As I walked past a line of trees the beech nut husks crunched under foot. The pavement was strewn with copious quantities of this crunchy produce from the venerable trees. I was moved to include a few notes on nature’s masting process.
Mast Production
A mast year occurs when a bumper crop is produced. It has the effect of increasing the potential for reproduction but also feeds-up creatures in anticipation of a hard winter.
Mast seeding is also called masting and the produce is a mast
Mast years are so called due to the production of many seeds by a plant every two years or so
Masts are often produced in in regional synchrony with other plants of the same species.
It is thought a mast year may be designed as a defense to assist reproduction of a species because seed predators become satiated before all the seeds have been consumed.
Many species ‘mast’ including oak, hickory, and beech with their acorns, hickory nuts, and as with beechnuts they produce a ‘hard mast’.
Fruit trees and other species may produce a soft mast but the volume of produce will still be much more fruit than normal
The dew on the spiders web doesn’t worry what the plant is called conifer, Picia or a more exotic variety (I have lost the label and there are many Picias to pick from). What the spider will be interested in is the type of insect attracted to the plant and thereby the web. Below is a picture of the 5 year old plant about 2′ high and a bit more in circumference. It is a well behaved plant and worth its place in the miniature conifery I am developing.
Key Features of Picea
Latin name – Spruce and various forms of Picia
Type of tree – Evergreen, Conifer
Leaves – grow in a series of spirals
Features New growth emerges as soft tassels of delicate light green
Family – Picea is a genus of about 35 species in the pine family
Rabbits do not eat Cyclamen at least not if they are stone replicas rabbits.
In front of the cyclamen I have just planted 100 Chionodoxa lucillia alba to provide spring sparkle and (rabbit food)!
The home made tufa pot has a plastic pot sunken in the center. I can replace this potted Auricula with another pot of the same size when necessary. The gravel improves drainage and the tufa looks natural now the moss has colonised the pot.
This form of cyclamen is one of my autumn favourites. The corm is now 4″ in diameter and you can see how many flowers one bulb can produce.
I had some birthday money from a brother-in-law and opted to but a clematis. One of the few spaces in the garden to accommodate a new plant was just alongside a conical climbing frame – that spot is now taken.
Initially I looked at a garden center chain which had a comprehensive stock but was well priced for the profit they would want. The information about each plant was quite comprehensive.
Then I visited and supported a local family garden center come nursery. They had bought in a fair selection of clematis at about half the cost of their bigger rival and that is where I made my purchase. I also bought some other plants that they had grown themselves ( there is a lesson there somewhere).
The label was 18″ long (or 46cm for the Dutch supplier’s benefit) but the gardening information was sparse, needed decoding and was not worth all the plastic used.
The label did not say from what group the clematis came. Clematis jackmanii group 2 as I found out.
There were no planting or growing aids just lame graphics with ticks and crosses, oh and a bar code but no price (I guess that changes to suit circumstances not buyers) .
There were 5 support canes that needed 2 plastic ties and a plastic label stake.
You could have guessed the pot was black plastic with an unusual and unreusable oval base designed to support growth and retail presentation.
The Plant Experience
This jackmanii hybrid is a real show stopper! It can also be trained to cover walls, trellises or arches.
The large white flowers with golden stamens are produced all summer from June to September or Vl -Vlll as the label has it.
Clematis ‘Madame le Coultre’ grows to Height: 3m (10′). Spread: 1m (3′) Pruning group: 2 ie. in late winter or early spring and after its first flush of flowers in summer to encourage flowers again later in summer.
Also known as ‘Marie Boisselot’ Clematis.
I will update progress quicker than my post from November 2011 which is still relevant.
Permission is granted to copy this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
You are unlikely to be able to recreate the conditions and zones of Hawaii in your garden but you can still gaze at some of the exceptional plants and study their habitats. Isolated by thousands of miles of ocean for millions of years, the Hawaiian islands are home to many unique plants and flowers described with great photographs in this book
This book describes more than 130 indigenous (originating or occurring naturally) and endemic (native and restricted) species of many unique plants and flowers.
Interesting Facts to Delight Gardeners
The Hawaiian islands, isolated by thousands of miles of ocean. Prehistoric evolution may have resulted from seeds that have been dispersed by oceanic drift, air flotation but most probably by birds droppings and attachment.
There were an acknowledged prehistoric 26 plant species before Polynesian immigrants arrived and developed knowledge of medicinal and other uses of plants. They introduced breadfruit, mulberry, coconut, yam, sweet potato, banana, sugar cane and ginger among other useful species.
Species have adapted to colonise lava flows in vegetation called ‘kipuka’.
The diverse ecosystems found throughout Hawaii include coastal areas, rain forest, bogs, sub-alpine , mesic forest and dry shrub land.
The state flower of the Aloha State is the Yellow Hibiscus.
If you are lucky enought o visit one of the many volcanic islands of Hawaii get out and about to visit different ecoregions and botanical sanctuaries. If you stick to coastal and tourist areas you will miss a brilliant and unique horticultural journey. If you can’t visit you can still wonder at the photographs and reports of others that I have hinted at.
There is a clematis for every season, every aspect and every place. The flower size and colour range is also wider than you may imagine. Update I have just bought (2.9.19) another clematis Madame Le Coultre for flowering june to august.
Types of Clematis for growing all year around
Early Flowering Species like alpina or montana types.
Summer Flowering hybrids like patens and florida types
Late flowering Hybrids and species like jackmanii, tangutica and viticella types
Herbaceous clematis x jouiniana or Koreana lutea
Evergreen and tender species armandii, cirrhosa and tender plants from the southern hemisphere
Selected Varieties by Colour
White – Marie Boisselot, Montana sericea, Armandii or Clematis chrysocoma.
Red – Ville de Lyon, Madame Juklia Correvon or Ernest Markham.
Yellow – Clematis tangutica, Moonlight, Ligusticifolia or Otto Froebel.
Violet – Etoile Violette or Clematis alpina Francis Rivis.
Blue – Ascotiensis, Macro petal Blue Bird or Multi Blue.
Pink – Clematis montana Elizabeth, Bees Jubilee or Hagley Hybrid.
White and purple Clematis florida Sieboldii.
Soil and Growing Condition Tips
Soil for Clematis should not be too acidic but alkaline soil is fine. Impoverished soil near a wall or under a hedge should be improved with plenty of humus before planting. Sandy soil looses moisture quickly and also needs humus adding.
All clematis will grow better if the roots are kept cool. Plant a bit deeper than the soil level in the pot where they were grown and cover the roots area with a tile, rock or mulch.
Large flowered varieties will have stronger colours if the flowers grow in light shade.
Use a good Foliar feed every 7-10 days and a good root drenching weekly.
Types of Clematis Support
All clematis even the herbaceous varieties need some support. The easiest support is often other plants with matching characteristics – heather for small macropetala types or a tree for the more robust viticella varieties.
Walls are fine as long as the mortar and brickwork is sound for a network of wire. Clematis montana can cover a large wall quickly. Trellis itself needs to be securely attached to battens but can be attractive when cloaked in Clematis or on it’s own in winter.
Archways, tripods and obelisks look great when covered with a climber such as clematis. Similarly pergolas can have both climbing roses and clematis co-existing.
Try a pillar made from a length of Oak or hardwood to train your clematis because you are bound to want to grow more once you start.
Clematis urophylla ‘Winter Beauty’ also known as Old Man’s Beard flowers is a superb evergreen clematis bears its delicately fragrant, waxy, bell-shaped flowers in the depths of winter.
The foliage is so lush, that you’ll think its summertime all year round!
Plant Clematis ‘Winter Beauty’ against a warm house wall so that you can appreciate its winter flowers from your window. This sought after variety will appreciate a sheltered site with some winter protection.
Height: 4m (13’). Spread: 1.2m (4’). Pruning Group: 1
Clematis ‘Bill MacKenzie’ really couldn’t be easier. Watch it scramble over fences, covering unsightly sheds with ease. From midsummer this versatile climber is covered in small canary yellow blooms, which give way to large fluffy seedheads for an attractive autumn display.
Clematis ‘Crystal Fountain’™ are quite extraordinary.A fountain of crystal-blue stamens radiate from the centres of the dazzling blue, 15cm (6”) wide blooms. Terrifically floriferous, this clematis continues to bloom throughout summer and into early autumn. It’s compact habit makes it ideal for containers and small gardens.
Clematis armandii flowers in spring with exquisitely fragrant, star-shaped white blooms literally smother this beautiful evergreen clematis in spring. The new foliage emerges bronze tinted, gradually maturing to glossy dark green that will quickly cover walls and fences within a few years. Best suited to a sheltered position, this vigorous clematis requires plenty of space to twine its long evergreen stems.
Pot up small clematis plants and grow them on until large enough to plant in their final positions.
When planting clematis, choose a position in sun or semi-shade and plant the climber deeply in moist, fertile, well drained soil.
Position the top of the rootball at a depth of at least 3″ below soil level to encourage new shoots to form from the base of the plant and prevent wilt.
Clematis dislike soils that are particularly wet or dry. Soil can be improved by the addition of plenty of well rotted manure or garden compost.
Train clematis plants onto a suitable support such as trellis, wires or a freestanding climbing frame.
Cuttings raised varieties pack a real punch when it comes to flower size and power! All have an upright and bushy habit with strong and sturdy flower stems.
Experience
I bought the plant at a charity garden fete for £4.
It was full of bloom (but I should have checked for more buds). It had been forced for sale and was frail .
It has struggled since May to fulfill a destiny I aspired for it. It needs more tlc to continue excelling.
I have put it with my stock plants as I want cuttings and the opportunity to achieve the same result of the professional growers.
I am trying to establish some good stock or ‘mother’ plants. These should be strong healthy plants from which I can take cuttings. I feed them up and disbud to get stems rather than flowers. The first step is to select plants you want to replicate. You want to aim for quality stock of a variety you like. I am interested to see if the children from the 2 tone plant below have similar characteristics.
How to take geranium cuttings
Take lots of cuttings from your geraniums in April – August. They should be ready to be replanted in a month.
The healthiest part of a plant is nearest the growing tip so short cuttings are best I aim for 3-5″.
Choose individual cuttings that are firm healthy and without flower buds.
For more cuttings chop your geranium mother plant back by two-thirds aiming to cut immediately above a bud. The stem tips will then form the basis of your cuttings. Select cuttings that have plenty of shoots or nodes.
Strip almost all the leaves from the stem, leaving only the top pair.
Pinch out any tips that look like they might develop into flowering shoots.
Insert the geraniums cuttings into a gritty mix of compost.
Growing On
Experience says you get better growth and flower density from younger stock.
Place cuttings somewhere bright but cool and keep their compost moist at all times.
If you want to keep the mother plant thin out all the spindly wimpy stems. With geraniums some growers keep the grandmothers and great-grandmothers –.
Pinch 1/4 inch off the top of a stem and 2 new stems will grow making a bushier plant.
For a quick result plant three cuttings of the same variety into a large pot to grow into one bumper-sized plant.
The Judas tree appreciates a warm spot and is a star in May when the leafless branches are adorned with lilac/pink flowers. Grow your own from seeds in February or March.
According to legend this is the tree on which Judas hanged himself after betraying Jesus. After Judas died the white flowers are said to have turned red with his blood and shame.
Avoid anywhere too exposed as the stems are rather brittle
Credits
Judas Tree by Vassilis Online CC BY-SA 2.0 ‘Cercis siliquastrum, commonly known as Judas Tree, is a small deciduous tree from Southern Europe and Western Asia which is noted for its prolific display of deep-pink flowers in spring.’
Leaf of Japanese judas tree by Amehare CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Cercis siliquastrum (I) -vainas- (Pods) by .Bambo CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Judas Tree by Ava Babili CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Begonias look best in groups or where they are given the opportunity to demonstrate their colourful dexterity. (Most of my photos are produced uncropped but in this case I done some editing).
Honeysuckle tends to ramble upward and is not easy to do it justice with a photograph. Here are two attempts.
Long vistas benefit from repetition of planting. These dwarf rhododendrons and primula denticula make the point
The dew on the spiders web doesn’t worry what the plant is called conifer, Picia or a more exotic variety (I have lost the label and there are many Picias to pick from). What the spider will be interested in is the type of insect attracted to the plant and thereby the web. Below is a picture of the 5 year old plant about 2′ high and a bit more in circumference. It is a well behaved plant and worth its place in the miniature conifery I am developing.
In front of the cyclamen I have just planted 100 Chionodoxa lucillia alba to provide spring sparkle and (rabbit food)!
