New Trees progress report.

Cherry "Almaden Duke"

Jujube "Li"

 Here is the progress report for new trees planted 2012 - 2013.  Most, but not all, are fruit trees.  They are young.  Not all are pictured here.  They are in no particular order.

Duke Cherry "Almaden Duke".  Now 6 ft tall.  Growth this year, 6".  Transplant from Vancouver yard last fall.

Ginkgo seedling from Illinois.  My dad's collected seed, tree is the smallest of the 3 I grew.  6ft tall, growth 0 inches.  There were tufts of new growth from each node, but no stem extension.  Leaves remain green so far.

Madrone.  New planting this fall.  6 ft tall.

Sweet Cherry "Vandelay".  New bare root from Raintree, started late this winter, before my surgery.  3'8" of which 2" is new.

Sweet Cherry Sweetheart.  As for Vandelay.  3'10" of which  1'2" is new.  Bloomed after planting, no fruit.

"Greenspire" Linden, South side of yard near house.  6'6" of which 1'6" is new. 

 Jujube "Li".  Planted as container plant last fall.  about 1 ft tall, of which 6" is new.

Pawpaw "NC-1".  All pawpaws were planted summer 2012.  2'7" of which 7" is new.

Pawpaw "NC-1"

Pawpaw "Rebecca's gold".  This tree was eaten by an animal, leaving only about 3".  It grew to 1ft 7" tall, 3 stems.

Pie Cherry "North Star".  Planted as container tree from Lowes, late Spring.  This tree is 5'4".  Growth occurred before I planted it, about 1 ft was new.  This tree had cherries when I bought it.

Pie Cherry "Montmorency".  6'3".  I moved this from Vancouver last summer.  18" of the growth was this year.  This tree bore cherries this year.

Wild Plums - grown from seeds summer / fall 2012.  Tallest is 4'3", next is 3', and smallest is 2'.

Peach "Indian Blood".    Now 4' tall, of which 1ft 4 inches is new.

Persimmon "Seijo".  Now 4'10", of which 15"  is new.  This was bare root planted this year, from Raintree.  The growth was nice, but there is a wound on the north side, narrow, extending much of the old stem.  The wound is about a mm wide.  I don't know what that bodes for next year.

Pawpaw "Rebecca's Gold"

 Persimmin "Nikita's Gift".  2'6" of which 2" is new.  Small but survived the first year.  Persimmons are considered difficult to start, but making it through the first year is encouraging. 

Peach "Charlotte"

Peach "Oregon Curl-Free"

 Peach "Charlotte".   6ft total, of which 2'2" is new.  Fast starting tree.  Moved from Vancouver last summer, started from bare root Spring 2012 as container tree.

Peach seedling and Grape "Price"

Peach "Oregon Curl Free".  Total 4'5" of which 3'7" is new.  Same issues as for "Charlotte"

Pawpaw "Sunflower"

Pie Cherry "Surefire"

Apple "Red Sentinel"  2'4" tall and "Golden Sentinel" 2'4" tall.  Minimal added height this year.  These were planted last summer.  The rootstock may be super-dwarfing. 

Linden "Greenspire" in front yard.  This was the first of the Lindens.  9"  tall of which 1" is new. 

Peach Seedling 8" - unknown parentage, suspect genetic dwarf.  Volunteer in vegetable bed, which was treated with compost.  If it develops leaf curl, I don't plan to keep it  The "Price" grape 8" was a cutting from my vines at home.

American Linden "Redmond"  5 ft tall, 4" is new.  This was container tree planted last winter.

Pear "Rescue"  4 ft tall, 9" is new, and pear "Orca, 4 ft, 9" is new.  Both bare root trees from Raintree, planted late winter 2013.

Apple "Spitzenberg" 3" of new growth on 6" of rootstock.  This was new graft, grown from new graft early Spring and given TLC with fertigation; Apple "Sutton's Beauty" 1'6" of new growth on 6" rootstock, same situation.

Chinese Haw "Red Sun", 4'8" of which 1" is new.   Bare root from "One Green World" nursery planted last fall. 

Plum "Stanley"

Sweet Cherry "Sweetheart"

Plum "Toka"

Mulberry "Illinois Everbearing", 6'4" tall, of which 11'1" is new this year.  Moved from Vancouver yard last fall.

Plum "Stanley" 7'6" of which about 2' is new.  Moved from Vancouver last year.

Plum "Toka" 5'10" tall, of which 1'4" is new and plum "Satsuma" 5'6" of which 3" is new, both bought as potted trees last summer on sale at Home Depot.

The Sourwood I planted in Sept, is 7'8" tall.

I've started applying a layer of compost around each tree.  Ran out, more expected with another truckload of compost this week.

My Dad's Ginkgo biloba

Ginkgo trunk

 This is the largest of ginkgo trees, grown from seeds my Dad collected about 15 years ago.  They spent their first couple of years in flower pots. 

My Dad collected the seeds from a large ginkgo tree, grown from seed by Herman Deege in a small Illinois town.   He taught me about the origins of gingko trees.  I imagine he's been dead since the 1970s.

This tree is many-fold larger than the other two from the same source.   Other than genetic diversity, different seeds from the same source, this was planted in the ground about one year before the other two.  It is in the yard area where the dogs leave their contributions to nature, over the past 12 years.  I think the dog fertilizer is the main difference.

Ginkgo tree

The smallest of the 3 is now in the Battleground yard.  It's about 7 feet tall.  The largest of my Dad's trees must ba about 35 feet tall now.

It should turn yellow soon.  Beautiful in green or yellow.

Gardening for the Winter. Multiplier onions, Flower Bulbs, Tree Protection.

Multiplier Onions about to be planted.

More Daffodils for the yard.

 The Yellow Potato Onions are now planted for their winter "incubation".  The roots and tops grow during the remainder of fall, then settle in for winter.  Most were the very big size this year, leaving fewer small starts to plant.   I planted about 25 sets, with half being large - to make multiple small sets, and half being small - to make large onion bulbs.  They grew very well last year, with the September - planted ones growing better than later - planted.

One also made topsets.  I planted those as well.

The Egyptian Walking Onions are growing roots and tops.  Fast start.

This Daffodil mix brings the # of bulbs planted this fall to about a hundred.  There are about 150 more to plant.  It sounds like a lot, but they are quite easy to plant.

I made 5 tree - guards so far.  This year I am experimenting with hardware cloth.  These are /12 inch mesh.  I think I'll buy 1/4 inch mesh once I've used up this roll.  Based on the web sites I've read, 1/4 is superior for vole exclusion. 

The ginkgo may not need protection.  Ginkgo trees are considered deer and rabbit resistant.  But no harm in a little protection.

I also have tree wrap saved from last year.  Tree wrap may seal in moisture, which could encourage fungal infection.  So I am not as enthusiastic about that.  On the other hand, tree wrap is easier to apply, compared to hardware cloth.

Varmint Screening for Crabapple Tree

Varmint Screening for Ginkgo Tree

The websites often state the hardware cloth should be partly buried.  However, that would mean damage to shallow roots.  So far, animals have not under-mined trunk protection.  If they do, I'll have to consider more secure options.

Ginkgo biloba seedlings.

Ginkgo biloba seedling.

Ginkgo biloba seedling.

 These are Ginkgo biloba seedlings growing among the irises and herbs.  I planted the seeds last fall.

There are around 5 or 6 seedlings.  I'm guessing I planted a couple dozen seeds.  There was evidence some seeds were dug and eaten by birds or squirrels.

These received no special care after planting the seeds last fall.  Whatever the irises and herbs got, the ginkgo seedlings got.

They are small enough, they can stay put for a couple of years.  Then transplant to another bed or someplace more permanent.

Ginkgo biloba seedling.

Tigridia 2nd year. Ginkgo seedlings.

Tigridia and Ginkgo biloba

I read that Tigridia won't survive a wet winter, so I treated these as annuals last year.  They were planted in a barrel among ginkgo trees Ning was growing - seedlings I started several years back.

Ning moved the ginkgos to Battleground, and planted in his perennial garden.  Intent is to keep them pruned as small trees.  Interesting, the tigridia came back, blooming among the ginkgos.

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

A few garden chores / Progress report.

Planted the rest of the ginkgo seeds in the iris raised bed.  That's about 20 seedlings if they grow.  Lots to give away then.  By planting outside now, they get the winter cold for stratification.

Moved one grape vine from the house in Vancouver to the Battleground place.  I don't know the variety; green when ripe, with seeds.  I recall them as excellent flavor, but it was in a shady spot under an old cherry tree, next to a fence.  About 9 years old.  The vine would grow to the top of the tree, 25 feet in a year.  I pulled off lots of leaves for the chickens.  I cut it back to about 4 feet tall, with a couple of recent canes.  I shortened those canes to 3 or 4 nodes.  Digging it up, it wasn't possible to get a big root mass.  I think grape roots are long and rangy, like the vines.  Even so, since it's easy to grow grapes from cuttings, I think the severely pruned-back vine should grow.  It will be a head start over starting a new cutting.  In its new location, I can prune more formally as a 4-arm Kniffen, which is sort of like espalier for grapes.  Much easier to take care of that way.

The soil is moist down to at least 2 feet now.  That's how deep I dug for the grape vine.

35 of the 40 Inchelium Red garlic plantings have germinated.  So they were just a bit slower than the German Porcelain Garlic.

None of the Safeway shallots has germinated.  100% (only 10 plants) of the Holland Shallots have germinated.  So there must be germination inhibitor on the Safeway shallots.  I planted a row of ginkgo seeds in the safeway shallot row, so as not to waste the space.

Very few leaves remaining on the trees.  Buds look fat and happy.  No freeze yet.

To do list for moving trees and shrubs:

2 hazelnut trees.  These are about 2-inch diameter trunks, about 8 feet tall.  Squirrels have taken every nut - not leaving even one for me.  Damn squirrels.  The top and roots will need a lot of pruning - too much for me to dig fully intact.

Brunswick fig.  Similar size to the Hazel nut trees.  Not very productive.  It's time to either move it or cut it down.  Maybe it will produce better in a more open setting.  Sever top and root pruning will be needed to get it out of the current location.

A large camelia.  2 smalll trees, one a Japanese maple and one a weeping birch.

I planted a dozen lily bulbs in the location where I dug out one of the cherry trees last month.  Late, but they should do OK.

Trees, leaves, planning for bees. Plant trees in fall. Ginkgo.

That back yard ginkgo. The leaves are yellow now. Beautiful! I say it over and over, but I'm proud I grew that from a seed!

The big maple at the battleground place. So beautiful. Dropping leaves. They will make lots of great compost.

Found this little leaf linden, "Greenspire' at HD. Marked down from sale price of $39.99 to $8.00. Can't beat that price. With plans to start beehives, linden trees are a great choice. I read that linden pollen makes the best honey. This tree had a great root mass. Not too root bound. I did have to prune a few. There is no central leader. It will need corrective pruning for 2 or 3 years. But at that price, who can complain? I cut off a couple of small rubbing branches, that's all. Wait for bloom, prune after that next Spring.

About 8 feet tall once planted. The ground was very easy to dig now. No more summer dry soil. Not too much work. It will be a great source of pollen for the honey bees.

What does it take to make me happy? Leaves for compost is a good start. It's like a christmas present. Leafmas.

Ginkgo biloba seed preparation

It's pretty easy.

They've been in the baggies for a few days. I imagine that if I wanted to wait longer, I would need to refrigerate or keep them cool outside.

It's easy. The seeds mush out. Knife is optional. I did not wear gloves. For the sensitive, gloves are a good idea. Separate the seed from the pulp. Placed the seeds in a bowl of water. The pulp went into the compost. This was under a kitchen hood that vents outside. Working outside is a good option too. Otherwise loved ones will complain about the odor.

Rinsed under running water. Dried on paper towel. Once dry overnight, I'll keep in the fridge until planting.

More Gingko photos

This week collected ginkgo seeds. Surprised and oddly excited to discover that several of the trees I thought were male, are really female. Maybe the last time I looked they had not reached tree puberty yet. This changes my hypothesis about this long row of trees. More than half were female. So they must be seedling raised, not grafts. Good.  There must be 10 female gingko trees in this treeway.

There's nothing about the tree's anatomy that tells us she's female.  Only the presence of the seeds below the tree, gives it away.

Another female ginkgo tree in the same treeway.

Ginkgo branches, laden with seed.  In my earlier days, I called these "fruit".  The look like fruit, are fleshy like fruit, and contain an inner seed like fruit.  But botanically, the derivation of the flesh is a different part of the seed bearing structure, so the fleshy part is the outer layer of the seed.  Confusing.

Pleased the camera took some nice pics this time.

Ginkgo fruit scattered on the ground.    Even with so many, I don't smell the butyric acid that bothers many people.  Unless I pick them up, and smell my fingers.  Then it's there.

Tale of Two Ginkgos

These 2 trees are the same age, grown from seed from the same parent. They were started from seed collected by my Dad, about 13 years ago.

This tree was planted in the ground about 11 years ago.  This is my back yard.  The tree first spent about 2 years of growing in a flower pot. I'm guessing about 20 or 25 feet tall.  It's a beautiful tree.  I'm proud of it.  This area of yard is the dogs' "restroom".  They pee and poop here daily.  The poop gets cleaned up, mostly, although some is missed.  It gets watered weekly or every other week, to rinse the grass and ground to prevent odor.  The watering, and the nitrogen from the dog urine and feces, have resulted in rapid strong growth.

This photo is taken today.  The leaves remain dark green.

The trunk is too big for my hand to reach around.

The leaves have the typical bilobar appearance for ginkgo.  As a younger tree, the leaves were larger and had a deeper cleft.

This tree is the same age, from the same source at the same time. It was kept in a container for one additional year, and planted in the front yard. It gets watered occasionally, but not nearly as often as the tree in the back yard. Like that tree, it's basically in the full sun.  No "doggie special treats."   It's much smaller than the first tree.  About 10 feet tall, so less than half as tall.

This photo is also taken today.  The leaves are already bright yellow.

I can easily grasp this trunk.  No where near the diameter as its twin.

The leaves are similar size and morphology.  Beautiful leaves.
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I think the entire difference in growth and leaf senescence is due to the doggie fertilizer and watering.      There has been no chemical fertilizer and no other difference that I can see.

Ginkgo seeds near harvest

My "source" for ginkgo seeds is nearly ready to harvest.  The seed-fruits now have a butyric acid odor, telling me they are starting to ripen.  I picked up a few.  Will pick up more and clean them next week.

This is one of the two female ginkgo trees in a block-long row of ginkgos. I imagine they were originally grafted trees on seedling stock, and the scions didn't make it. Allowing the rootstock to grow, giving the female trees. That's a wild guess. I can't tell, by looking, a female from a male ginkgo tree.

Here is the little ginkgo tree I moved to the Battleground place. A little sunburn on some leaves and remained droopy. It survived the end of the dry season. I think it will do fine. I'll look forward to new green perky growth next year.

Transplanted Trees. One Week Later.

THey are not as droopy as I expected. In fact, they seem just fine.

The Stanley Plum. Not a single leaf has fallen. I watered this, and the other trees, today.

Indian Peach. I was sure I killed it. Not droopy, no wilting. So far, so good. I think once it's past the first week, it's less to worry about.

Not a home grown transplant, but it needed to go somewhere. Blake Kiwi. The start of a Kiwi vinyard. More, later.

The ginkgo. No more droopy than it was before. I think it will do OK.