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Flowering Trees For Spring Bloom

Flowering cherry trees are conveniently compact.

Fruit trees such as apricot, cherry, peach and plum, bloom about now. Some are already finished, while a few are just beginning. Apple and pear trees will bloom somewhat later. More colorfully, flowering or fruitless counterparts of such trees are on similar schedules. Flowering apricot has already finished bloom. Flowering crabapple will likely bloom last.

The difference between fruit trees and their flowering counterparts is not their bloom. It is their fruit or lack thereof. “Flowering” has become a euphemism for “fruitless”. Trees with such designation produce either no fruit or fruit of relatively inferior quality. Wildlife might enjoy some of any inferior fruit. Although, even inferior crabapples might make good jelly.

Purple leaf plums are probably the most popular of this type of flowering or fruitless tree. Flowering cherry is less common. Flowering peach is somewhat rare. Fruitless pear is a popular street tree, but may not bloom as profusely as the others. Also, it does not bloom quite as early. Flowering quince grows as shrubbery rather than trees with upright trunks.

While very closely related, fruiting trees and their fruitless counterparts are very different. Fruiting trees should obviously produce fruit. That is their primary purpose. Their fruitless counterparts are merely ornamental. The truly fruitless types grow and bloom where fruit would be a messy nuisance. For example, some perform well as small scale street trees.

Because they are fruitless, such trees do not require specialized dormant pruning. There is no need to prune to concentrate resources into developing fruit. Nor is there any need to prune to accommodate the weight of fruit. Fruitless trees can assume their natural form and scale instead. Although none are large trees, they can grow taller than fruiting trees.

Also because they are fruitless, their bloom is their priority. They bloom more abundantly than fruiting trees, and some bloom with double flowers. Floral color is more diverse too, ranging from bright white to rich rosy pink. Some flowering crabapple trees bloom nearly red. Since dormant pruning is unnecessary, blooming stems are splendid as cut flowers.

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Six on Saturday: Neither Here Nor There

Between leaving on my trip and arriving, I neglected to get many pictures to select from for these Six. Actually, only two pictures are from the trip. I should take more pictures.

1. Prunus serrulata, flowering cherry of unidentified cultivar was featured in the garden column. It was the first to bloom. This picture was a bit too dark to use as an illustration.

2. Camellia japonica, camellia looks like a fried egg with such a prominent yellow center surrounded by a white corolla. White camellia are prettier with less prominent stamens.

3. Camellia japonica, camellia seemed more red than this when I took its picture. It was still blooming adjacent to the white camellia above. It is as pretty in pink as it was in red.

4. Bellis perennis, English daisy is the only picture that I took in Oregon. I must be more diligent about taking pictures on the way back, even if I do not stop in Oregon too much.

5. Prunus spp., cherry understock is growing from the base of what was formerly a stone fruit tree of some sort on my Pa’s farm. It is cool and rainy here, but is obviously spring.

6. Rhody is a good sport on our trip. We left at midnight and, because of a few stops, we arrived after six in the evening. That is an eighteen hours drive, or a 126 dog hours drive.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Fernald’s Iris

Fernald’s iris is rare in nurseries.

The natural range of Fernald’s iris, Iris fernaldii, is actually rather limited. It is endemic to only the Coast Ranges from Mendocino County to Santa Cruz County. Although it grows well beyond its natural range, it is quite rare in cultivation. Within chaparral climates that are warmer than its range, it prefers afternoon shade. Its foliage is greener with irrigation.

In the wild, Fernald’s iris develops sparse colonies, typically mixed with other vegetation. Colonies are more compact with cultivation and exclusion of other species. Propagation is very easy by division, or simple separation of wayward rhizomes. Fernald’s iris can be satisfied with shallow soil or soil of inferior quality. Too much fertilizer may inhibit bloom.

Fernald’s iris grows only about a foot tall, with slender, grassy and grayish green leaves. Floral stalks stand a bit more vertically and slightly above the foliage. The typically white flowers are paired on each floral stalk. Flowers might be pale or buttery yellow, or, rarely, pale lavender. Roots are thin but tough. Rhizomes, relative to those of other iris, are slim.

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Native Species Are Naturally Natural

California poppy is a common wildflower.

Vegetation has always been here. Wildlands outside of urban development demonstrate that noplace is or was without it. Native species lived here before any home gardens did. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some of it still does. Some sneaks in like weeds. Some arrives by invitation. A few old trees never left as the area around them developed.

Native species perform well locally because they are adapted to local climates and soils. It is all very natural to them. In fact, many dislike major modifications to their climates and soils. Although most tolerate or even appreciate a bit of supplemental irrigation, some do not. Many rot if irrigation is too generous. Also, many do not want much soil amendment.

Some native species might be a bit too natural, though. Because they are from chaparral climates, they can get somewhat scraggly by summer. It is not because of a lack of water or other environmental deficiency. It is their natural behavior, and how they survive in the wild. Many wildflowers that bloom so well for spring are completely dormant by summer.

The advantage to this is that almost all native species do not demand much water. Many want none at all. Once established, they get all they need from natural rainfall. Therefore, landscapes of mostly or exclusively native species conserve water. Since native species are adapted to endemic soil, they require no fertilizer either. They are quite conservative.

California poppy, which is the State Flower of California, is a very familiar native annual. Unlike other native species, it appreciates supplemental irrigation after the rainy season. It typically blooms only for spring, but may bloom into summer with occasional irrigation. Sky lupine is another native annual that blooms for spring, with contrasting blue flowers.

Various salvias, bush lupines, penstemons, irises and grasses are native perennials. So are sticky monkey flower, Oregon grape, tree anemone and tree poppy. Toyon, silk tassel and various California lilacs are native shrubbery. So are flannel bush, coyote brush and coffeeberry. California sycamore, coast live oak and redwoods are common native trees.

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Six on Saturday: More

More flowers seem to be in order. The six that I posted pictures of last week got so much extra attention.

1. Gerbera jamesonii, Transvaal daisy, along with the columbine below, was observed in a nursery. It is a long story. To be brief, neither was within the landscapes or my garden.

2. Aquilegia X hybrida, columbine is the State Flower of Colorado, but also is the colors of the Flag of Greece. Perhaps that is too much trivia. It is elegant and pretty regardless.

3. Sisyrinchium angustifolium, blue eyed grass grows wild here. This one happens to be in my driveway. Its proliferation exceeds its intellect. It might otherwise soon be extinct.

4. Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Orange Storm’ flowering quince is appealing only because it is a flowering quince. I am unimpressed by its fancy breeding and orangish red garishness.

5. Prunus persica var. nucipersica ‘Fantasia’ nectarine is more respectable since it is not fruitless, and also since it is among the most popular cultivars of the Santa Clara Valley.

6. Prunus salicina ‘Satsuma’ plum is not as popular as ‘Santa Rosa’ plum is, but it is very traditional among those who are familiar with it. It is not quite as tart as ‘Santa Rosa’ is.

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate: https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Flowering Apricot

Flowering apricot blooms almost too early.

Flowering cherries are not necessarily the first of the flowering trees to bloom. Flowering apricot, Prunus mume, is even earlier than all but the winter flowering cherry. Many have bloomed already, and as early as a month ago. The latest will bloom soon. Their flowers are more resilient to weather than those of flowering cherry. However, they bloom briefly.

Although generally fruitless, a few cultivars produce fruit for pickling, as umeboshi. Such fruit, without pickling, is rather unpalatable. Some cultivars of flowering apricot are useful as understock for related trees. Actually, some local flowering apricot trees grew from the roots of other flowering plums. New trees are very rarely available from nurseries locally.

Mature flowering apricot trees are ten to nearly twenty feet tall and almost as broad. They bloom before they foliate. Abundant bloom on big trees can be mildly fragrant. Individual flowers are about an inch wide. They are pastel pink, but can be white or deep rosy pink. Blooming stems can be exquisite as cut flowers, although they may not last for very long. Such stems are a traditional component of ikebana.

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Weeds Grow Fast Before Spring

English daisy is a pretty weed.

Vegetables and annuals should be growing well with such pleasantly warming weather. Soon enough and into spring, most should be growing like weeds. Unfortunately though, they are not alone. Undesirable vegetation competes with them for limited resources and space. It is a sadly unavoidable problem, even among the most refined of home gardens.

According to their simplest definition, weeds are undesirable vegetation. Obviously, most of the familiar sorts are annuals or perhaps perennials. However, trees, vines and shrubs can be weeds as well. Silver wattle is an invasive tree which can be difficult to eradicate. English ivy is an invasive vine among many forests. Glossy privet is invasive shrubbery.

With few exceptions, weeds are exotic. In other words, they are not native locally. Native species are generally complaisant within their natural ecosystems. They become weeds only if they become undesirable. For example, native poison oak may grow within home gardens. Native bay trees and some oaks frequently appear where they are undesirable.

Most exotic weeds were not always so undesirable. Some were formerly popular for their ornamental qualities, and then naturalized. These include pampas grass, yellow flag iris, Hottentot fig and periwinkle. Wild mustard likely naturalized from home gardens where it grew as a vegetable. Many naturalized grassy weeds were originally fodder for livestock.

The smaller but prolific weeds are the most problematic for home gardens. They include dandelion, purslane, burclover, various spurges and various thistles. Of course, there are too many to list. They grow and disperse their seed much more efficiently than desirable vegetation. That is how they invade home gardens and become such a prolific nuisance.

That is also why it is so helpful to remove weeds as soon as possible. Their subsequent generations will be less profuse if they disperse less seed now. Besides, they are easier to pull while only beginning to disperse roots within moist soil. They will be more difficult to pull when more established in drying soil later. Weeding may be tedious nonetheless.