M is for Marcescence on A to Z Blogger Challenge

Beech Leaves November 3, 2010

M is for Marcescence. Marcescence refers to  the retention  of dead plant parts that are usually shed.  We all know that trees lose their leaves in the fall. Some of us may have noticed that oak trees, and beeches carry their dead leaves will into the fall. And maybe until the new leaf buds give the old leaf a final shove in the spring. Over the past few years I have noticed that there seem to be a lot more beeches in our woodland than there used to be. They are easy to notice in the winter because they still carry so many of their dry brown leaves. They have not been abscissed or torn from their branches. I wrote about beeches and marcescence here.

Diorama of forest progression at Fisher Museum

I was also fortunate enough to meet Dr. John O’Keefe who retired recently from the Harvard Forest (maintained by Harvard University, not located in the town of Harvard) and he told me that it is possible that the reason there are so many new beeches, is because there has been a resurgence in the wild turkey population. Beech nuts are a very nutritious nut and appealing to turkeys. We all know that birds help spread seeds of all kinds of plant. I wrote about my fascinating talk with John O’Keefe here. The Fisher Museum at the Harvard Forest has a magnificent set of dioramas explaining the history of forest progressions here in New England.

Old beech leaf wtih new bud

If you look at a beech branch in the fall you will clearly see the tightly furled leaf bud that will  push the old leaf off in the spring. It is very firm and will feel like a thorn. But it is a leaf bud.

I like knowing the word marcescence. Will you find a way to fit marcescence into your conversation?

To see what else begins with M today click here.

Small Flowering Trees for the Garden

Sargent crabapple May 26

“I’m not old enough to have shrubs!” a friend wailed at me one day while we were looking at her garden and she was trying to figure out how to make it more manageable. Well, small blooming trees may be the answer for those of us who are getting older. We might realize that a mixed border that includes small trees and shrubs will demand less work.

The ornamental small blooming tree I have in my garden is a Sargent crab. It was a gift from a friend more than 15 years ago. Any cultivar name it might have had is gone and forgotten. I planted it in the center of our Sunken Garden, where three 5 foot stone walls are what remains of a large barn that was hit by lightning and burned down in 1990.

My idea was that the tree would be the centerpiece of a garden with flower borders edging the stone walls. Those borders are also gone due to a changing water table that has made the Sunken Garden wet, even squishy at the south end, well into June. Now the Sunken Garden is mostly a rough lawn except for the Sargent crab which is about 12 feet high with an equal spread, a magnificent billow of blossom in May.

The books will say that the Sargent crab needs a moist, well drained site in full sun. Mine has full sun, and the soil is more than moist all spring, and yet it thrives. The tiny red buds appear, then open into white flowers along each branch before the foliage appears. Tiny red fruits appear in late summer and last into the fall, much appreciated by the birds.

Witch Hazel – Hamamelis

A neighbor has an amazing witch hazel, Hamamelis ‘Arnold’s Promise, that produces its twirly golden blooms long before forsythia comes into bloom. I remember being mystified by how this sunny plant could be fragrantly blooming in a garden where nothing else was flowering.

Since first becoming aware of witch hazels I have found other varieties, most of which will reach a height between 12 and 15 feet. Witch hazels prefer a moist well drained soil and they tolerate some shade but flower better if given full sun. Two other cultivars are ‘Diane’ which is considered the best red flowering form, and ‘Jelena’ which is very popular because it has coppery flowers, a spreading habit and good red-orange fall color.

Another early spring bloomer is Cercis canadensis or redbud. When we took the train to New Orleans a couple of years ago in April we saw this understory tree blooming in a wonderful shade of dark pink in the woodlands we passed. It is listed as hardy to Zone 4, but I never saw it used very much in our part of the world until a few years ago. The deep pink, pea-like flowers bloom before the foliage appears and the effect is of a lovely airiness.

As an understory tree it tolerates shade, but does fine in the sun, and prefers moist, well drained soil. Like witch hazels, this tree is a native and supports our local foodweb.

Chionanthus virginicus, Fringe tree, is another native tree with creamy white panicles of flowers that blooms in May. It will grow to ten or twelve feet with an equal spread. In the fall there are small fruits that attract the birds.

Fothergilla on the Bridge of Flowers

Though fothergilla is a shrub that grows to a height of six to eight feet and has graceful spreading branches. I confused it with chionanthus for years. I don’t know why. The only thing they have is common is airy white flowers. Chionanthus has graceful panicles and fothergilla has smaller unusual blossoms that have been compared to bottle brushes. I can tell you that the fothergilla on the Bridge of Flowers always attracts a lot of attention because it is not well known, and people like learning about an easy to grow, interesting plant. The foliage is colorful and showy in the fall.

Kousa dogwood

I love our native dogwood, but Cornus florida has been a victim of the fungal disease anthracnose. It is no longer recommended for gardens. But when one door closes, another opens. Cornus kousa is an Asian dogwood, but it does not have serious disease or insect problems in our country. I would not really call it a small tree. It will reach a height of 25 feet with almost the same spread. It is magnificent in the garden but it is a specimen tree that needs room.

The Kousa dogwood’s flowers are actually creamy bracts which make for a long period of bloom. They look similar to those of our native dogwood, but the tree blooms in June when it is fully leafed out. It does attract bees and butterflies and produces fruit in the fall that appeals to the birds.

Whether you are young or old(er), blooming trees can add a wonderful dimension to even a small garden. It can be the anchor to an early spring plantscape surrounded by early bulbs or perennials like brunnera or epimediums. Do you have blooming trees in your landscape?

Between the Rows   March 16, 2013

Dormancy – A False Death

Winter trees at the End of the Road

The leafless landscape seems dead, but dormancy is only a false death.  In the 1/24 issue of the New York Times Michael Tortorello takes us on a wintry horticultural tour of gardens in New York City and learns that death is not what winter brings. I grant you, the activity he sees in Central Park and other places is rather different from the dormancy I can see in my frozen snowy landscape, but still, his guides make a point.

An important lesson is that it is not really the cold that makes trees and shrubs lose their leaves,  it is drought. Plant respire through their foliage and lose  a great percentage of their moisture through their leaves. If the ground is frozen there is no more water being taken in, so the leaves have to go.

Rhododendron Foliage 1-25-13

Rhododendrons,  broad leaved evergreens, do not lose their foliage, but you can see how the leaves curl to minimize moisture loss. These leaves are still performing some photosynthesis. It is the look of these droopy cigar-like leaves that made me dislike rhodies for a very long time. I don’t know why the wonderful spring flowers did not make as big an impression on me when I was a young non-gardener as the winter foliage.

While there is no chickweed or knotweed or mugwort sprouting in my neighborhood as there is in Central Park, a close look will show tiny green buds on the lilacs, and the buds on the rhododendrons are not hard to see at all.

Dormancy is not death. We are all just waiting. I am more impatient than the plants.

Hemi-demi-semi Christmas Tree on Wordless Wednesday

Our newly cut Christmas Tree

We usually cut our Christmas tree from our own land. We are famous for having Charlie Brown trees. This tree strikes me as a hemi-demi-semi tree.

Our Christmas tree in profile

The only tree we could find was this section of a tree that had been damaged by the ice storm several years ago. It only has branches on one side.

I think this year, for the first time in over 30 years, we’ll be shopping for our Christmas tree.

For more (almost) Wordlessness click here.

Barren Branches – and Yet . . .

Yellow Birch on October 18, 2012

The  barren branches of the old yellow birch in my field retain a certain majesty this frosty morning.

Thomas Affleck Rose October 18, 2012

But the Thomas Affleck shrub rose that grows at the end of the entry walk is resisting the closing of the bloom season. The days have been chilly and windy, tearing dying leaves off many trees, but Thomas just laughs and says, “Look at me!”

I bought this rose from the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas and it has been hardier and has a longer bloom season than I ever dared hope for.

The Gingko Drop on Wordless Wednesday

Gingko Drop

All dropped. All at once.  For more Wordlessness click here.

Bug on the Bridge of Flowers! Emerald Ash Borer

"Emerald Ash Borer"

When a 5 foot tall bug appears on the Bridge of Flowers we all take notice. Especially when it is a shimmering shade of emerald green

"Emerald Ash Borer"

I wasn’t the only one taking photos of this beautiful creature. But beauty is as beauty does, and the Emerald Ash Borer is no beauty infesting and killing ash trees. The USDA Forest Service has created a website with full information about how to watch  ash trees for damage. These bugs are only half an inch long with  metallic green backs. They lay their eggs only in ash tree bark where they hatch and eat their way to an exit hole. Watch for extra woodpecker activity and damage, as well as sprouts from the root of the tree and branches dying from the top down.

Fortunately, no one has found the Emerald Ash Borer in Massachusetts yet, but infestations are in the adjacent states of Connecticut and New York. We all have to be aware of threats to our trees before the damage is so great that the only cure is the wholesale removal of our trees which is happening in Worcester, Mass. due to the Asian Longhorned Beetle.

The Emerald Ash Borer is not a native insect. It originated in eastern Russia  and northern China. No one knows how it arrived in North American, but it probably came as ash wood used for stabilizing cargo is ships or in crating for heaving products. The Emerald Ash Borer and the Asian Longhorned Beetle are not unique invaders. The Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health has an excellent website naming hundred of invasive insects, diseases, plants, fish and more. We must all be on the alert, and not complain when we have to take routine precautions when we have to wash the bottom of our boat when moving it from place to place.

Do you battle any invasives where you are?

Mother’s Day – The Family is Coming

Sargent crabapple

Mother’s Day has arrived and children and grandchildren are on their way.

Spring Blooming Shrubs and Trees

Native Pinkshell Azalea

Mother Nature has been playing with us these past weeks, but no matter how she laughs as she keeps us off balance spring is coming. Crocuses, daffodils and sky blue scillas are laughing right back. Forsythia bushes are sunbursts of blossom.

Even some small trees are beginning to bloom. My neighbor Paul has a golden witch hazel in his garden. Hamamelis vernalis blooms early in the spring and is noted for that early bloom and twirly petaled flowers. There are many cultivars and I believe Paul’s is Hamamelis x intermedia Arnold’s Promise – a bright yellow hybrid that originated at the Arnold Arboretum. I planted Diane which is a bright coppery-red color because I have a daughter Diane. It came through its first winter, but the plant is so tiny that I am not sure it has come through this oddly mild winter.

Hamamelis virginiana is a witch hazel that blooms in the fall. With both varieties you can have a blooming tree at both ends of the season. Mohonk Red is cultivar with fat red blossoms. One of the delights of witch hazels is their sweet fragrance.

Witch hazels are not difficult to care for. They like sun but are not too fussy about soil although I think care taken in planting will always pay off in good plant survival. Keeping it properly watered through the first year, and probably even the second is also important. Witch hazels can be grown at the sunny edge of a woodland garden, and they are small enough, about 15 feet at maturity, that they can also be used at the back of a shrub border.

My neighbor Paul also has a yellow twig dogwood, Cornus sericea Flaviramea.  The yellow green color of these branches is bright enough that Paul says it is the one thing that draws his eye in the winter. This shrubby dogwood (5 feet tall) is smaller that what is possibly the more familiar red twig dogwood. This is an excellent plant for wet areas because it needs consistent dampness. It does produce small white flowers, and then white fruits in the fall which are quickly eaten by the birds.

Amelanchier "Prince Charles"

Amelanchier also known as shadblow (or Juneberry, Serviceberry and Bilberry) because it blooms at the same time that shad which are anadromus are leaving the salt water of the ocean to travel up river to spawn in fresh water. This small tree is covered with clouds of white flowers in late April and early May before the leaves are fully open. Fruits will appear in summer but are quickly eaten by the birds. This is an excellent small blooming tree for the edge of a woodland garden, and for those who want to attract birds. Unfortunately they are also attractive to deer. Keep that in mind.

Cercis or redbud is a beautiful small tree, with red buds and purple-pink flowers that bloom in May. I have not seen it much in the area and I don’t know why. Cercis canadensis, the eastern redbud, is hardy to zone 4 and can reach a height of 30 feet. Cercis chinensis, Chinese redbud, is smaller, reaching a height of 20 feet, but it is more tender, only hardy to zone 5. With the change in our winters perhaps we will be seeing more redbuds in the neighborhood.

Redbuds like sun but can take some shade. They will tolerate many soil conditions as long as they do not remain wet. It grows quickly which is a great benefit for those of us who tend to buy very small saplings.

My Sargent Crabapple May 25, 2011

I cannot talk about spring blooming trees without mentioning my own Sargent crabapple that grows in the center of the Sunken Garden. Its spread is about as wide as it is tall and a billow of white blushed with pink when it is in bloom. The soil is not very good there and quite wet in the spring, but it does get full sun. This small tree packs a lot of beauty and drama with no effort at all. It grows vigorously and tolerates heavy pruning. Whenever the saw is sharp.

Finally I want to mention Prunus Hally Jolivette a small cherry tree developed by Karl Sax, director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University from 1946 to 1954, who named it after his wife. The late gardener, designer, and writer Wayne Winterrowd who lived in Readsboro called Hally Jolivette the best of the flowering cherries. “When fully open, each individual flower is about an inch and a quarter across, dangling downward on a slender petiole, and composed of a double row of fragile-seeming, frilly petals tinted almost white at their edges, but deepening down in the center of the flower through pink to a rich wine red,” he said. The tree is not only filled with blossoms, it remains in bloom for as much as 20 days which is a long time for a flowering cherry.

Prunus "Hally Jolivette"

I first saw this lovely tree in my neighbor Paul’s garden, and was delighted to see it again on the Smith College campus earlier this week. It is not a demanding plant asking only a sunny location and reasonable garden soil to thrive and bloom.

As we think about our spring plant buying expeditions, think about adding one or two that can add early spring bloom to our gardens. This is the time of year we are hungry for color and eager to know a new garden season is beginning.

Between the Rows  March 31, 2012

Timber Press and a Spring Giveaway

Jennifer Kujawski signing the book she wrote with her father, Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook

Beginner's Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables

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