About Trees – Page 10 – Gardeners Tips

Blazing Deciduous Azaleas

March 13, 2016 hortoris

Autumn is the best time to plant Azaleas so you get a blaze of colour next spring. If you want to see the colour before you buy than aim for a pot grown plant in spring.

Deciduous Azaleas have trumpet shaped flowers in a range of bright often fiery colours. The flowers appear before or at the same time as the leaves.

Types of Deciduous Azalea

The Ghent hybrids are generally fragrant plants growing 4-6′ tall.
Knapp Hill hybrids, Exbury and Mollis Azaleas do not have much scent but are available in vivid colours.
Occidentale hybrids have fragrant pastle coloured flowers in May.

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Tulip Tree – Root and Branch Review

Liriodendron tulipifera or Tulip tree is a tall striking tree related to the magnolia with similar Tulip shaped flowers. It has been planted in Britain since 1688 as an ornamental parks and gardens tree.

Key Features of the Tulip Tree

Latin name – Liriodendron tulipifera – other common names Tulip poplar or yellow poplar
Height – 90-100 feet
Type of tree – decidious
Leaves – Deeply lobed green turning yellow-gold in autumn
Flowers – Six petals pale green at the edges and orance corollas at the centre
Fruit – Cone like woody unseeded fruit with one wing.
Bark – Pale grey-green with white furrows
Family – Magnoliacaea

Origins and Distribution of the Tulip Tree

Eastern seaboard of North America.
Now more widely spread as a specimen tree in UK and elsewhere.

Uses and Attributes of the Tulip Tree

The fine grained soft wood is used for plywood and pulp.
Ornamental due to the flowers and leaf colouring.

Gardeners Tips for the Tulip Tree

Flowers are not produced on young trees. Flowering can take over 8 years from seed sowing.
Fastigiatum is a slender columnar tree suitable for more constrained spaces.
Flowers are generally high up in the tree and thus less visible.

Other types of Tulip Tree

Until the 20 century it was thought tulipifera was monotypic. Then a plant was discovered in China with leaves more glaucus and smaller in flower and stature Liriodendron chinense.
Liriodendron tulipifera Aureomarginatum have edged leaves and Liriodendron tulipifera Integrifolium has leaves without lobes.

Credits
On my Tulip Tree_4-30-08 by jimbrickett CC BY ND 2.0 ‘These are the blooms on my Tulip Tree in my yard today (there are a hundred of them). Most too high to see well.’
Interior of Sprawling Tulip Tree, Tudor Place by ok-oyot CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Tulip tree, Liriodendron tulipifera, Flower by nipplerings72 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
“Tulip Tree Flower 7236 by pjriccio2006 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ‘The Tulip tree is a large, deciduous tree, which easily reaches 70′ to 90′ tall, and large trees to 150′ or more are common. The flowers are 2″ to 3” long, tulip-shaped, upright blossoms, borne singly at branch ends, and blooms late may through mid-June. The petals are yellow-green, and the inside of the corolla base is orange. Unfortunately, most flowers are borne in the higher reaches of the plant and are not easily observed. These flowers were collected on a series of cool windy days.’

Beech Tree – Root and Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

I used to think Beech trees grew on the beach but now I know a little better but not much. This is one of the UK’s most useful trees and deserves to be grown where ever space permits.

Key Features of the Beech

Latin name Fagus sylvatica other common names include ‘Lady of the Woods’ or European Beech
Height up to 45m 150 feet trunk can be 10 feet in diametre
Type of tree Deciduous, broadleaved, dictoyledon tree
Leaves – Light green turning deeper in summer are ovate shaped with wavy edges. Decorative in autumn with copper and russet foliage.
Flowers Male are in yellow pendulous clusters whilst female flowers are inconspicuous in leaf axils on the same tree.
Fruit Beech nuts are 3 sided brown nuts contained in pairs or singly inside prickly green/brown husks
Bark is silver gray thin and smooth
Family Fagus

Origins and Distribution of the Beech

Grows widely throughout Europe and likes chalky and limestone areas.
Native to England it may have been introduced by stone age man for the food property of the nuts.

Uses and Commercial Attributes of the Beech

Beech nuts or ‘mast’ are still used to feed pigs and parkland deer.
Wood from the beech is tough and used for flooring and furniture.
Wooden implements like bowls, spoons and tool handles are traditionally made from beech
Beech woodlands often act as home for mushrooms.
Beech hedges are popular as the young plants are easy to train and retain their leaves through winter
Beech fruit are edible and have a nutty flavour but should not be consumed in great quantity as they can be toxic.
Beeches can live for 300 years and are used as wind breaks and field markers as well as part of mixed hedges particularly when young.
Wood from the beech is used as a fuel.

Gardeners Tips for the Beech

Leaves remain on the tree until the spring making beech popular as a hedge.
Wood is easy to turn and work for carpentry particularly if soaked first to make it pliable.
Limited topiary is possible with a beech tree.
Older trees have buttresses to improve stability.
Read Copper Beech Hedges

Other types of Beech and Species

Copper Beech or Purple Beech Fagus sylvatica Purpurea atropunicea has purple leaves some turning deep green by mid-summer.
Weeping Beech or Fagus sylvatica Pendula has branches that hang down as the name suggests
Fagus sylvatica ‘Rivers Purple’ also known as ‘Riversii Major’ has been awarded an Award of Garden Merit
A narrow cultivar of beech Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawyck’ develops into a striking cone shape.

Beech Comments from Elsewhere

‘A coppard is an ancient tree that was coppiced hundreds of years ago and then later pollarded. This prolongs their life and this beech tree could be anything up to 1,000 years old and was first cut by Anglo-Saxon woodmen’ Jacks Hill Epping

Credits
Beech Trees by Joost J. Bakker IJmuiden CC BY 2.0
Lake Wood, Uckfield – Beech Nuts by Dominic CC BY 2.0 below

Part of a Slideshow / Set forming a virtual tour around the lake at Lake Wood, on the outskirts of Uckfield, East Sussex, England, UK. [Map]

The artificially expanded lake and woodland is adjacent to, and to the north of, West Park Local Nature Reserve. The two areas are separated by Rocks Road (the B2012 Uckfield / Piltdown road). Both areas formed part of the Rocks Estate, owned for 200 years – and landscaped in the style of Capability Brown – by the Streatfield family. A tunnel beneath the dividing road (now bricked off) enabled carriage access to the lake from Rock House.

The area has numerous Ardlingly Sandstone outcrops. Where these obstruct the path around the lake, a tunnel – and also steps leading down to an underground boat house cave – were excavated.

Lake Wood is managed and protected by The Woodland Trust

Read about our series on British tree reviews with a bakers dozen fact sheets

Baobab – Root and Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

Baobab is a remarkable tree with striking appearance identified by it’s swollen trunk which stores water. Slow growing the tree is believed to live for centuries but has no aging rings in the trunk.

Key Features of the Baobab

Latin name – Adansonia digitata Common names – Upside down tree, boab, dead-rat-tree, boaboa or bottle tree
Height – 30-70 feet
Type of tree – Deciduous
Leaves – dark green glossy hand like leaves with 5-7 fingers
Flowers – Solitary large scented white to cream
Fruit – ovoid, brown, hairy capsules of black seeds
Bark – Grey-brown and fibrous. No annual growth rings of trunk.
Family – Malvaceae

Origins and Distribution of the Baobab

Native to Madagascar and central Africa.
The tree is adapted to arid conditions and is also found in India.

Uses and Attributes of the Baobab

Fruit and leaves are edible. The seeds are used to thicken soup.
Water is collected in the clefts of branches.
The fibrous bark is used to make mats and fishing nets

Gardeners Tips for the Baobab

The tree is able to survive bark ringing.
The large white strongly scented flowers attract pollinating bats – alas not in my garden.
Seeds are available to grow bonsai trees.

Other types of Baobab and key species

There are 7-8 key species of Adansonia.
Adansonia digitata L. â€“ African Baobab, Adansonia grandidieri Grandidier’s Baobab, Adansonia gregorii Boab or Australian Baobab Adansonia madagascariensisâ€“ Madagascar Baobab Adansonia perrieri â€“ Perrier’s Baobab Adansonia suarezensis Adansonia Za. â€“ Za Baobab .

Baobab comments from elsewhere

‘The Baobab is called the Tree of Life with good reason. It is capable of providing shelter, food and water for the animal and human inhabitants of the African savannah regions.
The cork-like bark is fire resistant and is used for cloth and rope. The leaves are used for condiments and medicines. The fruit, called “monkey bread”, is rich in vitamin C and is eaten. The tree is capable of storing hundreds of litres of water, which is tapped in dry periods.
Mature trees are frequently hollow, providing living space for numerous animals and humans alike.There are also numerous superstitions amongst native African people regarding the powers of the tree. Anyone who dares to pick a flower, for instance, will be eaten by a lion. On the other hand, of you drank water in which the seeds have been soaked, you’d be safe from a crocodile attack.’ From Baobab solutions for more information

Credits
baobabs by asfd01 CC BY-NC 2.0
“Baobab by sociate CC BY-SA 2.0
Baobab Africain by dinesh_valke CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 ‘The Baobab has long provided people with material for cloth, rope, soap, dye, glue, fodder, and medicine. In West Africa, the young nutritious leaves are cooked and eaten like spinach.’
Baobab Tree by K W Reinsch CC BY-NC 2.0

Maidenhair Tree (Ginkgo) Root and Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

Fascinating leaves are grown on this unique tree that has been around for over 200 million years. Last one of a kind the Ginkgo has no close relatives. Now famous for its extracts and herbal remedies it is also a revered tree in the Buddhist religion.

Key Features of the Maidenhair Tree

Latin name Ginkgo biloba other common names Pin Yin, Kew tree or Japanese silver apricot
Height Up to 100 feet very long lived.
Type of tree – Deciduous the only surviving species of its kind from 200 million years ago
Leaves – Fan shaped green leaves aging to yellow
Flowers – Male catkins are yellow in bunches. Female on another tree are green on stalks
Fruit – Greenish-yellow plum like fruit with a fleshy coating and edible kernel.
Bark – Grey Brown
Family Ginkgo a one off

Origins and Distribution of the Maidenhair Tree

Origins over 200 million years ago but now grow wild in China, Japan and Indonesia.
Widely planted in Buddhist temples and now grown as a specimen tree around the world..

Uses and Attributes of the Ginkgo

Seen as a symbol of longevity, hope and unity.
The finely grained wood is used for carving.
Extract from the leaves and fruit are used herbally.

Gardeners Tips for the Ginkgo

During autumn the leaves turn a bright yellow and quickly fall.
Sunny well-watered and well-drained sites are needed to grow a Ginkgo in your garden.
With stands an amount of pollution.

Other types of Ginkgo

There are no living relatives Ginkgo are often referred to as living fossils.

Ginkgo comments from elsewhere

The old popular name “Maidenhair tree” is because the leaves resemble some of the pinnae of the maidenhair fern.
Ginkgos are dioecious, with separate sexes, some trees being female and others being male. Male plants produce small pollen cones (Wikipedia).
The Ginkgo Pages is a dedicated website for the tree

Credits
ginkgo by ivva CC BY-SA 2.0
Ginkgo leaf by monteregina CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Moreton Bay Fig – Root & Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, is a large evergreen banyan tree of the Moraceae family. It shares the characteristics of most Fig trees.

Key Features of the Moreton Bay Fig

Latin name – Ficus macrophylla other common names Strangler tree
Height – a tall tree up to 150 feet high and often wider than high.
Type of tree – Evergreen
Leaves – Large, elliptical and leathery with dark green upper and rusty brown beneath.
Flowers – Tiny flowers enclosed in a fig receptical
Fruit – Fig ripening from green to purple
Bark – Smooth grey-brown
Family – Moraceae or Banyan

Origins and Distribution of the Moreton Bay Fig

Native to Eastern Australia.
It grows best in rainforest conditions.
This fig is cultivated in Hawaii where the pollinating wasp was deliberatly introduced and in northern New Zealand.

Uses and Attributes of the Moreton Bay Fig

A distinctive tree that has been cultivated to grow in parks and to grace avenues..
The soft light timber is used for cases.
Aborigines traditionally used the fibres for fishing nets.

Gardeners Root Tips for the Moreton Bay Fig

The tree germinates at the top of a host tree and drops aerial roots down to the ground.
It eventually kills the host tree by strangulation .
The tree grows a magnificent crown that is supported by a butress of roots which spread around the tree matching the crown.
The roots are surface feeding and water-hungry. When young it grows as an epiphyte
As with other figs it is pollinated by a specific species of wasp

Moreton Bay Fig comments from elsewhere

Named after Moreton bay in Queensland.
They are very thirsty trees and can be very invasive of domestic drainage systems. Not to be recommended on a suburban quarter acre block! lane reality Australia

Credits
FICUS WATKINSIANA-MORETON BAY FIG by YAZMDG CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
19 Moreton Bay Fig Tree by The City Project CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Moreton Bay Fig Tree, Santa Barbara by FarOutFlora CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Moreton Bay Fig Tree by ~PrescottCC BY-NC 2.0

Crab Apple – Root and Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

The common crab apple grows wild in hedgerows and woodlands of western Europe. It is also cultivated for the blossom and small crabapples.

Key Features of the Crab Apple

Latin name – Malus sylvestris other common names include Wild apples, verjuice
Height – 25-45 feet
Type of tree – Deciduous –
Leaves – Alternate, elliptical, toothed, dark glossy green.
Flowers – Borne in clusters on short shoots. White tinged pink to deep red
Fruit – Spherical green – yellowish- red pome or crabs up to 2 inch across. Crabapples are sour.
Bark – Pale brown to grey when young, peeling flakes of grey brown as the tree matures
Family – Rosaceae

Origins and Distribution of the Crab Apple

Native to Europe.
Used as an ornamental tree in temperate zones.

Uses and Attributes of the Crab Apple

The hard, heavy, close grained wood was used to make clubs, handles and wedges.
Crabapples are high in pectin and are used to make crabapple jelly.
Traditionally the small yellow fruit were used to make ‘verjuice’ an acidic condiment.
Crab Apple are used as root stock for grafting commercial apples.
Crab apple trees make good pollinators for other apples in orchards.
Apple wood is used in some smoking and burns with a sweet scent.

Gardeners Tips for the Crab Apple

These ornamental trees are grown for their beautiful flowers and fruit.
There are numerous cultivars most of which are good pollinators for apples and are known for their resistance to disease.
Smaller crab apples like Evereste can be trained as cordons to make a multi-purpose wind break

Other types of Crab Apple and key species

There are 30-40 species of Crab Apple in the genus.
There are a large number of varieties and hybrids. Generally they have pinker flowers and larger fruit and have been selected for these reasons.
‘John Downie’ produce fruit that is large and tasty enough to eat fresh off the tree
Malus sylvestris is the parent of orchard apple Malus domestica and several ornamental crabs.

Crab Apple comments from elsewhere

The crab apple is the ancestor of the cultivated apple, over 6,000 varieties having been bred over the ages.
For sheer flower power it’s hard to beat M. floribunda with red buds opening to pink then white blossom, followed by red and yellow fruit. A good choice where space is limited is Malus ‘Royal Beauty’, a weeping tree with reddish purple flowers, purple-bronze leaves and dark red fruit.
Birds will feed on the fruit, particularly robins, starlings, greenfinches and thrushes and the colourful flowers will attract bees in spring. Additionally the native crab apple can be home to over 90 insect species. RSPB

Read about our series on British tree reviews with a bakers dozen fact sheets

Credits
Pink Crab Apple Blossoms by beautifulcataya CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Ash – Root and Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

Common Ash trees row widely in the UK and other Ashes grow in Asia and America. Our Ash has dark almost black buds and some species have interesting flowers but it is as a tree the provided wood to make bows that the Ash is best known in Britain.

Key Features of the Ash

Latin name – Fraxinus excelsior – other names; Common Ash or European Ash
Height – up to 150 feet
Type of tree – Deciduous
Leaves – Green pinate with 7-15 ovate-oblong leaflets
Flowers – small purplish in short clusters
Fruit – winged keys in clusters of glossy green turning brown
Bark – grey-brown fissured when mature
Family – Oleaceae

Origins and Distribution of the Ash

Grows widely across Europe and there are many North American species.
Tolerant of wind swept and coastal areas.

Uses and Attributes of the Ash

Ash can make a noble shade tree quite quickly.
Use to make bows, hurling sticks, baseball bats and historically car and plane frames.
Strong, flexible and easy to turn the wood also burns well and is used in some smoking.

Gardeners Tips for the Ash

Select a smaller growing variety like the Manna Ash.
Dislikes sandy or acid soil.
Weeping Ash make a statement tree.

Other types of Ash and key species

Members of the Sorbus family, Mountain Ashes or Rowans are unrelated.
Fraxinus is an extensive genus of hardy Ash trees including White Ash or Autumn Purple Ash, Black Ash, Blue Ash, Singleleaf Ash and Fragrant Ash.
The Ornus group of Ashes are attractive flowering trees also called Manna Ash.

Ash comments from elsewhere

In Norse mythology the first man was made from Ash.
Yggdrasil the ‘Tree of the World’ is thought to be an Ash

Read about our series on British tree reviews with a bakers dozen fact sheets

Credits
frÃªne fraxinus by Luberon (sb) CC BY-NC 2.0
Common Ash Tree by denovich CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Ash Tree by Gemma Grace CC BY-NC 2.0

Sycamore – Root and Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

The Sycamore is a picturesque tree the largest member of the European maples. It is one of the most common trees in the northern temperate zones enjoying exposed situations in most types of soil.

Key Features of the Sycamore

Latin name – Acer pseudoplantanus – other common names; False plane-tree, Scottish maple, or mock-plane.
Height – 120-140 feet
Type of tree – Deciduous
Leaves – Grey palmate leaves with 5 toothed lobes
Flowers – Borne in pendulous clusters, green insignificant
Fruit – Winged keys in pairs.
Bark – Grey-pink
Family – Aceracea

Origins and Distribution of the Sycamore

Western Europe and Northern temperate zones.
Colonises open ground with some success.

Uses and Attributes of the Sycamore

Strong creamy white timber is not durable outdoors.
Sycamore is used for flooring, furniture making and joinery.

Gardeners Tips for the Sycamore

The seeds are held in pairs with wings that allow the seed to spin and ‘helicopter’ down some distance from the aprent tree.
Leaves can attract a fungus that leaves the leaves with unsightly black or red spots .
The mature trees have a large canopy and are not suitable for small gardens.

Other types of Sycamore and key species

Sycamores are not to be confused with Plane trees the ‘American Sycamore’ Platanus occidentalis, Platanus racemosa or Platanus wrightii the Arizona sycamore nor with Ficus sycomorus a fig.
Atropurpureum has purple undersides to the leaf and ‘Brilliantissimum’ is a cultivar notable for the bright salmon-pink colour of the young foliage.

Sycamore comments from elsewhere

Sycamore was the favoured wood for making ‘love spoons’ in Wales. These wedding gifts are linked with rings and were traditionally made from a single peice of wood.
The Drumlanrig Sycamore is reputed to be the UK’s tallest sycamore.It dates back to the 18th Century and is one of the largest girth and spread in Britain. It is one of Scotland’s top 100 Heritage Trees.

Read about our series on British tree reviews with a bakers dozen fact sheets

Credits
The Drumlanrig Sycamore by I like CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Sycamore Gap – Hadrian’s Wall by El Villano CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Sycamore in Bud by Durlston Country Park CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Sycamore Gap by Jonathan_W CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 ‘Sycamore Gap is where they filmed on of the opening scenes in “Robin Hood Price of Thieves”

Japanese Maple – Root and Branch Review

February 29, 2016 hortoris

Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.

Key Features of the Japanese Maple

Latin name Acer palmatum or Acer Japonica, Japanese Acer
Height up to 12m 45 feet with a graceful habit.
Type of tree – Deciduous – dictoyledons
Leaves – Palm shaped hence the name palmate with 5-9 deep, finely serrated lobes or fingers.
Flowers Deep red in small inconsequential spreading heads
Fruit Red winged seedheads in pairs. Known as keys.
Bark Smooth brown/grey with pale longitudinal stripes
Family Acer

Origins and Distribution of the Japanese Maple

Native to China, Japan Korea and Taiwan.
Cultivated in Japan for centuries for its colourful foliage and as a bonsai subject.
Introduced in to Europe in 1820.
Acers are a large family of trees including Sycamore and Maples.

Uses and Attributes of the Japanese Maple

The main use is as an ornamental tree.
Popular in parks and as feature trees in gardens.
The autumn colouring of the leaves can be spectacular and contribute to tourism
Like other maples they can bleed a syrup but I am unaware of any commercial product.
Japanese acers are useful as an understory plant in shady woodlands.

Gardeners Tips for the Japanese Maple

The leaves are thin and lacking in substance. Therefore they are easily damaged by wind and red leaves can burn or shrivel in the sun. Plant in a sheltered location
Japanese maples are slow growing and can be grown in large containers or as bonsai
Problems Growing Acer palmatum and In the name of Japanese Maples

Other types of Japanese Maple and key species

There are hundreds if not thousands of cultivars varying in leaf colour from green, yellow and red
Acer palmatum var. pubescens and Acer japonicumâ€”Downy Japanese Maple
Acer pseudosieboldianumâ€”Korean Maple
Acer shirasawanumâ€”Fullmoon Maple
Acer sieboldianumâ€”Siebold’s Maple
The national collection of over 100 different Japanese Acers is held at Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8QS and is well worth a visit. This is a wider selection of the Japanese Acers you may see there and growers add to their lists regularly: Acer palmatum â€˜Aka shigitatsu sawaâ€™, â€˜Asahi zuruâ€™, Acer palmatum â€˜Akegarasuâ€™, â€˜Aoyagiâ€™,’Ariake nomuraâ€™, Acer palmatum â€˜Aureumâ€™, â€˜Azuma murasakiâ€™, â€˜Hagoromoâ€™, Acer palmatum â€˜Beni kawaâ€™,’Beni kagamiâ€™,’Garnetâ€™ See link for a full list

Japanese Maple comments from elsewhere

‘Maple collections, sometimes called aceretums, occupy space in many gardens and arboreta around the world including the “five great W’s” in England: Wakehurst Place Garden, Westonbirt Arboretum, Windsor Great Park, Winkworth Arboretum and Wisley Garden.
In the United States, the aceretum at the Harvard-owned Arnold Arboretum in Boston is especially notable. In the number of species and cultivars, the Esveld Aceretum in Boskoop, Netherlands is the largest in the world.’ Thanks to wikipedia