Puttering. Leaves, bulbs, moving perennials. 11.1.14

No pics this time.

I raked leaves from big maple.  It's about half done dropping leaves.  I used them for mulch for a dozen trees and shrubs. Good timing.  The grass clipping mulch had many small seedlings sprouted.  Now those are buried under leaves.

I did a 3-way move in front bed.  Buddleia Blue Chip should only be about 3 feet tall, but I did not account for 3 foot spread.  I moved that to a different bed with more room.  Next to it was a small Stella D'Oro daylily.  There are several yellow daylilies in the front bed.  I moved it to the location where I had a brick red Chicago Apache daylily, moved Chicago Apache to the location where the Buddleia was, and planted Spring bulbs in the spot where the Stella D'Oro daylily was.  It's nice to plant things that I was growing elsewhere.  Kind of like a gift from friend or relative, but it was from me.  I like the Chicago Apache, the flowers are big and showy, but it was in a spot where it was difficult to see.  It will show up better in front of the sunroom.  The bright yellow of the Stella D'Oro will show up better there. 

Finally, I planted more bulbs.  Sale at Fred Meyer and Lowes. 

Daffodil / Narcissus King Alfred 8 bulbs planted as one cluster
Daffodil / Narcissus Jetfire 18 bulbs planted as 2 clusters
Daffodil / Narcissus Ice Follies 18 bulbs, planted as 2 clusters
Allium Purple Sensation 6 bulbs, planted as 1 cluster. 

Total = 50 bulbs, so fall 2014 total is 214.  It's not as difficult as it sounds.  Digging with a shovel for planting clusters, instead of individual bulb digger or trowel for each bulb, is much easier.  Plus this was extended over more than a month, and largely as breaks from homework.

In the Spring, if I am able, I want to move a couple dozen clumps of Hyacinthoides and maybe a dozen clumps of Narcissus, from Vancouver house to Battleground.   Both are not liked by deer, rabbits, or voles.   Moving the clumps when they are about 3 to 6 inches tall, digging deep and taking the clumps intact, they move nicely and bloom the same Spring like nothing changed.  Plus they look established like they were there a long time.

January Gardening. Move this here to there. 1.18.14

No photos today.

To get my mind off what is not mentioned here.....

We planted too much in the Vancouver yard.  It's been a jungle.  In 2012 I moved many trees and shrubs and perennials to the new Battleground place.

Today I moved a few more...

One Nandina.

Two small lilac bushes.  Several years ago, we planted a lilac hedge.  They were tiny.  Some are bigger, but some are too shaded and have too much competition, and are still small.  Today I moved those to Battleground.  More room, more sun, less competition.

I bought a Mock Orange, Philadelphus "Natchez" at Portland nursery.  They don't have much yet.  This was left over from last year.  So bigger than what will replace it there in a month or two, but more root bound.  I cut the roots as I usually do, before planting.  Philadelphus has a reputation as a bee forage plant.

I also dug up mini-dwarf Honeycrisp apple.  That tree (bush) broke off 2 years ago when I did not thin apples and they weighed down the tiny tree and broke it off.  I pruned off below the break.  Two new trunks developed, above the graft so stil Honeycrisp.  They grew nicely.  I plan to graft one trunk, maybe Jonagold.  The other will remain Honeycrisp.  Maybe I will graft something else and let it grow below the graft, for a 3-variety tree.   Undecided.

I also dug up volunteer lavenders, and dug out a half-barrel of Chinese chives.  They need regenerating.  I want to plant them tomorrow in a raised bed.

Almost forgot - took some cuttings from Hardy Chicago fig.  Started as usual with scrubbing, incision, dip-and-grow, moist paper towel in plastic bag, and a label.  Assuming they grow - experience says they will  - there will be one for Battleground, and several to give away.

Sedum Autumn Joy with Honeybees

Italian Honeybees forage Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Italian Honeybees forage Sedum "Autumn Joy"

Italian Honeybees forage Sedum "Autumn Joy"

This is the clump of Sedum "Autumn Joy", I moved Tuesday.  It was wrinkly and grey from drought.  Light as a feather.  Watered every other day.  Now, Saturday, flowers are opening and the honeybees are foraging.

On this sedum, I see only honeybees.  Some of the other plants have bumblebees, small bees, or combination of all three.

Lessons learned:
1.  Sedum "Autumn Joy" is very drought tolerant.
2.  Even so, it's possible to make it wilt by not watering.
3.  The wilted sedum can be dug up and moved easily.
4.  With several good waterings, the plant will plump up and make a handsome "shrub" in a few days.
5.  Sedum "Autumn Joy" is very easy to transplant when dry.

Moving an established Sedum Autumn Joy

Sedum "Autumn Joy"

This is the 2nd Sedum "Autumn Joy" or similar cultivar, that I moved.  It must be 10 years old, up to 13.  Since I've been concentrating on the Battleground gardening, I have not been watering in Vancouver.  It was very dry, feather-light.  I wrapped it in a large dog blanket, drove it to Battleground, and planted in front of the house.  Soaked a couple of times.

The first sedum's leaves plumped up nicely.  I expect the same from this one.

The plant is barely starting to bloom.  Even so, honeybees almost immediately found it, and are collecting nectar.

Moving an established, dehydrated Sedum clump.

Sedum, unknown variety

More for the apiary garden.

I recovered this sedum clump from a grass-filled area under an old cherry tree.  It has not been watered this year.

Sedum is dry tolerant but given the very dry location, that was extreme.

The advantage of the dry soil, is it was very light.  It required a couple of slices with the shovel, and came out easily.  Part of the clump broke off.  So now I have a small clump and a larger clump.

After getting them to the Battleground place, I soaked them for a while, then planted.  THe wilted leaves firmed up a little, not much.   I think they will do fine.  This year is too late to make the leaves nice looking and plump, but there will be a few flowers for the bees.  Next year I expect they will be impressive.  It was an old, well established clump.

Iris Bed #3. Moving established clumps.

Iris Clumps about to be planted.

Iris "American Classic" in new location.

 These are bearded Irises, moved from Vancouver to Battleground.  They needed more room. I'm phasing out some of the plantings at Vancouver, for lower maintenance there.  At the Battleground place they will have a lot more sunshine, and more room.  These clumps were 2 to 3 years old.

I moved "American Classic", "Kissed by the Sun", and the heritage variety, "Accent".

Of these, the "American Classic" and "Accent"  are very vigorous.  :Kissed by the Sun" is not.  That one might or might not have a blooming rhizome next year.  The others look like they will have 4 to 7 blooming rhizomes.

I dug these up.  Tried to get all of the roots with minimal disturbance.  Placed into plastic bags, transported, and planted them with as minimal disturbance as I could.  Trimmed off leaves with leaf spot infections, and watered them in.

Hot day, mid 80s.  Since they had minimal disturbance, I think they will be impressive next year.

Irises re-planted.  "Accent", "American Classic", & "Kissed by the Sun".

This bed is gradually becoming Iris Bed #3.  It will be mostly modern varieties.  There are a few heritage varieties in
this bed as well.

Iris Tags.  Purchased May 2012

Moving a mature grape vine. At least 6 months later.

Tiny buds

I think it was December when I moved this grapevine.   This is a green grape, seeded, bought at Vancouver Farmer's Market.  I don't know the variety. It was 11 years old.  It had grown up into a tree, maybe 20 feet tall. 

I dug it up and moved it to the Battleground place.  Pruned severely because of root loss.  No growth this spring.  Assumed it was dead.  The only reason I didn't cut it off or dig it up was lack of ambition.

Now the trunk has 2 growing buds.  Tiny.  Interesting.  It might survive after all.   If it does, then every plant, shrub, tree that I moved here, survived.

Moving a Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' Smoke tree - 8 months later

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' Oct 2012

Last fall I moved this Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' Smoke tree from the place in Vancouver to the place in Battleground.  The tree/shrub was about 8 feet tall.  I pruned it to about 5 feet tall.  It was in a compost-rich bed immediately North of the house, so little sunlight.

In the new location, the tree is in much brighter, full sun for much of the day.  The soil is heavier, and has not been given as much compost.  I did give it a compost mulch.  New branches grew from the tips of the pruned branches, and the tree bloomed this spring.  Growth is less, internode space less, leaves smaller and darker burgundy, than before.  It looks settled in the new location.

It will need occasional water during the dry season this year.   I'm happy with this outcome.

Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' June 2013

Home Orchard

Vancouver Brunswick fig before moving 12/12

Vancouver Brunswick fig 6/13

Illinois Everbearing Mulberry

Update on this "Vancouver Brunswick" fig tree that I moved last December.  I thought I might have killed it with the pruning and digging and moving.  Then when it did start to grow, the new growth was killed by frost.

Now it's making a good comeback.  At the Battleground site, this tree has more coarse, darker green, stiffer leaves.  I take that as due to brighter sun and differences in climate.  Maybe the cooler nights, or a difference in fertility.

This tree may not have figs this year.  I don't mind, and prefer that it use it's photosynthetic energy to establish more extensive roots for next year.

From this and the other tree-moving results, I think I can say, now, I know how to transplant trees to a new location.

The Illinois Everbearing mulberry is almost ready for a first crop at Battleground.  Many of the mulberries are changing from green to greenish-red.  Again, as for the fig tree, the leaves are darker and more coarse.  I take that as a good sign. The loss of growth from late frost proved to be minimal.  The tree appears well adapted and established in the new site.  Compared to last year in the Vancouver back yard, there are many times more mulberries.   I forgot to bring bird netting this weekend.  Might regret that.  Would like a taste.

The NC-1 pawpaw is still at it's beginning.  I expect this year the pawpaws will be establishing their roots, more than growing tops.  The other pawpaws are even smaller.  Last year's concern was, did I  kill them by planting here in the Summer.  Pawpaws are reported as needing shade in their first year.  They survived, and are growing, so I'm happy with that.

NC-1 Pawpaw

Mystery Fruit Tree

Sal's Fig

Apple Golden Sentinel

The "mystery fruit tree" was here when we bought the Battleground place.  Initially, I thought apricot.  Then Asian plum.  Now I'm thinking apricot again.  Last year it was defoliated by deer.  I sprayed with repellent, mulched, provided compost.  This year it's almost doubled in size.  Maybe next year it will bloom, and maybe bear fruit, so I will know what it is.

Like the other fruits, the Sal's fig tree has recovered nicely from the last frost leaf-kill.  There are some incipient figs.  Maybe I'll get to eat some this fall.

The Golden Sentinel apple sports one apple.  The tree is only knee high.  I should remove the apple, but I want a taste this fall.  This tree may need to move this fall.  Or not.

Walk around the yard.

Poppies

Some of the poppy seeds I planted last fall have grown into plants and are starting to bloom.  Most are Shirley poppies.  They are randomly planted around the yard, mostly in tree circles and by fence posts.  Nice sight.

The Rose of Sharon I moved last fall and for much of the winter and spring thought I had killed, is growing nicely now.  I anticipate flowers this summer.  Charlie agrees.

Sambucus nigra "Black Lace" is a pretty large shrub or small tree.  It's an Elderberry.  This shrub counts as ornamental as well as belonging in the orchard.

One ginkgo seed has sprouted.  Of the couple dozen I planted last fall.  Did an animal eat the others? Or slow.  Or dead.

The neighbor's Ceanothus (California lilac) is in full bloom and humming with bees.  Bumblebees, tiny pollinating bees, and honeybees.  I was impressed.  So I went to Tsugawa nursery mainly in hopes of finding a Ceanothus.  Which I did, and planted reasonably near the beehive.

Rose of Sharon

Sambucus nigra Black Lace

Ginkgo biloba seedling

Ceanothus and honeybees

Moving a big Camelia

This camelia has been in front of the house for about 9 years. The original plan was to espalier the camelia, but it got away from me. It was too big for this location. I could have just cut it down, but decided to move it along with the rest of the migration of trees and shrubs to the battleground place. This, and a pieris from the back yard, is the last of the major shrubs or trees to move. Some small stuff could follow.

This location was very crowded. The camelia, some clematis, hostas, and bulbs. I dug out a hosta to give myself room to work, and re-planted the hosta when done. The roots grew laterally and under the sidewalk, but the root mass was reasonably compact.

After trenching, I undercut, then sliced behind the bush. Tipped it, slid onto a sheet of cardboard, and onto the truck.

Here in the wheelbarrow. I added Mycorhizal inoculant. Most likely there is already a poipulation of mycorhiza since I'm moving a big root mass. No pic in final location - if it blooms in a couple of months, I'll add a pic then.

Moving a Volunteer Hazelnut Tree

I didn't plan on moving this tree. While cleaning out compost bins, I looked over to it and decided to. This is a volunteer hazel nut tree.  It's in a corner by the house, with a fence on the South side, the house on the West side, and not much sun on the East side. It's been cut down once or twice. Maybe more. Probably about 6 or 8 years old.

Before digging.  Hard to see if this is one or several, and hard to see where the stem meets the roots.  I made my best guess, and dug under the tree with the shovel.  It came up very easily.  The soil is soft here, having had many years of bark mulch.

I imagine these are "squirrel planted".  Our friendly Sciurus arborists have planted a lot of nuts around the yard.  In addition to scarfing up every nut from the trees.

Clearly 2 trees.  Possibly one multi-stem, or more than one growing together.  I think it's one multistem.

Added potting soil to keep roots moist for transport.

Divided almost by accident.  I moved the stems around to see where they were joined, and they just broke apart.  Now I have a larger one with a lot of roots, and a smaller one with a few roots.  Plus 2 other smaller ones, one from this bunch and the other clearly separate.  The small ones are back into the potting soil while I decide what to do with them.  Maybe, by growing more, and larger, nut trees, there will be one or two nuts left for me to taste.

Planted. Now I have a row of 4 Hazelnut trees. Two of bearing age, one one-foot-tall seedling, and this 6 foot tall sapling.  I planted it as straight as I could.  I'll keep the top for a while to tie to a post and straighten it a bit more, then prune next summer for scaffold branches similar to the others.  This sapling is about 7 foot tall.  It did not look that big in the corner, due to laying on its side.

I gave it a good sprinkling of Plant Success Mycorrhiza, which I have no proof is helpful but am doing anyway.  Planted in the native topsoil, and mulched with compost.  Settled in for the winter.

Amazing to be planting trees in mid December.

The Last Tree-Planting of the Year

The big box store had a close out on trees. Not many there, but $8.00 a tree. I debated for a while, and made another trip there. If not for the beekeeping plans, I would not have done this. But lindens are famous for sweet honey. The leaves are edible, so pruned branches can be fed to the hens, as I already do with grapes.

Similar to the other recent Linden. All are the Greenspire cultivar. Grafted trees. Tilia cordata. The trees are a bit lopsided. I can correct that with some corrective pruning and staking over the next one to two years. Aside from that, perfection is not needed. It's just my preference. These are east of the Chicken house, so won't be much for shading the hens. But they will give some privacy and food. The bees will find them here easily.

Like some of the other big box store trees, and some nursery trees, these were balled-and-burlapped trees, placed in containers in chopped tree bark. I'm surprised at how little root growth there was. A few roots are winding around the pot, but not much.

Even though the burlap and twine were soft and  nearly degraded, I removed as much as I could.  That was partly because I wanted to see into the original rootball, looking for winding roots.  There weren't any.  I'm surprised at how minimal the roots were.  Maybe that's a characteristic for this species or cultivar, or the treatment they had.

This isn't bad at all for a left-over tree that's been in the lot all spring and summer.  Most experts would recommend against buying these trees, now, but I think it was OK for these.

The Linden that I bought mid summer had more winding roots.  It was also a bigger tree, which may be why.

I pruned a minimum of roots to unwind them. Very minimal. I teased out the rest using my gloved hand. It was easy, more shaking and jiggling than pulling and scraping.  The roots separated easily.  That will give the tree a better future.

Even though I haven't decided on whether mycorrhizal inocula will make a difference, I added some.  The "Plant Success" product was discussed yesterday.  I sprinkled it directly on the roots. When the soil was about half way filled in, I planted bulbs, added some more inoculant, and filled in the rest. The bulbs are for fun, and I think moles may not like alliums and daffodils. So it's a test.

It was interesting to look at the tree label.  They recommended filling in, with a soil / amendment mixture.  Most experts recommend against using a soil amendment.  Just the native soil.  This is a change for me, but I finally got the message.  The reason is, the roots will need to grow into the surrounding soil, and not be over-stimulated by amendments, to wind around in the original hole.

It's been raining, but not for the past couple of days. The soil was easy to dig, didn't clump into gloppy clods, and was crumbly like a moist chocolate cake. So I didn't firm it down with my foot. That would be too tight. I did water each tree in with about 6 gallons of water, 3 trips of 2 gallons for each tree. Then some compost mulch, and they are ready for winter.  The water drained in a couple of minutes.  Very fast.  I'm not worried here about clay or compaction.

This summer I was excited for Fall to come, so I could plant trees, and vines, and bulbs, and fall planted vegetables. Now I'm anxious for Spring to come. For these trees, I'm confidant they will get through the winter fine, but will they bloom? I want that.  Will they tolerate next summer's heat?

I think they will do OK.  I'm glad I planted them without waiting for the Spring shipments.  Way ahead of next Spring's trees - bigger, an extra season of growth, and much, much, much better price.  Can't go wrong with a nice 8 foot tree for $8.00.

Moving a 10 year old Rose of Sharon

It needed room.  I had it in too small location.  This is a durable shrub, blooms well when other plants are wearing out.

I used the same approach as usual, so just posting pic of the shrub out of the ground, pruned and root pruned.  It lost a lot of roots, so I pruned the top back heavily as well.

Hard to see here, but the trunk is about 6 inches in diameter.  I've been pruning to keep it compact for all of it's life.  I suppose if I had not, it would be a tree now.

Not posting as a "how to" so much as a record for future reference.  I want to see if it survives.  I think it will be fine, but next year a but less vigorous due to root pruning.

Even without moving a shrub or tree from one place to another, root pruning is a legitimate technique to reduce vigor.  Not as extreme as this but I think it has adequate root to survive, and there is fall and early Spring to regenerate feeder roots before top growth commences.  The shrub will restrict its top growth based on the available feeder roots, so it be much more likely to survive than if I had done this while leafy.

Moving a 10 year old Brunswick Fig Tree

This was as big as I can handle.  I grew this tree from a cutting in 2001.  It came from a NoID tree in a vacant lot.  I have been calling it "Vancouver" because I don't have a solid ID.  I'm fairly sure the variety is Brunswick = Dalmatica = Magnolia = Madonna.  The figs are big, juicy, and sweet, but I lose most of the crop every year due to lateness.  Most of the figs fail to ripen in the cool wet late October weather.  I debated cutting it down.  Instead, I moved it to the Battleground place.  There, it ill have more sun, and maybe a little brighter sun.  Maybe that will ripen the figs a little sooner.

This location was becoming unkept, and so was the tree. First I pruned the suckers and pruned the top to make it easier to handle.  I pruned a bit more aggressively than I usually do.  It will lose all breba (summer figs).  That's OK.  Almost all of the breba crop falls off anyway.  That might make it produce more and earlier main crop (fall figs).  Or not.

I'm thinking that with the digging, I'll lose a fair amount of root, so the top also needed to be reduced. Figs have a very fibrous root system that spreads laterally, but doesn't seem to extend very deep. I think the top should regenerate OK. I was happy with the open center shape that I gave the tree with years of careful pruning.

I also pruned back all of the suckers.  I want to keep the open center structure, and have a single trunk.  The single trunk is easier to wrap with Tanglefoot to keep ants out of the figs.

It takes a lot of digging to move such a big tree. I started about 2 feet from the trunk.  after digging an 18n inch deep trench, it took more than an hour of slicing under the tree with the shovel, to free it from the underlying soil. Not a lot of roots going deeper. I had to prune 3 or 4, finger sized roots. That's my fat fingers, not dainty fingers. But still not a lot of big root was lost.

With heavy trees and shrubs, it helps to work a tarp under the root ball, and pull it around by the tarp. Less damage to tree and roots. It also helps to have a plank to slide the tree up onto the truck, and back down to the ground. Much easier on the back.

Now at the Battleground place.  There was a break in the rain.  The soil is a bit wetter than I like to dig in.  Wet makes it heavier and higher risk for compaction.  I was careful to keep it from compacting.

I'm always surprised, after digging under trees, to see that  most of the roots don't go deeper.  In my imagination, the roots are a deep as the tree is tall.  That is not the case.

Torn and broken branches and roots tidied up, with cleaner pruning slices.

Most of the weight was the accompanying soil. I'm guessing 200 pounds. This was heavy, hard work. Words were said. I dug an ample hole, planted, settled the tree in, and applied a donut of straw mulch. A little more trimming, cut the suckers closer to the trunk, and the branches to outward facing buds.  It's ready for winter, and then  next year.  We'll know then if I killed it.  I don't think I did.

Moving a Small Mulberry Tree

Now it's fall. It's chilly.  It's raining every day. Good time to move some more trees, I think. Better than summer, when I moved other trees. This time it's an Illinois Everbearing Mulberry. I originally planted it March, 2010. So it's had 2 summers to grow. I decided it will be hard to keep the growth controlled. The exposure was north of a privacy fence. The neighbor to the south has a massive uncontrolled apple tree, also competing. At the Battleground place, it will have full sun to the East, South, and West. So maybe more mulberries. They are very tasty. One of the most delicious fruits I grow.
 

"Mulberry Tree Wrap" in an old vinyl tablecloth for travel. No pics digging it up. It's the usual, dig a trench, then try to dig deeply under the tree. It was difficult to dig under the tree. Despite the rain, the ground under the tree was dry and hard.

This is my one chance to inspect the roots. Impressive root system. The roots look thicker than the trunk. They were not very deep. Maybe 18 inches, at the most.

Here we are, planted and mulched with about 3 inches of leaf compost mulch. I did line the hole with chicken wire, to annoy and frustrate the mole.  The mole had a tunnel at exactly this spot, so I think the tree was a sitting duck.

I read on another website that mulberries are a tree "not" to plant, due to the berry production. The main concern is that birds eat the berries. Then the birds defecate, the purple poop stains cars. The berries also stain sidewalks. There are no sidewalks here, and no place to park a car near the tree.  Cars are few and far between.  My plan was to keep the tree small, and cover with bird net. I may still do that. I could have cut it down, and bought a new bare-root tree to plant in Spring. Then I would lose two years of progress. By moving it, I may lose some progress, but not much.

I pruned about 1 to 2 feet of new branch growth.  That will make up for root loss.  I don't think I lost a lot of roots.  Probably less than 20%.  Maybe less than 10%.  That compares to commercially grown trees, which I read lose 85% of their roots when moved.

There is also concern about spread of mulberry trees via seeds in bird poop.  I don't think that's an issue here.

Transplanted Trees

The Almaden Duke Cherry did perk up a lot. That's what a week of cool weather and rain can do. The leaves are not yet yellowing for fall. A few are damaged, but overall it took the transplanting well. With little root damage, and little loss of leaf, I think it's OK to let it bear cherries next Spring. If it chooses to do so. It will be nice to get our own fruit the first Spring here.

The Sal's Fig I moved the first week of ownership, last July. TLC and watering every week resulted in a healthy move despite the midSummer timing. These are its first figs, ever. They are very tasty. I think better than Hardy Chicago or Petite Negri. That might be my imagination.

That little Maple I moved last week. There is some sunburn of the leaves. That would not have happened if I'd waited a week, but they are about to fall off anyway. It's ready to settle in for winter.