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Category: About Trees

Articles involving trees, shrubs, bushes, woods and hedges plus related subjects

Pittosporum for Leaves & Flowers

Pittosporum for Leaves & Flowers

Madiera mch11 466

Pittosporum is a large genus of evergreen shrubs or small trees. The foliage is in demand for floristry and the shrubs make an excellent evergreen plant if the conditions are mild.
Most varieties have small scented white flowers and produce better flowers in warm conditions.

Pittosporum are also called Japenese Cheesewood

Cultivation of Pittosporum

  • Pittosporum Dallii and Pittosporum patula and Pittosporum tenufolium are more hardy species in the UK.
  • Pittosporum will grow well in seaside locations if the climate is mild.
  • Most plants originate from Australasia and like hot dry conditions.
  • Some varieties of Pittosporum produce small red berries.
  • Pittosporums can also be grown indoors as bonsai.
  • Larger plants can be used as a climbing-frame for lightweight late-flowering clematis.
  • Pittosporum tenufolium can have leaves with wavy margins and most have interesting colour, from bronzed plum to the bright butter-yellow of `Golden King’.
  • Tenuifolium ‘Purpureum’, has purple-bronze foliage and rapidly makes a decent-sized small tree

Madiera mch11 286

Selected Varieties
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Growing ‘Just Joey’ Hybrid Tea Roses

Growing ‘Just Joey’ Hybrid Tea Roses

Just Joey

I love the formal Hybrid Tea Roses like ‘Just Joey‘.
Just Joey is a hybrid, bred from Fragrant Cloud and Dr A J Verhage. These parents gave the rose glossy green leaves and very fragrant, orange blooms.
Blooms arrive in flushes throughout the season each having 30 petals so they have an open appearance.

Growing Tips

  • Remove old canes, dead or diseased wood and canes that cross, in spring.
  • Cut back the remaining stems by about one-third or a half.
  • As with all HT  roses give them a good feed in spring then every 6 weeks and mulch to keep in moisture.
  • When buying a bare rooted or container plant look for at least 3 strong stems.
  • Soak in water before planting.
  • Just Joey may  occasional repeat flower later in the season but is a slow starter in very cold spring weather.

Description of Just Joey

Growing Coloured Conifers

Growing Coloured Conifers

Burton Agnes Pocklington

Conifer trees and plants are available in a range of colours, shapes and sizes. Sequoia conifers are the largest living thing on the planet. Mature trees reach for the skies but rockery or horizontalis varieties are ground hugging by comparison.

What is a Conifer

  • A conifer is a tree that produces seed but has no true flowers.
  • Many conifers have seeds borne on scales that clump together to form cones which are woody when ripe.
  • Junipers and Yews are conifers without cones, using small berries for seed capsules.
  • The foliage is usually narrow and sharp-pointed or small and scale-like.
  • Most conifers are evergreen though Larches loose there their needles annually

Conifer Families

  • The Pine family includes several popular species of conifer including, Firs (Abies), Spruce (Picea abies), Larch (Larix), and Cedars (Cedrus).
  • The big trees like the giant redwood sequoia are from the Taxiadacea family.
  • Monkey Puzzle trees have very large cones.
  • Cypress family includes the Chamaecyparis, Juniperus, Thuja and Cupressus families most often found in gardens.

Colourful Conifers
There are a range of different greens, blues, gold’s, greys and even bronzes. Have a look around your local garden centre. Five varieties to look out for are: …

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Specimen Eucryphia in Yorkshire Dales

Specimen Eucryphia in Yorkshire Dales

Eucryphia can be amongst the highlights of  summer flowering trees and shrubs. Performing in late summer the profusion of scented white flowers on a conical tree can be exceptional. The flowers also have a further profusion of interesting stamens, distinctly coloured pink or yellow.

Specimen Eucryphia Varieties

  • Eucryphia Nymansay has cup-shaped, fragrant white flowers 3inches across, with very prominent bosses of yellow stamens, and elliptic leaves that are strongly toothed
  • Eucryphia glutinosa, is particularly recommended as it makes a fine 25 foot tree with lots of handsome flowers and leaves that colour up in the autumn.
  • Eucryphia milliganii is a smaller evergreen tree with a narrow growing habit. Even young specimens have freely produced flowers.
  • Eucryphia intermedia is frost hardy and extremely free flowering.

Growing a Specimen Eucryphia.

  • Eucryphias are upright and columnar in shape and make natural specimen plants if given the right conditions.
  • Plant it in early spring in moist acidic soil in a sheltered position where the roots are shaded from the sun yet the branches are in good light.
  • Underplant to cover the roots if necessary to avoid warming sun.
  • A good parent should produce good offspring so select from the species above. There are some Eucrphia that can grow to 120 feet tall in there natural habitat.

Eucryphia growing above a hedge at Parcivall Hall North Yorkshire. The grounds contain several acid loving plants and the under planting included several Hydrangeas. Whislt the gardens are nearly 1000 feet above sea level the shelter of the dales hills and damp conditions suit the Eucryphia down to the ground (Oops)

Rhododendrons and the Danger of Frost.

Rhododendrons and the Danger of Frost.

Frost damaged Rhododendron
My Rhododendrons were in full bloom when a late frost caught them quite badly.
Winter has been wet and mild but if the USA is anything to go by hard frosts may still be on the way so look after your early flowering Rhododendrons.

early-rhododendron

Although Rhododendron ‘Nobleanum’ displays its pink flowers intermittently throughout the winter, the season really begins with a few early bloomers like Rhododendron dauricum after Christmas and continues until Rhododendron ‘Polar Bear’ calls it a day in August. The main flowering period tends to be late April and early May. This unnamed plant was in full bloom in Durham botanic garden on 1st March 2009.

 

frosted rhododendron
‘More frost damage on an Early Rhododendron’

Tips to Avoid Frost Damage

    • There is no cure after frosting has occurred but waiting for next year.
    • Avoid planting in a frost pocket. Frost flows, like water, downhill
    • Plant under light shade which will offer some frost protection and the Early Rhododendrons will still flower and thrive.
    • For small specimen shrubs it may be worth covering with horticultural fleece if a cold snap is predicted.

Himalayan garden Grewelthorpe Rhododendron

Ancient Mariners Rhododendrons

Frost Hardy

This picture shows what I call the rime of the ancient mariner as I groweth one of three. Most Gardeners look after the great and small, both bird and beast……

Farewell, farewell! but this I tell
To thee, thou Wedding-Guest!
He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.

He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small; ……

Rhododendron Sappho Labels

Rhododendron Sappho Labels

Rhododendron Sappho bud

I just purchased a new containerised Rhododendron named ‘Sappho’. The picture on the label is of white flowers with spotted purple centres. There are lots of buds, about 20, and they are looking lilac.  I thought of taking it back as that was not the colour I wanted.

Now the buds are opening I think it will be worth keeping and should fit in with my planting scheme.

Four Language Label

  • The label has minimal information but what there is can be translated. A pictured sun and sun half blached out must mean suitable for sun or partial shade.
  • A flower symbol V-VI implies it flowers late in May or June. Good that was what I was after and that seems to be how it is performing.
  • A vertical arrow and 1.5m says it will grow 4-5 feet high and possibly wide.
  • A complex symbol with a cross through it may signify no pruning
  • Strangely it is named as an Azalea for decoration do not consume. Submerge pot in a bucket of water for 10 minutes then plant in the garden. Fair advice.
  • The symbolic language may be classed as a fifth language since Esperanto never took off.

Rhododendron Sappho

Research on Sappho

  • Mauve buds open to lovely white flowers with a conspicuous dark purple, almost black, blotch.

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Syringia & Unusual Garden Lilacs

Syringia & Unusual Garden Lilacs

Lilacs are members of the Syringia family and are named for the colour. There are deep lilacs verging on violet and light pinkish lilacs even some pretty floriferous white flowering Lilacs.

Persian Lilac has a more open flowerhead and is also called Chinaberry or Melia azedarach.

White flowering lilacs (below) also have the same heady perfume of the other members of the Lilac family .

Lilac species from wikipedia
* Syringa afghanica …

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Acer Japonica Palmatum

Acer Japonica Palmatum

acer

The larger Acer is not Japonica but Davidii. Under it’s branches is a more tender Acer palmatum Japonica var. dissectum ‘Inaba-shidare’ or the purple leaved Japanese maple.

Acer japonica

Cultivation

  • Acers or Japanese maples like ‘Little Princess’ above need a sunny or partially shaded spot which is protected from cold winds.
  • Acers are hardy shrubs and small trees and like soil that is moist but well-drained.
  • Acer Japonica are suitable for growing in a large container using John Innes No 3 compost but must be kept well-watered.
  • In Autumn the leaf colour intensifies before falling.

Acer japonica

  • Sold as Acer Green Globe above  but the leaves are not lime green or as serrated as Green Globe.
  • Tip. Buy when your Acer is in leaf if you want to be sure what you are getting
  • I saved some money by buying after the leaves had fallen and over all I am not disappointed. In truth I am quite pleased with the effect of several young shrubs in my new Japanese garden

Acer japonica

  • Leaf form and shape has shaped the name of these shrubs.
  • Palmatum is derived from the hand shape of the leaves. The shape looks like fingers.
  • Looking at it another way the leaf is dissected

Acer japonica

Acer Orange Dream above

  • Cut back long shoots in March to encourage compact growth.
  • Will grow to 5 feet high and 3-4 feet wide.
  • Add some peat to the planting hole and keep moist but not water logged.

 

Read about growing Acers as small trees and tips for Growing Acers

 

May Flowering Ornamental Shrubs

May Flowering Ornamental Shrubs

Spring Blossom

I received a book for Easter entitled ‘Ornamental Shrubs for Temperate Gardens May Flowering’ by Edward Hyams.
Since its publication in 1965 the botanic names of the odd variety may have changed (this is a continued source of annoyance to me as soon as I learn one Latin name it is changed into another). However the awe that spring blossom can produce may let me forget this minor issue.

This is my selection from over 50 shrubs and many species that Hyams recommends for May flowering.

Caragana – a broom like shrub
Castanea alnifolia or pumila – sweet chestnut shrubs
Ceanothus
Cercis siliquastrum – Judas tree appropriate given my gift.
Cestrum from the Solanaceae family
Clematis
Clematis from alpina, montana or patens groups.
Crataegus – hawthorns, look out for prunifolia
Cytisus and Genista – brooms including burkwoodii crimson flowers and goldfinch cream …

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Spirea Shrubs

Spirea Shrubs

Spirea

I have two very good Spirea varieties where I have long since lost the names. This example is a strong flowering mauve and white flowering plain leaved type. The other is a pale yellow leaved variety that has great colour in spring as the leaves start.

How hard was it going to be to identify the plants surely it can’t be too hard. I went to my copy of Hilliers Manual of Trees and Shrubs only to find over 80 species, varieties and cultivars described.

Well the next lesson is that I haven’t even considered my Spirea’s habits and Hillier identified those that flower on this years wood and those that flower on previous years wood – how have they thrived on my random pruning regime?

My first shrub is 6 -8 feet wide and currently covered in blossom on the ends of this years growth. I am going to give it a hard prune almost to the ground in March working on the thesis that it is a bumalda- japonica- douglasii .

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