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Six on Saturday: the Wrath of Grapes

This was no easy project. I started pruning and maintaining this formerly neglected and very overgrown grapevine several years ago. It had been installed a few years earlier, but had never been pruned. Its first pruning may have generated two pickup loads of debris, as well as a dozen or so layers, which were shared with neighbors. I then trained its new growth to span horizontally over a lower deck, from a rail fence that it originally grew on to a parallel banister about twelve feet away. It was like a pergola without a pergola. The problem is that the banister needs to be painted. After training the grapevines for years, I needed to remove them.

1. It looks simpler than it was. Vines needed to grow long enough to reach from the fence to the banister. They then needed to be pulled across with a cord and tied onto balusters.

2. Between the fence and the banister, the vines required no support. They were pruned annually while dormant for winter, and groomed for summer, so did not get very heavy.

3. The vines sagged somewhat, but had plenty of space downstairs to do so. The banister to the left is horizontal. The fence to the right slopes downward away from this vantage.

4. From the same vantage without the spanning vines, the scenery is now very different. Old vines will get pruned for neater confinement to the fence while dormant this winter.

5. The vines formerly shaded the pavement downstairs nicely. This area gets quite warm without shade during summer. That was partly why we wanted these vines to span here.

6. As severe as this pruning was, it will be a bit more severe while the vines are dormant this winter. Vines will not extend so far outward, and may not cascade downward either.

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/

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Mexican Fan Palm

Mexican fan palm is the most familiar palm of California.

It does not take long for Mexican fan palm, Washingtonia robusta, to get too big for most of the spaces it so often self sows its abundant seed into. The attractive lush foliage looks innocent enough, although the long petioles (leaf stalks) have nasty teeth. As trees get tall enough to get out of the way, they also get too big to manage, eventually reaching a hundred feet tall on elegantly curving trunks. No matter how tall they get though, their canopies always stay about eight feet wide. The problem is that the maintenance of such tall and aggressive trees can be costly.

Beards of old leaves can be allowed to accumulate on the trunks, but are combustible and can get infested with rats. Old leaves are more often pruned off, leaving a distinctive pattern of petiole bases. Old leaves can alternatively be ‘shaven’ to expose elegant bare trunks.

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Cane Berries Require Diligent Maintenance

Without proper pruning, cane berries become wicked thickets.

Given the opportunity, blackberry and raspberry canes become rampant thickets. The trick is to keep them contained and controlled so that they can produce berries without conquering the garden. Besides, proper pruning promotes production. Properly maintained canes are therefore both better behaved and more productive

Berry canes are certainly not low maintenance, and should be selectively pruned a few times through the year. The type of pruning needed is determined by the type of growth that the canes exhibit in particular seasons. Spent canes or upper portions of everbearing raspberry canes that produced berries through summer and early autumn will need to be removed by the end of winter while new canes that grew through this year get trained to replace them.

Pruning and thinning of new canes should be delayed until the end of winter; but removal or pruning of spent canes can begin as soon as their fruit gets depleted. Spent canes of traditional summer bearing raspberries like ‘Willamette’, ‘Tulameen’ and ‘Canby’ can be pruned to the ground. ‘September’, ‘Heritage’, ‘Summit’, ‘Fallgold’ and other everbearing raspberry canes should be pruned only as low as their fruit was produced. Lower portions that did not produce fruit should be left to bloom and produce berries next spring.

Just like raspberry canes, new blackberry canes that grew this year do not need to be pruned until late winter. However, the canes that grew last year and are finishing berry production this year can be pruned to the ground as their last berries get taken. There is no rush for this procedure, but getting it done early makes later pruning of new canes for next year a bit easier.

Of course, every different cultivar (cultivated variety) of raspberry and blackberry behaves differently. Some finish producing and are ready to be pruned sooner than others. Their behavior is also affected by climate and environmental conditions, so that the same variety may be earlier or later in different areas, or even different parts of the same garden.

Favorite berry canes are very easy to propagate by division of superfluous new shoots during winter. Alternatively, spent canes that should be removed can be ‘layered’ instead. They simply need to be bent down and partially buried, and can be dug and separated as they develop roots.

The top few inches of cane should extend above the soil. At least a few inches of cane below the top should be buried a few inches below the surface of the soil. The length of cane between the buried portion and the base of the parent plant can remain exposed.

Layering can be done at any time of year if the layer (buried section of cane) gets watered while developing roots. Layering this time of year is easiest though, because layers get plenty of water from rain through winter, and develop roots most efficiently as they come out of dormancy late in winter or early in spring. If layers are buried where new plants are desired, they do not need to be dug and moved next year.

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Horridculture – Green Walls

It would have been easier to paint the wall green.

Foundation plantings were quite functional while eavestroughs and downspouts were prohibitively expensive prior to about the Victorian Period. They dispersed rain water as it fell from eaves above, in order to limit surface erosion and muddy splatter onto foundations, basement windows, and lower portions of walls.

Most foundation plantings were tough perennials, such as lily of the Nile, or low and densely evergreen shrubbery, such as English boxwood or Indian hawthorne. Some did not stay so low though. Long after eavestroughs and downspouts became common, some foundation plantings grew into obtrusive hedges in front of exterior walls. Some even obscured windows. Instead of dispersing moisture, they retain moisture and damp detritus that promotes rot of associated walls and infrastructure. Furthermore, they require maintenance, such as shearing. It would be more practical to paint a wall green than to leave overgrown foundation planting pressed up against it.

Vines are no better. They can be practical on reinforced concrete and cinder block, but not much more. Not only do they promote rot, but some destroy paint, siding and stucco. Vermin can get anywhere that vines provide access to.

This is neither about vines nor foundation planting though. It is about this hedge in front of this glass facade. It got my attention because it did not grow slowly into this form from overgrown foundation planting, but was intentionally installed and shorn as such. Then, I realized that it is actually practical. It did not require modification of the wall. It is shorn to maintain a slight bit of clearance from the glass facade, to facilitate cleaning of the glass, and inhibit accumulation of detritus against the glass. Therefore, it does not look so bad from within. Perhaps it is comparable to painting the glass wall green, but is actually more visually appropriate.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 5 Comments

Naked Lady

Naked lady foliage grows after bloom.

They can be quite a surprise when they bloom for late summer. The tops of their dormant bulbs previously seemed to be dead at the surface of the soil. Then, suddenly, their bare floral stems emerge to bloom without foliage. That is why Amaryllis belladonna is naked lady. Foliage grows a bit later in summer or autumn. It shrivels during late spring warmth.

Naked lady flowers stand about two feet tall, on simple green or brown stalks. Their mild fragrance is easy to miss. A profusion of bloom is only slightly fragrant during humid and warm weather. Their vividly pink color more than compensates. Fleshy seed that mature now that flowers are deteriorating are perishable. They prefer almost immediate sowing.

After naked lady flowers imitate lily flowers, their leaves will imitate lily of the Nile leaves. Naked lady and lily of the Nile are related, but neither are related to lily. The strap leaves of naked lady are more fragile than those of lily of the Nile. If damaged, they can lay flatly for quite a while. After defoliation during spring, dormant bulbs are conducive to division. It might delay bloom for that year.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 6 Comments

Seed Collection For Another Season

Less hybridized canna produce more seed.

Deadheading conserves resources that would otherwise sustain production of seed. For species that bloom more than once, it promotes continued bloom. For others, it promotes healthier vegetative growth. Also, it inhibits proliferation of potentially invasive seed. It is neater anyway. However, several species might forego deadheading for seed collection.

Flowers that bloom only once for a brief season generate all their seed at the same time. Flowers that bloom for an extensive season generate seed for a more extensive season. Some seed is obtainable from ripe fruit. Some is obtainable from unharvested vegetable plants that go to seed. Seed collection involves various sources during various seasons.

Regardless of its season and source, most seed is too abundant for complete collection. A single fruiting vegetable, such as a true to type chile, provides more than enough seed. A few stalks of naked lady might provide more seed than one garden can accommodate. Wildflowers are an exception. Their seed collection is rarely too excessive to broadcast.

Many species do not reliably generate viable seed though. Some require pollination by a very specific pollinator that does not live here. Yuccas that are from Central America rely on moths that live only in Central America. Some bamboos generate seed only once in a century or so. Most hybrids are too genetically dysfunctional to produce any viable seed.

Hybrids that can generate viable seed are very unlikely true to type. In other words, their progeny will be very different from them. Such progeny tend to revert to a simpler or more primitive form. The same applies to progeny of cultivars of extensive breeding within one species. Genetic aberration, such as variegation, is likewise unlikely inheritable by seed.

To complicate seed collection, some species begin life with juvenile growth. Some might take several years to mature. Avocado seedlings initially grow very fast, and tall, without blooming. By the time they mature, bloom and produce fruit, such fruit can be too high to harvest. Trees from nurseries are fruitful lower only because of grafting with adult growth.

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Palm Reading

This is painful to look at.

Not everyone is interested in horticulture. Most enjoy other interests, such as sports, arts or cooking. They may know no more about horticulture than a garden enthusiast knows about the Seattle SeaMonkeys. Unfortunately though, some are not as aware of their lack of horticultural expertise as garden enthusiasts are aware of their lack of proficiency with other interests.

For example, I can grow just about any fruit or vegetable or perhaps grain that can grow here, but if I can not eat some of them fresh, I am aware that I do not know how to cook them. I must rely on someone who does know how. Yet, someone who is proficient with cooking is likely to believe that it is practical to grow fresh vegetables on a kitchen windowsill because it seems so easy on television gardening shows.

Someone I work with found this young Mexican fan palm to be bothersomely obtrusive to a confined situation within which he was working. He is, incidentally, a sports enthusiast. Naturally, as a sports enthusiast, he believed that he was qualified to groom the obtrusive fronds from the trunk of the Mexican fan palm. This was the result.

The necrotic but nonetheless harmless and relatively pliable foliage was removed to expose the wickedly sharp teeth of its rigid petioles, which extended outwardly in all directions from the trunk. This could have been quite dangerous for anyone who might have been so unfortunate as to bump into it. The thorns curve inward, to maximize damage to victims who pull back, which is, of course, the natural response to an encounter with such thorns. It was painful to merely look at! It seriously reminded me that I am no expert on sports or cooking. I pruned the petioles cleanly back to the main trunk.

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2 / 3

This is the wimpiest of the sixteen survivors.

Sixteen of the twenty-four mixed dinnerplate dahlias that I did not expect favorable performance from have survived! Only eight have failed to exhibit any indication of viability. Two thirds are growing. Only one third is not.

I am impressed. I expected less than half to survive. They arrived in embarrassingly shabby condition. I canned all of them regardless, including several that were obviously completely necrotic. I wanted to give all a chance to survive before discarding any. Those that were obviously completely necrotic are among those that have not exhibited any indication of viability. However, I am not ready to discard any yet. Although I still believe that some are completely necrotic, a few others may not be. As I dump any that do not at least try to grow prior to winter, I will inspect their tubers for any indication of viability, no matter how minor.

The survivors will be pampered. I want them to generate as much vegetative growth prior to frost as possible. That should sustain the regeneration of their wimpy tubers so that they will be ready to grow next spring. I am aware that even the healthiest may not survive winter if their tubers are inadequate.

Those that survive through winter are likely to grow and bloom as if they were always healthy. In a few years, they could be ready for division. Perhaps after a few more years, I will regret the procurement of so many.

In this mild climate, it is not necessary to dig dahlia tubers for winter. We only do so because it has become a habit, and perhaps to relocate the dahlias.

Dinnerplate dahlias are certainly not my favorite type, but they are more appropriate to the landscapes that they will inhabit than they types that I would prefer.

This is the most vigorous of the sixteen survivors.
Posted on by tonytomeo · 10 Comments

Six on Saturday: Naked or White or Dead

Three of these six are naked ladies, Amaryllis belladonna. Two of these six bloom white. Three of these six need deadheading. Three qualify as two categories. Two qualify as one category. One qualifies as none. None qualify as three. Alternatively, three are lily of the Nile, Agapanthus orientalis, two bloom blue, two bloom pink, and three do not yet need deadheading.

1. 1 – dead but neither naked nor white. Lily of the Nile, with few exceptions, is in need of deadheading at this time of year. All but one cloned colony here are mixed blue varieties.

2. 2 – white and dead but not naked. This deteriorating floral truss is one of merely three that bloomed within the one cloned colony of white lily of the Nile. This colony is young.

3. 0 – not naked, white or dead. This is the lowest score because bloom deteriorates a bit slower in the shade. Blue lily of the Nile could score no more than a single point anyway.

4. 2 – naked and dead but not white. This is the common naturalized naked lady here. It bloomed annoyingly bright pink, but is not the brightest pink. It should be deadheaded.

5. 1 – naked but neither white nor dead. This is a brighter pink naked lady that is not yet in need of deadheading because it blooms a bit later. It has slightly stouter brown stems.

6. 2 – naked and white but not dead. This is merely one of three highest scores, but is my favorite! I had wanted a white version for a long time. It seems to bloom late like #5, but blooms on a green stalk like #4. Its primary bulb already generated four pups, so will be relocated to a more prominent location to develop as a colony. It will not bloom much if split annually, but will multiply most efficiently by such technique. I want more of them!

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

Redgum Eucalyptus

Red gum eucalyptus is notably drought tolerant. Apparently, it can also temporarily tolerate saturation.

Although not quite as aggressive, sloppy, big or structurally deficient as the notorious blue-gum eucalyptus, the red-gum eucalyptus, Eucalyptus camadulensis, is one of the ‘other’ eucalyptus that give eucalyptus a bad reputation. It is realistically too big and messy for refined urban gardens, and can be combustible if overgrown or too abundant. It is consequently probably not available in nurseries, despite being one of the most common species of eucalyptus (second only to blue-gum) in California. Red-gum eucalyptus has the advantage of being one of the most resilient large scale trees for unrefined or semi-wild landscapes, and works well where it has space to grow in many of the local county parks.