HELP identifying a tree

lsmeredith

Here is a picture from a tree that has recently died in my front yard. We did not put the tree in but want to know what it's name was. It was next to the house and did not get any larger than 6'. It died after a cold winter with a lot more snow than normal. Please help!!

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Eden Keeper

The best match I found was paperplant, Fatsia japonica (Thunb.) Decne. & Planch., also know as Japanese aralia. I'm not aware of anything else with a similar leaf that is even remotely hardy while the information I saw indicated that these are hardy to zone 7 only if heavily mulched and well protected. Be careful about heavy mulch since 3 inches is generally enough otherwise the roots could be smothered. An exception would be straw mulches with pine straw suitable year round due to aesthetics or anything similar to wheat straw just for winter protection. As with any organic mulch it needs refreshed by adding more at the same rate it decays, which is about an inch per year in zone 7.