Maples. Tree Wounds. Volunteers. 9.2.14

 

Maple 9.20.12

Ning liked this maple cultivar that he found at a local odds-and-ends nursery on discount. 


Maple 9.1.14



Wounded Tree.  9.20.12

I was concerned about the wound - the owner stated that was a "growth crack" due to the tree growing faster than the bark could handle.  Not true - clearly damage, but the price was very low.  O forget - $16?  So we bought it.  Planted with the wound on south side to encourage keeping it dry.  I was interested in how such a large tree with such small root mass would survive.It's doing pretty  nicely. 

The growth is gradual.  Large trees without much root can't be expected to grow fast.  But it survived, and this year is looking nice.


Wounded tree.  9.1.14

Volunteer Maple.  10.20.12

 This photo underestimates the length of the wound - it extends up to the crack just below the lower branch.

The top portion has sealed together.  The narrower part of the lower portion of the wound looks like it will seal together next year, and the bottom, wider portion may take another year or two.

Maple is very hard wood.  Maple furniture is difficult to stain due to it's hardness, and is very resilient.  Planting with the wound to the south, gave it less chance for fungal or bacterial rot.  It is considered harmful, now, to pain wounds, so I left it bare.

With the small original root mass, I watered but did not fertilize last year.  I did not want to encourage top growth that the roots could not handle.

I did shave off the outside winding roots, so the tree would not be root-bound in the soil.

This year, I gave the tree a small amount of organic nitrogen (pee-cycle).  About 1 quart in 2 gallons of water, watered into the soil around the tree in Spring.  It received 2 waterings through the summer.  It seems well established now.

Volunteer Maple.  9.1.14

The other maple, a small volunteer maple, was from the yard in Vancouver.  It is not a big-leaf maple - may be a mixed heritage descendent of local cultivars.  I moved it from Vancouver, Oct 7, 2012.  Last year I kept it well watered, but not this year.  No fertilizer - it's in the middle of the chicken yard.

As an ungrafted tree on unpruned roots, I expect it will grow roots deep into the soil.  Growth has been amazing.  Not much branching, but quite tall.

Night flower. Mirabilis jalapa. 9.1.14

Four O'Clock "Marbles" at 6am.  9.1.14

Second Potato Harvest. 8.31.14

Potato Harvest, Wishing Well #1.  8.31.14

Potato Harvest.  Wishing Well #2.  8.31.14

Planting potatoes.  Wishing Well #1.  3.7.14

 Here is today's potato harvest, from wishing well #1 and #2.  I already harvested wishing well #3 maybe a month ago, and one more remains.

Pretty good yield.  I wondered if I could do better.  One is a mix of red and white, the other is all red.

I'm happy with the yield, and quality.  A few small ones might be good for next year's seed potatoes, or I could buy  new ones.

The wishing wells tended to dry out on hot days.  They might do better if I paint the outside white, or add reflective material, or have deeper soil.  I think the deeper soil will be a good start.

Potato Wishing Well #1.  4.27.14

Potato Wishing Well #1.  6.21.14

These are Pontiac Red and White Superior.

Toka Plum-Apricot Hybrid. 8.31.14

Toka Plum/Apricot.  8.31.14

Toka Plum/Apricot 8.31.14

Toka Plum/Apricot  8.31.14

This is the 3rd fruit from the Toka Plum/Apricot.  I planted this tree 2 years ago, a potted tree on close-out from Home Depot.  This is the 1st year it has borne any fruit - not bad, nice to have a taste - and there were 3 fruits.

It took some time to identify the origin of Toka.  It is listed most places as a plum, sometimes described as "bubblegum plum" due to the complex, very sweet flavor.  I wouldn't call it "bubblegum", but the flavor is delightful.

According to

Growing Fruit in the Upper Midwest (Google eBook)

by Don Gordon, copyright 1991, this plum was developed in 1911 at the University of South Dakota.   Toka is the Sioux Indian word for "Adversity".  I imagine that is because of the tree's hardiness.  Other plums with the same lineage are Kanga and Hanska.  The book describes this fruit as a cross of 'native plum' and 'Chinese apricot' - which makes it a distant relative of both European and Asian plums, in a category all its own.  Toka, on the other hand, was designed with more adverse climates in mind, has a much longer period of experience in the US, and is way beyond patent so can be used in grafting.

 

I happened on this fruit completely by accident.  I suppose I should refer to it as a plum, but based on the flavor and the lineage, American plum/Chinese apricot hybrid would be a better description.

 

Wow, it's good. 

 

Toka is considered an excellent pollenizer for Euro and Asian plums.  I wonder, then, if hybridization would result in other interesting, hardy fruit.

Fig tree Update. 8.31.14

South of house, fig tree row.  8.31.14

Plastic to eliminate sod and weeds.  8.31.14

I thought much of this row of fig trees was killed in the big frost winter 2013/14.  Sal's was intact, but all of the others were dead above the ground.  They all grew back from roots.  They all look pretty good.  Not as large as last year.  I hope that means, better lignification and better survival this upcoming winter.

Some of the fig tree / bushes have small figs.  I don't know if we'll get ripe ones this fall.

Earlier this month, I mowed down the weeds and weedy grass,  and used the cuttings for mulch around the trees.  I have been adding spiny juniper trimmings to reduce small herbivore browsing.  Sort of a wreath around the trees.  Not near the trees, but in a row on each side, I treated the lawn with nitrogen / pee-cycle.  I don't want to stimulate fig plant growth, but I do want sod that can be mowed and walked on for better access.

At the rear of the photo, not showing well and fore-shortened due to distance, is the first of the black plastic mulches to heat/exclude water/ exclude light.  That can be left until Spring.  Then, broadcast bee forage seeds - borage or others, and I have a nice bee-foraging area.  Plan to do the same between the fig trees, which will ease mowing and feed bees.

Better view of plastic weed eliminator.  9.1.14