Iris germanica. First iris this Spring. 4.29.19

Iris germanica.  4.29.19

This is the first of the irises to bloom this year.  Most skipped a couple of years because I gave up on them. Then I developed new enthusiasm and have been giving them more attention.

Most of the labels were lost when I moved the clumps from raised beds to the edge of the woodlot. I am pretty sire this is Iris germanica.  The only other blue to purple irises that I have in this size range, historic irises, are Eleanor Roosevelt (more purple and more uniformly colored) and Monsignor (the falls are very dark center with more pale edges, usually with distinctive veins in the falls).   Caprice is more of a pinkish lavender and has distinctive grape fragrance.  These have a more typical, although faint, iris fragrance.

This is among the healthiest clumps growing at the edge of the woodlot.

I will relabel them.  If I new evidence suggests a different ID, I can change it.

Meanwhile, this is a very nice part of Spring.

Sweet Potato Starts. 4.28.19

Sweet Potato Starts, Molojai Purple.  4.28.19

Sweet Potato Starts, Pumpkin Yam.  4.28.19

The sweet potato starts recovered nicely from being shipped.  The plan will be to set them outside when it's reliably warmer, probably in large containers.  The labeling might be reversed on these two varieties.  Someone got into them and chewed up the labels.

Dahlia Starts. 4.27.19

 Five of the dahlia tubers that I planted in  containers on April 1, have sprouted so far.  The other four look dead but I'm letting them take their time.

I commented when I planted them, they were not promising looking tubers.  So I'm happy to have 5 growing so far.

We bought three more at the county home improvement fair yesterday.
they were from a local grower, and we got to pick the tubers that we wanted.  Those were firn snd the tubers had eye buds.  I think they will grow.  Planted them in containers to pre-germinate, today.

Nepenthes, Growing Fast! 4.28.19

Nepenthes sanguinea

Nepenthes thorellii x aristollochioides

So far the tropical insect eating pitcher plants (Nepenthes) are growing very nicely.  The leaves are waxy and thick, like philodendrons or ficus.  I wondered if the would make pitchers in this location - bright sunroom, getting fairly warm - 80s during the day - but so far, so good.  Growth seems fast.

These are in full sun.  I'm watering daily, 1/8 teaspoon of general purpose miracle grow per 1/2 gallon of rain water.  I let the water run through the pot, catching it in a bucket under the hanging plants.  Environment is the same as my tomato and pepper and sweet potato starts.

Source of plants, growcarnivorousplants.com

Nepenthes x "St. Mercury"

Nepenthes x "Deroose alata"

Kiwi Graft. 4.27.19

Male Fuzzy Kiwi Graft And Possible Blooming Spur on Blake Kiwi.  4.27.19

This is fuzzy male kiwi graft is from Home Orchard Society.  The main shrub / vine is Blake Red Kiwi, a somewhat hardier version of fuzzy kiwi that is claimed to be at least partially self-fruitful, depending on whose website you beleive.  It has not bloomed yet but there appear to  be flower spurs so we will see.

Often, fruits that are partially self-fruitful will be larger or more productive if there is a male or other cultivar, depending on the species.  There isn't a lot of info out there on kiwis for the maritime Pacific Northwest, so anything I do is an experiment.

The grafted male is a green leaf variety, while the Blake has a red tinge.  Easy to tell apart.

Kiwis have a delicate stem with central pith.  The carpentry is a little challenging for making grafts, but it looks like they took.  They are whip-and-tongue, wrapped firmly and I matched the green cambium as best I could.  Also, I had a hard time telling which way was up on the grafts,  so I grafted two in one direction and two in the other direction.

This one was apparently right-side up, since it's growing so far.

I think that understock growth on this stem needs to be pruned, now, so it doesn't compete with the graft.

Lilacs and Camassia. 4.27.19

Lilacs that I moved to my country place a few years ago, from town. Deer sometimes munch on the lower branches but the flowers on top they are lovely and fragrant. Last photo is camassia, which do very well here and should, given that they are native.  Each bunch started as a single bulb, planted in fall.  Each year the clumps have more bulbs and more flowers than the year before.

Cowlitz Peach. A work in progress. 4.24.19

Possible peach formation.  4.24.19

This is the seedling peach tree, now roughly 4 years old, from Oregon Curl Free Peach.  For brevity, I tentatively labeled it "Cowlitz Peach" for its provenance in this area.

Most of the flowers are gone.  I thought that none had set fruit, but it looks like there may be some peaches on this tree.  Hard to say from the flower remnants, so it's still up in the air.

One thing I can say, is in its 4 years of life so far, there is no leaf curl at all.  It's still a work in progress, but this is a promising result so far.

Cowlitz Peach.  No leaf curl.  4.24.19

Prep for Tomato and Kitchen Garden. 4.23.19

Tomato and Kitchen Garden.  4.24.19

Yesterday, I installed fencing for the new tomato and kitchen garden.  It will open on the ends and sides, I just need to buy some latch hooks and install them, and some minor adjustments.  In the near end of the photo, there will be sauce tomatoes and slicing tomatoes, and at the far end, beans and other deer - attracting plants.  In the rotation, last year most of this was sweet corn.  At the far end were some potatoes that had overwintered.  The year before, this was squashes.

I'm not as able as I once was.  I didn't intend for as much grass to grow in this area after the corn was done, but it did.  Over the past month, I've turned it over.  I think it should be settled and clean enough, with a little more cultivating,  for tomatoes when I set them out in mid May.

More Apple Bloom Times. 4.24.19

Liberty Apple on M27 Rootstock.  4.24.19

Most of the apples are blooming now.  I think we are in early to mid blooming season.  Since these are all in bloom, there should be good pollination this year.  I'm not seeing many bees.  Maybe small pollinators can help, within the multigraft trees.

I have Jonagold on M27, a dwarf tree, and on a multigraft.  Last year, the Jonagold on M27 bore very heavily, and this year there are no flowers.  The Jonagold on the multigraft is blooming for the first time, so I should get some fruit on that one.

Golden Sentinel, which I like, is not blooming.  Nor surprising, I pruned it significantly when I moved it to this location on 10.6.18.  There was major root loss and major loss of tree.  I'm surprised it survived.  There is also significant deer damage to the trunk, from the prior location.  Still, this tree is a trooper, is growing, and maybe next year will be up to bearing again.

This is the first significant bloom for Winecrisp, and the first bloom for Milo Gibson, King David (not pictured).

I think there should be a good apple crop this year, with some interesting heritage varieties, new varieties, novel ones and mainstream.

Airlie Redflesh Blossom.  4.24.19

Northpole, 2nd leaf after moving.  4.24.19

Winecrisp Apple Blossom.  4.24.19

Jonagold Apple Blossom.  4.24.19

Baldwin Apple Blossom.  4.24.19

Not Blooming.  

Golden Sentinel, 

1st leaf after moving.  4.24.19

Sutton Beauty.  4.24.19

Baldwin Apple Blossom.  4.24.19

Milo Gibson Apple Blossom.  4.24.19

Jonagold Apple Blossom.  4.24.19

Montmorency Cherry and Nadia Cherry Plum Blossom. 4.23.19

Montmorency Pie Cherry.  4.23.19

Most of the sweet cherries are done blooming - Ranier, Sweetheart, and Vandalay.

Nadia Cherry X Plum hybrid MIGHT have some fruits.  I'm not sure.  It looks like most suffered some frost damage, vs. did not pollinize.  I need to be patient.

Of the other Asian type plums, it's hard to say.  I think there was some frost damage, but the embryonic plums may still emerge.

Nadia with possible tiny fruits.  4.23.19

Nadia with frost damage.  9.23.19

Close Up of Nadia With Possible Fruit.  4.23.19

Carnivorous Plant Updates. 4.23.19

Nepenthes sanginea.  4.23.19

These are some of the carnivorous plants now. The first are the tropicals, which are in my sunroom. I only have Nepenthes, which is a large genus with many types. This Nepenthes sanguinea just opened one of its new pitches. Very rewarding. It has a nice coloration, red tones on green, inside and out.

Nepenthes sanginea.  4.23.19

Emerging Pitchers and Flower Bud on Sarracenia "Extreme Green".  4.23.19

The hardy, American carnivorous plants are just starting to come out of dormancy, with some new leaves (pitchers) starting to grow on some, although most are still in deep dormancy.  Two have flower buds, growing before or with the pitches.  One is Sarracenia X "Extreme Green", and the other is Sarracenia Tarnok. 

Emerging Flower Stalk on Sarraenia "Tarnok".  4..23.19

Emerging Traps on Venus Flytrap.  4.23.19

The Venus Flytrap is also emerging from dormancy, with some new traps.  I wonder if I should repot it (and some of the Sarracenias) soon.

Apple Blossoms and Pollination Times. 4.23.19

Apple Blossoms.  Dolgo Crabapple and GoldRush.  4.23.19

 Apples have a wide range of blossom times.  Earlies can't pollinate or be pollinated by lates, because their flowers are not open at the same time.  So it's interesting to see which ones bloom, when.  There may be some regional differences for each variety, so tables of blossom times may not reflect that cultivar's performance in a given area.

Now is the time that the early bloomers are in full blossom here in my BattleGround, WA backyard orchard.

Gravenstein*
Dolgo Crabapple
GoldRush
Rubinette
Airlie Red Flesh


I don't remember all of the varieties that I have but here are some in bud:

Apple Blossoms.  Gravenstein.  4.23.19

Granite Beauty*
Porter*
Jonagold
Jonared
Johnathan
Keepsake*
Priscilla
King David*
Opalescent*
Winecrisp®*
Scarlet Sentinel
NorthPole
Liberty
Akane*
Baldwin*
Honeycrisp.
Milo Gibson*
Chehalis

*Indicates this is the first year of blossom for those grafts.

Apple Blossoms.  Airlie Red Flesh.  4.23.19

 While I'm listing, here are grafts that have not bloomed yet.  Most are too new.

More Honeycrisp grafts.
Sweet 16
Hawkeye

Here are the grafts that I did this year, so of course no bloom for a year or two or three or four.

Prima
William's Pride
Pristine (I recall this is early, these are salvaged from previous branch of Pristine that broke off)
More Honeycrisp
Bob's Red Crab
HeyJack Crab

And here are my new trees that might bloom in a year or two or three or four:

Apple Blossoms.  Queen Cox.  4.23.19

Urban Apple® Tasty Red®
Urban Apple® Golden Treat®
Redlove Era®

That's a lot of cultivars.  Some of the trees have as many as 8 so it's not as many trees as one might think.  Still, I get to try many types of apple from my own yard.  They taste better than store bought, have a wide range of ripening times (July to November), and I get to taste varieties that are not found in stores or are historic, some fating back for centuries.

Potatoes Update. Final Planting, and Filling In Trenches. 4.23.19

Potato Bed.  4.23.19

Yesterday I planted the last of the chitted potatoes.  One package of Kennebec, one of Idaho Russet, and a few remaining overwintered Russets, probably, from the garage.

It is interesting, these did not grow long stems.  They were in the sunroom.  About 1/4 inch growth.  I wonder if they are alive.

Of the potatoes that I planted on 3.1.19, all are alive and very lush.  As are the ones that I planted later.
That is despite some frosts and the soil being chilly.  There are also potatoes growing in some of the garden beds that  missed when  digging potatoes last year and some that have overwintered for 2 or 3 consecutive winters.

For those rows where the potato plants are taller than their trenches, I filled in soil so there are several inches of stem below soil level now.  I mixed in some organic MoreCrop vegetable fertilizer.  This is the first year I have done that.  I had also mixed in some at planting time, which might be why they are so lush.

There are more than planned.  I go overboard, plus there were those that I saved from overwintering in the garage.  Those had long sprouts, 1 or 2 feet long, that I broke off, then allowed new sprouts to form before planting.  Those are doing just as well as the new ones.

Grafting Update. 4.17.19

First Growth, Northpole Apple on Bud-9 Rootstock.  4.17.19

First Growth, Northpole Apple on Bud-9 Rootstock.  4.17.19

This is the update for tree grafts that I did this late winter.  Almost all have pushed out buds.  As is usual for me, all of my grafts this year were whip and tongue grafts.  I like how straight-forward the method is, once I knew how.  I think any method with good cambium contact, and with good strength, will work.  By using whip and tongue method, if there is a good match in size of scion and rootstock or understock, the cambium heals all around and new bark forms, so there is no bare wound remaining.  The method would not work so well if there is a big mis-match of size between scion and stock, in which case cleft grafting or bark grafting would be better.  But for me, it's almost always whip and tongue.

This year, all of the plum grafts are looking good.  It's only 2 varieties, 3 grafts - two for Black Ice and one for Beauty.  I'm glad to get to try Black Ice, but have some doubts.  Black Ice is an American x Asian plum hybrid, and most of the ones I've grown, so far, bloom but don't set fruit.  I read they need American Plum as a pollinator.  I don't know why Asian plum, which I have a lot of, won't work.  But so far, only Toka has produced.  And that one is almost gone from a canker infestation.  These are grafted onto a tree of Ember, another Asian x American plum hybrid that has never fruited.  The tree also hosts a seedling variety that bloomed this year but doesn't appear to have set fruit.  This tree was created as a graft I did about 6 years ago, grafting Ember onto a cutting of Hollywood plum. 

It's interesting to see one of the Bud-9 (Budagovsky 9, a cross of M.8 x ‘Red Standard’ AKA Krasnij Standard) rootstock pushing some leaf buds on the columnar apple tree grafts that I made.  Apparently Red Standard is also called Red-leafed Paradise or Bud 9, pruduced by Michurinsk College of Ag, Michurin, Russia, in 1946.  I'm guessing there is some Antonovka in there somewhere.

Regardless, it's interesting to see the growth.

Kiwis are more difficult.  The stems are hollow, with a delicate pith center and thin layer of wood with delicate cambium.  I struggled to get these to match, and wrapped firmly.    The other challenge is knowing which way is up.  I don't think they will grow if grafted upside down.  I did some one way, and some the other.  Looks like a couple of those took.

Fuzzy Kiwi Male Whip and Tongue Graft.  4.17.19

Beauty Plum Whip and Tongue Graft.  4.17.19

 I think this growth is more than the small amount of sugar stored in the little kiwi stick can support.  Therefore, I think this graft took.

It will be interesting to see if any of that growth on the quince multigraft, is a precurser to flowers.  Of course, I won't let the grafts produce any fruits.  But one of the branches was left ungrafted, so I can allow that to make a fruit if it blooms.

I'm very happy with this method of wrapping the grafts.  As described earlier, I used strips made from freezer plastic bags, and over-wrapped the scion ends with parafilm.  They are all looking good.

Black Ice Plum Whip and Tongue Graft.  4.17.19

Quince Whip and Tongue Graft.  4.17.19

Quince Multiple Trunk Tree, Multiple Whip and Tongue Grafts.  4.17.19