Archive for the ‘on the bookshelf’ Category

plant geeks only: conifers

Monday, October 4th, 2010

The next installment in my ongoing cataloging of plantage: Conifers! O how do I love thee, gymnosperm? I love thine evergreeniness. I love thee for anchoring my garden and for your amazing foresty scent. I love thee as living sculpture — particularly thee irregularly shaped cultivars.

So far I’ve planted seven carefully curated conifers around the yard. Each was chosen for various reasons, including a tendency not to grow to towering heights and block all my sun. Here goes…

Pinus thunbergii ‘Thunderhead’ (Dwarf Japanese Thunderhead Black Pine)…

pinus thunbergii ‘thunderhead’ | iseli-nursery.com

pinus thunbergii ‘thunderhead’ | iseli-nursery.com

The Thunderhead is next to our yet-to-exist fish pond, positioned for prime viewing from our yet-to-exist window wall. I like to get a headstart. We love this tree. Bix has dubbed him Teddy, because he looks so huggable. In the spring its cones stick up like candles. Although it also looks like the tree is flipping you the bird…

thunderhead candles | learn2grow.com

thunderhead candles | learn2grow.com

Here’s our Teddy, picked up at Briggs Nursery in Attleboro, Mass. Such a cutie…

teddy the thunderhead

I just want to pinch his widdle cheeks every time I see him. More on the Thunderhead here.

Picea orientalis ‘Skylands’ (Yellow Oriental  Spruce)…

picea orientalis ‘skylands’ | plantman56.blogspot.com

picea orientalis ‘skylands’ | plantman56.blogspot.com

Color. I crave it, especially in winter. For the warm season, I wanted a jolt of brightness on the way up the path to lead the eye up to my blindingly chartreuse Tiger Eye sumacs (Rhus typhina ‘Bailtiger’, more on those another time). The Skylands Oriental spruce was a no-brainer…

skylands oriental spruce in foreground with tiger eye sumacs atop hill

Not a sunny day here in Providence, as you can see. But the Skylands I drove all the way to Estabrook’s in Yarmouth, Maine, to retrieve, shines like the sun — as do the sumacs at the top of the hill. Click to biggify and you can spot my new Silberlocke fir right in front of the stairs. More on the fir below. [On the left: Shasta viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum ‘Shasta’), ‘Beni Kaze’ Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra ‘Beni Kaze’) and a bamboo-like bramble called Rubus henryi bambusoides on the trellis.]

Skylands bonus: hot pink-reddish cones at the tips of the branches in the spring just add to the disco. Can’t wait to put my dancypants on when these appear…

picea orientalis ‘skylands’ | bizonnursery.com

picea orientalis ‘skylands’ | bizonnursery.com

For a biggified shot of Skyland’s brilliance, click the top image here.

Pinus parviflora ‘Tempelhof’ (Japanese ‘Tempelhof’ White Pine)…

pinus parviflora ‘tempelhof’ | helmers.de

pinus parviflora ‘templehof’ | helmers.de

From hereon out to be referred to as “The Hof.” Blue. I really wanted a burst of it behind my three Purple beautyberries (Callicarpa dichotoma), and now I have it…

our templehof behind the callicarpas

Found Hof at Briggs. Just take a look at how cool his needles are…

templehof needles

I saw a nuthatch pecking away at his pinecones yesterday. That makes me happy.

Abies koreana ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’ (Korean Fir ‘Horstmann’s Silberlocke’)…

abies koreana ‘horstmann’s silberlocke’ | iseli-nursery.com

abies koreana ‘horstmann’s silberlocke’ | iseli-nursery.com

A bit of silvery blue, positioned further up the path past the blue Hof and the golden Skylands. The Silberlocke fir has unique needles that curl up to reveal silver undersides. Here’s a shot of ours…

abies silberlocke needles

In early summer, the cones are the craziest shade of blueish-purple you’ve ever seen. These don’t quite capture it…

abies koreana ‘horstmann’s silberlocke’ | estabrooksonline.com

abies koreana ‘horstmann’s silberlocke’ | estabrooksonline.com

abies koreana ‘horstmann’s silberlocke’ | estabrooksonline.com

In my growing conifer museum, I think Silberlocke will be one of my favorites. Found this one at Esposito’s Nursery in Cohasset, Mass.

Pinus sylvestris ‘Albyn Prostrata’ (Albyn Prostrate Scotch Pine)…

pinus sylvestris ‘albyn prostrata’ | schultesgreenhouse.com

pinus sylvestris ‘albyn prostrata’ | schultesgreenhouse.com

I needed a low spreader to hold a small slope above what I’m calling “The Desert Room,” planted with some of my more drought-tolerant plants. This pine is perfect for that. Stays low but spreads out. I like it’s blue cast. Give it a few years and mine should take over this slope…

our little scotch pine

Picked this baby up at The Farmer’s Daughter in Wakefield, RI. Nice selection of conifers there, especially rock garden specimens. I should mention that this Scotch pine has really cute pine cones and makes the lower part of the garden smell fantastic…

cone on my scotch pine

Pinus densiflora ‘Oculus Draconis’ (Japanese ‘Dragon’s Eye’ Red Pine)…

pinus densiflora ‘oculus draconis’ | millernursery.com

pinus densiflora ‘oculus draconis’ | millernursery.com

Not a pine you see often. Or ever. Dragon’s Eye should look awesome against a snowy landscape — and in the years to come, its trunk gets twisted and gnarled. Just look at those needles!

the eye of the dragon | bluesterling.com

the eye of the dragon | bluesterling.com

See the eye? It sees you. I just love those yellow bands…

pinus densiflora ‘oculus draconis’ | bizonnursery.com

pinus densiflora ‘oculus draconis’ | bizonnursery.com

Here’s our little Dragon’s Eye lighting up the far corner of the yard…

our dragons eye japanese white pine

[Dragon’s Eye flanked by Castor Bean (Rincus communis) and ‘Royal Purple’ smokebush (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’)]

At The Farmer’s Daughter, where I picked my Dragon’s Eye, they had a crazy tall one carved into a bonsai…

dragons eye bonsai at farmer’s daughter

Impressive but we’ll be keepin’ it real with our tree. True to its breed, Japanese red pine is supposed to create an excellent windbreak as its tendency is to spread out horizontally like so…

typical pinus densiflora | oculus draconis feature on whiterosesgarden.com

typical pinus densiflora | oculus draconis feature on whiterosesgarden.com

… which is another reason I put it on the north side of our yard. Let’s hope it grows to fulfill its potential. As with all of us.

gardening with conifers

Before I finish up here, I’d like to say I couldn’t have done my research without the aid of Gardening With Conifers by Adrian Bloom. Excellent resource. Here’s a little something I bet you didn’t know that I picked up from Bloom’s book: the gingko biloba is a conifer. Yes, the gingko!

ginkgos at huntington japanese garden | huntington.org

ginkgos at huntington japanese garden | huntington.org

I wish I had room for a big statement-making gingko but no. Luckily, dwarf cultivars have been introduced in recent years, one of which I picked up at The Farmer’s Daughter. Bound to a pot for the last few years, my Ginkgo ‘Jade Butterflies’ is starting to get root-bound. Now that it’s fall, it should be yellowing up soon…

my ginkgo butterflies, still in a pot

The male trees don’t fruit, so no stinko in this ginkgo. The moment our new patio is poured and all likelihood of trampling has passed, I’m putting this guy in the ground.

On that note, I take my leave. Carry on.

quick, get the flamethrower!

Monday, March 15th, 2010

I’m only kidding a little. We’re being invaded. Fuh reals. I recently wrote about my intent to keep invasive plants out of my garden. Perhaps I should clarify — when I say “invasive,”  I don’t mean plants that are a little rambunctious. I’m talking about something much more menacing.

Here’s The Nature Conservancy’s definition:

On their home turf, plant and animal populations are kept in check by natural controls, like predators and food supply. However, when a species is introduced — accidentally or intentionally — into a new landscape that is not used to its presence, the consequences can be devastating. Most of these “non-native” species do not misbehave. But some non-native species spread unchecked by the lack of natural competitors and predators.  They push out native species and cause ecological chaos. These are known as “invasive” species.

Here’s an excellent example I know you’re familiar with: Kudzu.

kudzu monsters

from Kudzu Covered Houses | jjanthony.com

Originally from Japan, it was brought to America in 1876 as part of an international exposition. The plant was pretty, easy to grow and became increasingly popular with gardeners.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Soil Conservation Service promoted kudzu for erosion control. Hundreds of young men were given work planting kudzu through the Civilian Conservation Corps.

The planting of well over a million acres of the stuff was fully subsidized by the U.S. government. The South’s balmy climate is perfect for Kudzu, so of course it thrived. And then it kicked ass. Literally. It smothers native trees and plants to death. Researchers have tried torching it, spraying it with deadly (to everyone) chemicals, and sic-ing kudzu-eating bugs and sheep on it. Now there’s talk of it being used for biofuel — I hope that catches on. Want to see awesome photos of houses being devoured by it?

purple loosestrife | nps.gov

purple loosestrife | nps.gov

If you live in New England, you’ve no doubt seen Purple Loosestrife choking our wetlands, marshes and meadows. Pretty in bloom, yes. But it’s a dense, aggressive grower that’s difficult to eradicate. It was brought here by settlers from Europe in the 1800s and is now displacing native grasses and other plants our local wildlife relies on for food and habitat. Purple Loosestrife has spread to every province of Canada and every contiguous state except Florida. The Department of Agriculture sees it as a threat and has been bringing in European beetles as an experiment in control. Dunno if it’s working.

Like Kudzu and Purple Loosestrife,  there are plenty of other plants listed as “noxious weeds”  by the fed and state governments. “Noxious” indicates an invasive plant considered to be such a threat that it requires an organized effort to eradicate it and is in some cases illegal to plant, propagate or sell. That said, I bought Purple Loosestrife a decade ago at a very reputable nursery and only found out afterwards it was wanted by the long arm of the law. Lesson learned: be aware so that you don’t contribute to the problem.

Pretty sure you don’t have invasive plants lurking in your garden? You might want to check. Here are just a few that look pretty innocent but are far from it where I live. These are plants I pass every day on my run through the city…

japanese barberry | photobucket.com

japanese barberry | photobucket.com

oriental bittersweet | forestry.ky.gov

oriental bittersweet | forestry.ky.gov

“burning bush” euonymus | ubcbotanicalgarden.org

“burning bush” euonymus | ubcbotanicalgarden.org

“vinca” common periwinkle | invasive.org

“vinca” common periwinkle | invasive.org

japanese honeysuckle | invasive.org

japanese honeysuckle | invasive.org

I’ll stop there. There are links below for a much longer list no matter where you live, if you’re interested. Maybe you’ll luck out and find you’re not harboring an invasive or two in your garden — unlike me.

So what can we do about it, really?

When I read things like this from the University of Rhode Island Master Gardeners site…

The two greatest threats to biological diversity around the world are habitat loss/destruction and the presence of invasive species. Nearly half of the plants and animals on the U.S. Endangered Species List are at risk because of invasive species.

and things like this from a 2010 State of the Birds report…

… nearly a third of the nation’s 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in significant decline… [due to pesticides, invasive species and general loss of habitat]

… it only reinforces my feeling that I don’t need to add to the problem. Bees are suffering. Butterflies are suffering. Hybridizing has been hard on both, as well as the same things killing off our birds.

By eliminating invasive species from my own yard, I’m doing something. Not much, I know, but every little bit. And many sources say if you want to help pollinators make the best of an increasingly bad situation, provide at least some native perennials, shrubs and trees for food and habitat — “native” means original to North America as opposed to a plant brought here from another continent.

I confess now that not all of my plants will be native — my ginkgos and Japanese maples are obviously Asian, for instance. I do have a large number of natives, though, and will continue to add them as the garden goes in. When I post garden plans, I’ll try to identify what is and isn’t native.

In the meantime, look out, invasives. If I see you, I’m reaching for the blowtorch. Yeah, I’m talkin’ bout you, vinca.

*     *     *     *     *

Bookmarks for this post

Invasive.org Excellent resource for info on invasives, including news updates… their Invasive Plant Atlas of the U.S. is broken out by plant types

PlantsUSDA.gov Lists by state of invasives considered to be noxious weeds

InvasivePlants.net Group from Cornell University that researches how non-indigenous plants affect native ecosystems and the species living in them

Invasive Plant Atlas of New England Species considered to be invasive at some level, also a list of illegal noxious weeds

Wildlife Habitat Council Lots of great resources for creating pollinator (bee and butterfly) habitats in your backyard

National Wildlife Federation How to help improve your local ecosystem by creating habitat in your yard for all kinds of wildlife — sustainability starts at home!

North American Native Plant Society An excellent plant database for restoring and conserving native plants

Your native plant society (nationwide links) is an excellent source for native plants to supplement your garden. Being in Providence, I like Garden in the Woods — the garden and shop of the New England Wildflower Society outside Boston and the RI Wild Plant Society annual sale, and there are scads of nurseries that either specialize in or offer native plants.

PlantNative.org Lists of native plants by region as well as nurseries

I’m sure there are other good books on natives, but I can highly recommend these because I own them: Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants published by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines published by the New England Wild Flower Society