About Trees – Page 21 – Gardeners Tips

Osmanthus is an attractive genus of evergreen shrubs. The leaves are holly like with a leathery texture and spikes. The young leaves are green, red, cream or purple and below is a variegated example.
This variety O. hetrophylus is slow growing but can make a dense hedge or small tree. The flowers are sweetly scented in autumn.

Other Osmanthus and Uses

Osmanthus delavayi grows upto 6 foot tall and wide with fragrant white april flowers. It can be grown as a small tree.
Osmanthus yunnanensis ‘New Zealand Holly’ a fast growing large shrub with olive green leaves with flowers that can be a bit of a let down.
Osmanthus americanus ‘Devil Wood’ is a bit tender in the UK.
Osmanthus x burkwoodii which has small leathery leaves and fragrant white flowers in late spring. It can make a good hedge.
Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Variegatus’ can be used as ground cover.
Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Goshiki’ is an evergreen compact, fairly slow-growing shrub with dark-green, holly-like leaves.

Gardeners Top Tip
Osmanthus are cheap to buy when small, easy to grow and care for and are strongly recommended for a mixed border or ornamental woodland.

Gardeners Tips Favourite Links

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
Alpine Garden Society (AGS)
Garden Organic the national charity for organic gardening formerly Henry Double Day Research
BBC Gardening

Senecio Silver Sunshine now named Brachyglottis

August 31, 2012 hortoris

Senecio Silver Sunshine is an attractive shrub (now renamed Brachyglottis) with small silver leaves. It grows to about 3’6″ and flowers with masses of small yellow daisy like flowers through the summer.
This particular plant is quite vigorous and overdue for a trim when it has flowered.

Gardeners Tips on Brachyglottis

It is evergreen or ‘eversilver’ and can be grown as a foliage plant.
Prune aggressively in spring to stimulate foliage and keep tidy. It will go woody quite easily but will quickly reclothe the woody bits in May/June
Don’t bother collecting the seeds, propagate by semi-ripe or hardwood cuttings in summer or autumn
Buy small plants and avoid ones that have a woody base
Brachyglottis monroi AGM is also a variety worth growing sometimes called Monro’s ragwort

Where to Grow Brachyglottis

Grow this ‘Sunshine’ variety as an informal hedge. Space your planting every couple of feet for a dense shrubbery.
These plants grow well at the seaside as it stands up to strong winds and salt-laden air.
Brachyglottis with stand low levels of water
Grow with other Mediterranean plants or as groundcover for a sunny site.
Plant with other daisies like Anthemis in a courtyard or gravel gardens

Top Ten Tree Barks to Grow in UK

August 29, 2012 hortoris

Bark is the outer covering of main trunks, woody stems, branches and roots of trees and other woody plants, as distinguished from the cambium and inner wood. Many trees grown for bark look better as the tree matures and need to be grown in enough space to develop. Some of the following varieties are best in Parkland or woods.

Top Ten Trees for Bark

The above Prunus ‘Bird Cherry’ bark looks very colourful in strong sunshine.
Acers often have interesting bark try Acer rufinerve with distinctive green bark and patterns of greyish markings particularly good on old trunks.
Betula Papyrifera or the Paper-bark birch has shining white bark, the large leaves turning pale gold early autumn. The native birch bark can be effective but some varieties are dirty grey in colour so take care when selecting plants.
Parrottia Persica has grey bark flaking away in a pattern resembling the London Plane. It is early flowering and the leaves turn brilliant gold and crimsons in Autumn.
Arbutus x Arachnoides strawberry tree has a distinctive trunk and branches that are a cinnamon red.
Zelkova Sinica with smooth grey bark which peels away in scales to reveal a rusty-colored under bark.
Eucalyptus has several species with interesting, peeling, grey bark and scented leaves when crushed.
Juglans Nigra Or the black walnut with grey, deeply furrowed bark is quite striking.
The Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris is too large for most gardens but smooth pink or red bark in the upper part of the tree is worth looking for.
The well-named Redwood Sequoia never loses its astonishing red colour but again it is a large tree.

For more read Bark

The roots, knott holes and boles of trees can also have there attractions and are worth developing and cultivating if you have the space.

Three Coloured Shrubs with Photos

May 10, 2012 hortoris

Sorry if you feel badly done too by the head line. The shrubs in question major on one colour but as there are three shrubs I called them three coloured shrubs. It seemed logical at the time but I recognise you could have been expecting tri-coloured shrubs.

The red leaves of the Photinia fraseri is often called Robinia which is really best reserved for the False Acacia or Robinia psuedoacacia ‘Frisia. In the spring the new waxy leaves are a vibrant and shiny red only slowly aging to light green. This plant copes well in the shade in a clay soil. I give it no special treatment and it forms a key part of my low maintenance area.

Behind the Photinia fraseri is another garden stalwart the Lilac. This small tree is just coming into flower and with a bit of sun each blossom will open a lighter colour and almost match the sky behind. As with the other shrubs here the Lilac likes the clay soil.

The Berberis Julianae has been very good this year which I put down to the sunny dry March and the cooler climate since then.

The angle of this photograph has changed and emphasis is placed on a white Hebe still to flower and the conical evergreen Picea.
The shrubs at the front cover the trunk of the Lilac that can be a bit uninteresting other than when the Lilac is in blossom.

Do not forget the evergreen shrubs like Osmanthus which has red or white young shoots often with colour variations to go with the leathery green leaves.

Tips for Growing Spirea Japonica

May 9, 2012 hortoris

I was lucky to get some old cast iron wheels for the garden and I planted a Spirea ‘Goldflame’ close by to get my ‘Wheels on Fire’. In Spring the foliage is the main attraction but when the shrub blossoms the bees will be an added attraction.
This plant grows to 3 foot but I then prune it down hard so it can’t get any larger.

Tips for Growing Spirea

Beginners tips on Spirea
Buy dormant plants in containers for planting between autumn and spring.
Avoid buying plants that are too large or pot bound.
Plant in full sun and water during dry periods for the best results.
Plant roots can be divided in late winter to increase your stock of plants.
Prune to 1″ for more flowers or halve the length of stems for a more dense bush.
Spirea as a genus of flowering shrubs has around 100 species and hybrids cultivated by gardeners.
Spirea is a hardy genus that will grow almost anywhere.
Plants will tolerate part sun or shade and even poor soil.
Pot bound plants do not transplant very well so buy them when dormant and check the container by tapping the plant out.
Spirea japonica are easy to care for, fast growing shrubs with a floral interest to add to the strong leaf colour in Spring and Autumn.

Spirea Varieties and Colours

Spirea japonica flower for 2-3 months in pink and white clusters of very small florets.
‘Anthoiny Waterer has young cream and pink leaves and red flowers.
Golden flame is the variety shown above.
Nana and little Princess are smaller varieies 1-2′ tall.
Bridal wreath Spirea Vanhouttei has masses of white blooms upto 6 feet high.

Images from Google

You may also hear plants in the spirea genus referred to as meadowsweet. These plants have small oval leaves which may be toothed to lobed, and they produce profusions of white or pink flowers in the spring and summer. A healthy spirea will bloom so profusely that it looks like an explosion of flowers in the garden, producing delicate clusters of small flowers. In the fall, spirea shrubs drop their leaves, returning with fresh green foliage in the spring. Read complete article on the Wise Greek

Credit
Spirea by edgeplot CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Spirea prunifolia, Bridal Wreath Spirea by KingsbraeGarden CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Tree Peonies like Dinner Plates

April 4, 2012 hortoris

Fantastic, traffic stopping flowers at least 12 ” across are a wonderful feature of some Tree Peonies.

Tree Peonies

These slow growing shrubs reach around 4 foot high and wide.
They are drought tolerant but should not be made to compete with larger trees for water.
They are reasonably easy to grow in deep loamy soil.
In China they are mountain plants so survive our winters quite well.
Grafted shrubs are available in garden centres. They may send up suckers of herbaceous peonies that need cutting out (the leaves are greener and are not as finely cut as tree peony leaves).

Varieties of Tree Peony

I bought some varieties 2 years ago â€˜Yu Lou Dian Cuiâ€™, above, looks white with pink overtones and â€˜Shan Hu Taiâ€™ is a strong pink really a red.
P Delavayi bears scented crimson flowers on 5â€² stems whilst P lutea ludlowii has yellow flowers.
A good selection of Tree Peonies and Peony lactifolia are available from Peonies Thompson & Morgan

Old Comments on Tree Peonies

Tree peonies These shrubs grow to about 4 foot square and are drought tolerant. Do not provide extra water or allow the roots to suffer from too much competition from other trees. P Delavayi bear crimson flowers on 5′ stems whils P lutea ludlowii has yellow flowers. They are reasonably easy to grow in deep loamy soil. In China they are mountain plants so survive our winters quite well. Grafted shrubs are now freely available in garden centres. I bought two varieties this weekend ‘Yu Lou Dian Cui’ what looks like a white with pink overtones and ‘Shan Hu Tai’ a strong pink. I have nipped out the flower buds that were showing and will wait until next year to see what colours I get.

Other Peony Comments
I am fond of the double peonies that flower so extravagantly in June. Over the years the plants give a great deal of pleasure lots of colour and a light and welcome spring perfume. That is not to say the single and specie Peonies are not also worth a place in the garden.

As plants mature they bulk up well and produce ever larger numbers of stalks and flowers.
Peonies dislike root disturbance and take a while to settle down
Provide a rich deeply dug soil well manured before planting and you will be rewarded for years
Water in dry summers and top dress in Autumn this well rotted compost
The single varieties include a yellow type Peony Mlokosewitchii
6″ White flowers with yellow stamen P. Lactiflora varieties are readily available
The pink P. Sarah Bernhardt has an AGM award for the large scented blooms
The strong reds of the common Peony are very good for a cottage garden
Blooms make good cut flowers
Float one flower head in a bowl of water for an interesting table centre piece

Peonies and special fertilizer from Thompson & Morgan

Golden & Yellow Conifers for Your Garden

March 21, 2012 hortoris

Gold and Yellow comes in various forms in plant names. Lutea is latin for yellow bodied, Aurea means `Golden` as would Aurel, Aurele, Aurelia and other derivatives. Obviously Gold or Argentea and other colours in the name will also tip you off.

Dwarf Yellow & Golden Conifers

Abies nordmanniana – Golden Spreader. A flat topped Caucasian fir with yellow leaves on top and white-yellow undersides. 8 high 48 inches spread.
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana ‘Aurea Densa’ (AGM) One of the best yellow conifers forming a compact conical bush, with closely packed foliage. 12 inches high in 10 years. Good for rock gardens.
Chamaecyparis obtusa Nana Aurea a slow growing conical form of the cypress with fan shaped sprays of foliage.
Chamaecyparis pisifers â€˜Sungoldâ€™
Juniperus conferta ‘All Gold’ shown below is bright yellow, developing slight bronze overtones in winter.

Low Growing Golden Conifers Under Six Feet

Taxus baccata â€˜Standishiiâ€™ Yew will stand pruning and shaping to height.
Thuja plicata Stoneham Gold a dwarf, conical red cedar with leaves that darken with age. Grows up to 5 feet over 10 years.
Chamaecyparis lawsonii ‘Ellwoods Golden Pillar’ (AGM) Golden foliage compact, neat rounded pillar 2ft. high in 10 years

Larger Growing Golden & Yellow Conifers 30′ +

Cupressus macrocarpa Goldcrest or the Monberay Cypress is vigorous, colourful, columnar tree with dense foliage that dislikes pruning.
Golden Scots Pine Pinus syvestris Aurea turns golden in cold weather from winter through spring.
Thuja plicata Irish Gold or Aurea varieties
Cedrus deodara
Chamaecyparis Lutea

Cupressocyparis X Leylandii Gold Rider

What Causes Golden & Yellow in Conifers

Mutations have often caused the colour to appear gold or yellow. Such trees were then propagated by cuttings.
Yellow and gold colouring often intensifies in cold and winter weather.
New growth often looks lighter and yellow with darker leaves nearer the trunk.
Plants are now bred and selected for the appealing gold and yellow colour.

Credits
Golden Falsecypress by Mr.Mac2009 CC BY-NC 2.0
Juniperus conferta ‘All Gold’ 101010-0384 by Tony Rodd CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
HL12383 Cupressocyparis X Leylandii Gold Rider or Leyland Cypress Conifer by Mike_Freck CC BY-NC 2.0

Childhood Shrubs Privet and Golden Privet

March 7, 2012 hortoris

Privet in flower

Privet ‘Lingustrum Vulgare’

Where has all the ‘Privet’ gone? In my youth it seemed as though every small garden was kept private by a neatly clipped Privet hedge. If it wasnâ€™t clipped it went hay wire.

Privet is usually described as evergreen or semi-evergreen.
It loses some leaves in the winter, but not all of them and will grow almost anywhere
Green privet must be kept cut otherwise it becomes very open and loses its effect.
Particularly good in windy areas and by the sea.
Privet can withstand very hard pruning to get it back in shape
Privet is hard to remove as the roots are tenacious.

Privet Hedge around tennis court.

The posh gardens near us had golden privet that was light green with a yellow stripe but most of us had a dark green hedge. There are Yellow-leaved varieties available which are smaller than the green-leaved type.

Yellow Ligustrum ovalifolium aureum has wonderfully scented if fairly ordinary looking white flowers in the spring.
Height and spread: 12ft x 12ft
Growth needs cutting twice a year but leaves can be bisected. Clipping may take away most of the flowers.
Propagation by cutting is very easy

Credits
Privet by jwinfred CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
privet lives by Yersinia CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Scots Pine – Root and Branch Review

February 2, 2012 hortoris

The Scots pine is Britain’s only native pine tree and is one of Europe’s most widely spread conifers growing from Spain to Scandinavia. The branches are horizontal in older trees whilst the roots may be deep or spreading.

Key Features of the Scots Pine

Latin name – Pinus sylvestris other common names Christmas tree
Height – up to 150 feet over a long life of 250+ years
Type of tree – Evergreen Conifer
Leaves – Long blue-grey needle growing in pairs
Flowers – male yellow in clusters at the base of shoots, female crimson at the end of shoots
Fruit – slim egg shaped cones, green ripening to brown
Bark – A tall tree with narrow trunk covered in orange-red to grey brown plates that are cracked and fissured
Family – Pinaceae

Origins and Distribution of the Scots Pine

Native to UK and Europe.
Grows naturally in Scotland where it is a key species and the national tree of Scotland.

Uses and Attributes of the Scots Pine

The timber is rich in resin and thus resistant to decay.
Pine is used in building and the long straight trunks were used for mast and ships spars.
The plant is rich in vitimin C and the berries and leaves were used to ward off scurvy.
Scots Pine timber is often called ‘Deal’.

Gardeners Tips for the Scots Pine

A long lived species that can thrive on poor soil.
Varieties that are suitable for the garden include ‘Aurea’ a smaller slow grower and ‘Nana’ a dwarf bush Scots Pine.
Scots pine will not reach their optimum size on shallow dry chalky or damp acid soils.
For the rock garden try Pinus sylvestris Beuvronensis or ‘Watereri’ which may eventually out grow the allotted space.

Other types of Scots Pine

There are numerous geographical variants some of which are more bushy than the tall single trunk we are familiar with. There are also several dwarf or pigmy species.

Scots Pine comments from elsewhere

Traditionally used as a Christmas tree it has been usurped by other trees except in the USA where it is still popular.
Roots of the Scots Pine can develop as deep taproots or as a shallow root system. This means it is very adaptable and can thrive in poor dry soils and at higher elevations.
Wildlife Friendly Scots Pine The level branches make good nesting places for birds of prey. The bark fissure host lichen and various wood ants. Birds such as the Siskin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Crested tit and Crossbill can feed well around a Scots Pine. In Scotland Red Squirrels are particularly fond of the cones and seeds of this Pine

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

Credits
Scots Pine Forest by nz_willowherb CC BY-NC 2.0 “National Grid ref NN 328280 “An extensive southerly remnant of the ancient Caledonian Pinewood which once covered much of northern Scotland and is one of only two remaining ancient pinewoods in the Stirling District.”
Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) by anemoneprojectors (2) CC BY-SA 2.0
Scots Pines at the Linn of Dee 4 by spodzone CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Forestry Commission

Tree Leaf Design, Shape and Function

January 25, 2012 hortoris

Leaves are the food factories of trees converting light into food via photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by leaves and converted using chlorophyll and water into carbohydrates or tree food. Oxygen is a bi-product of photosynthesis.
Tree trunks and branches of trees are designed to get the canopy of leaves in a position to receive the optimum amount of light.

Common Leaf Shapes

You Can Tell a Tree By it’s Leaf

Trees are classified by their leaf in that evergreen trees keep their leaves all year around whilst deciduous trees shed their leaves annually usually in autumn.
Various leaves are described by their shape. The names created often have some reference to the shape Ovate leaves bear a resemblance to egg shaped and Lanceloate to a lance or spear.
The bottom half of the leaf where it attaches to the tree twig or branch can also have distinguishing features as shown above.
Leaf colour varies from yellow to coppery red but the majority of leaves are a form of green.

Leaf Texture and Margin

This infographic looks at the edge of the leaf or ‘margin’.
Serrations are known as toothed whilst smooth edges are known as ‘entire’.
Ciliate leaves have hairs, eye lashes or short spines whilst pectinate has spiky edges
Texture can be another distinguishing features when trying to identify a tree from its leaves. Rough, leathery, fine, smooth, hairy, glossy, spiky etc each tree leaf has its own characteristic.
The underside of the leaf may have a different colouring

Other Leaf Issues

The above infographic includes more leaf shapes but shows how leaves are arranged on a stem.
Bipinnate has sets of pinnate leaves opposite each other.
Petiole is the leaves mini stem that attaches a leaf to the node or axil.
Trifoliate has three leaves at the end of a leaf stalk or petiole
The size and shape of the leaf can be affected by the position and age of the tree and where the leaf is growing.
Conifers often have needles which are flat or rounded individual or clustered. Alternatively they may have frondy fern like leaves

Notes
Composted and rotted tree leaves do not have much nutritional value. All the food has been given to the tree.
Composted leaves add humus and improve the texture of your soil.
‘Tree Root and Branch Reviews’ in our category section give some description of individual tree leaves

Credits
The Oxford book of Trees – B E Nicholson & A R Clapham
Hilliers Manual of Trees and Shrubs – H G Hillier
Ultimate Guide to Trees – Jenny Linford
Botany of leaves
Special and Extraordinary Leaves