tree

The thing growing out of it looks like buddleia to me - in which case it can be a bloody nuisance.

Has it shown any signs of flower / blossom ?

AT it does not look like Buddleia to me we had one in our last garden which we managed to kill through over pruning and a late severe frost one Easter. Mind you we are such competent gardeners most things come our house to die. No flowers just sprouting leaves.

Coming back to Richard’s suggestion below is a photo of the point the canopy branches out of and just below is a slight swelling, does this suggest a graft?

Then maybe olive, as has been suggested.

Another possibility is holm oak

When in doubt cut it out.

Almost certainly, as the leaves are variegated and it's fairly unusual to grow them on their own roots. It's quite possible that it started life as a "standard" and has continued growing without any pruning.

It's still not easy to see the leaf details, but it's possible that the tree is a euonymus. See this one (which is a half-standard):

Remove the unwanted branches by cutting them as close as possible to the trunk.

I wonder if the stuff growing near the base of the tree is the same, but sprouting from the roots instead of the trunk.

Google lens is quite good at identifying plants from their leaves, though it doesn't seem to be able to do it from your photos.

-- Richard

Tricky Dicky snipped-for-privacy@sky.com wrote: [...]

ChatGPT:

It appears most likely to be a willow, probably a standard (grafted) Japanese willow, Salix integra. A common garden cultivar is 'Hakuro-nishiki', often called flamingo willow or dappled willow. The round head and straight trunk are consistent with a grafted ornamental willow. However, the foliage in this photograph does not show the characteristic strong pink-and-white variegation clearly, so I cannot identify the cultivar with certainty. A close-up photograph of the leaves and any buds/flowers would allow a more reliable identification.

Liven up uk.rec.gardening a little, and post your query there! They are knowledgeable and helpful.

Thanks for the heads up Spike but all I have read and watched YT I am convinced the sprouting foliage is/are rootstock suckers and cutting back as near to the trunk is the way to control the growth.

Thanks for all the advice, particularly Richard for pointing me in the right direction.

It is a variegated willow that has been grafted onto another willow rootstock. The grafted top is suffering and not managing to suppress adventitious shoots from the base of the rootstock.