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.

Romeo Iris blooming in December

Here is Romeo, produced by Millet et Fils in 1912. I bought it mail order this summer. Having run out of room, I planted it in a container. A few weeks ago the raised bed was ready to plant, but this one had a flower shoot. So I placed it in a cool room, sunny window. Here it is today

The American Iris Society has a nice photo of this iris as it should look, as well as its history.

 I don't know if winter blooming can be done intentionally. This was unplanned. Romeo is a diploid bearded iris. Most of the flashy, big, ruffled modern bearded irises are tetraploid. During the year this iris was first sold, Woodrow Wilson won the presidency of the US, with 42% of the vote. Teddy Roosevelt was shot that year. The Titanic sank in 1912. Each new growth of an iris is a rhizome branch from the prior year's growth. So, in effect, this is the same flower that may have sprouted from seed in 1909 or 1910.

It doesn't look a lot like photos of Romeo. Maybe it's the odd timing, or the odd situation, or the growth medium. It's in a used potting soil. It may need May sunshine and warmth for true colors to develop.  Maybe it's mislabeled. I like it better than than the linked site. The colors have a sepia tone, like an old Kodachrome photo in a family album. Bought at an estate sale.

Moving a pair of HazelNut Trees

Squirrels were getting all of the nuts. I misjudged how much room these 2 hazelnut trees would need. They are too big for the space. They get lots of nuts at that size.  But without a raptor perched in the branches to feast on squirrels, there is no chance of me getting nuts. I wanted to cut them down. With more room, I moved them to the Battleground place. Even if the squirrels still get the nuts, the trees will give some privacy from the road. Plus, there actually is a raptor in the nearby trees.

I like hazelnuts.  It would be great if I get to eat some!  Come on squirrels, leave me just one!  According to wikipedia, "The Celts believed hazelnuts gave one wisdom and inspiration." also "The Hazel Branch, from Grimm's Fairy Tales, claims that hazel branches offer the greatest protection from snakes and other things that creep on the earth."  

It's hard to tell here.  There are 2 trees.  Each is about 8 or 9 feet tall.  The trunks are about 2 inches diameter.  These are 2 varieties of grafted hazelnut tree.  There are many sub-trunks sprouted from below the graft.

First, I removed all of the sub-trunks.  They did not have catkins.  I don't know if they would have produced nuts in a few years.  I wanted to stick with the named varieties.  This removes about 10 or 20% of the growth.  Which makes up for much of the root that will be lost in digging.

The branches are tied up to make it easier to dig and manipulate the trees.  I find that trees are quite fearful of being dug up, and tend to lash out at me with their branches.  Firm but gentle tying keeps them calm, and keeps my face free of lacerations.

The usual circular trench, with a twist because these trees are one foot apart.  That was a Backyard Orchard Culture technique.  I was stretching the technique by applying to hazelnut trees.  But for the squirrel issue, however, I think it worked.

This is a bit like separating conjoined tree twins.  Rather than causing more root trauma individually unraveling intertwined roots, I sliced between them with the shovel.  They didn't have as much root mass as I suspected.  As bare-root trees, I think the roots were compact at the beginning, and had not extended as far as a seed-grown tree might have extended.

I slid them up a board, covered with a well-tied tarp for protection.

My "thing" at the moment is mycorrhizal innoculant.  This is "Mykos".  Sprinkled on the roots for promotion of better root mass and drought resistance. I don't know if that really works.  I sprinkled about a quarter cup, guessing, throughout the root mass.  I pruned broken or torn roots to a clean cut.

Planted.  Charlie was such a help.  I left branches with catkins in place.  Since I removed a fair amount of below-the-graft growth, I think the roots can support making some nuts next year.  Minimal touch-up pruning was needed.  A few broken twigs, a couple of crossed branches.  I tipped the highest branches to outward facing buds, to encourage spread.

I also moved a Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' Smoke tree from the house in Vancouver. I really misjudged. I thought it would be a bush, at most 5 feet tall. It was 8 foot this year. So I pruned it back to help move it, and moved it to this location too. I don't know why I didn't look it up when I bought it - they can be 15 or 20 feet tall. This will be a better spot.  I'll keep it as multi-trunk.  It will be nice to look out the window at this tree.

The root mass was small.  It's about 3 years old.  It was very easy to dig up and move.  I read that deer don't like them.  The deer will let me know if that's true.

My other helper. He mostly helps by running off and barking at falling leaves. When siting here, he looks so noble.

This bush has maroon leaves through the summer and brilliant leaves in the fall. This photo was Oct 10.

Iris Raised Bed.

Here is the raised bed I prepared for irises. I scratched in Mycorhizal inoculant around the better looking iris plants, and left the sad looking ones alone. I also added some compost around the better looking ones, not enough to cover the rhizomes. In the spots reserved for next April or May shipment of heritage irises, I also pre-inoculated with Mycorhizal inoculant. I don't know if it does any good.

Toward the back are the better looking plants, including Helen Collingwood which is reputed to be very tough, and Sunny Disposition. Loreley is droopy. The newly purchased ones don't look like much at all. I wouldn't expect them to, this time of year. Front left is Diety, which I saved from bacterial rot. It actually looks perky. Interesting.

Raised beds. Progress Report.

These are the onion and garlic raised beds. They look vulnerable to freezing. I am reminding myself that I think that every year and they make it through the winter fine. That's true for both the garlic and the multiplier onions. I think the onions and German Porcelain garlic are way ahead of previous years. I hope that doesn't mean the freeze will kill them. Every year is a new lesson to learn.

The front is German Porcelain garlic. Germination was 100%. One had mottled leaves which had me concerned about viral infection so I pulled it out. Not sure that makes a difference. This bed also has rescue garlic, unnamed from the yard. And one row of Inchelium Red. The rescue garlic and Inchelium red were much slower. That may not matter next year. We'll see. Germination for those was 100%. The Holland shallots germinated 100%. Today I pulled the innumerable small weeds. Then I mulched with leaf compost. The chinese chives leaves are dead. The sprouted chinese chives seedlings look delicate, about 2 inches tall.

All but one of the Inchelium Red garlic germinated. So that's 34/35. Maybe the last is just pokey. I pulled out weeds and mulched with leaf compost. After that I remembered the mycorhizal inoculant, which I spread around the multiplier onions and chinese chives, which I also weeded. Weeds were about 2 inches tall. I used a kitchen fork. That sounds difficult but it was easy in the raised beds. The small tool gave me control around the delicate plants. Then I scratched in the inoculant and added compost.

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.

Various Gods of Beekeeping

I thought this was interesting.

Mayans have been beekeepers for centuries.  Their god of Beekeeping was Ah-Muzen-Cab or Ah-Mucen-Cab.  National Geographic.com  The Mayan bees were stingless, but they are being superceded by Africanized European honey bees.


Apparently this is the Mayan god of bees.  "The traditional way to gather bees, still favored amongst the locals, is find a wild hive; then the branch is cut around the hive to create a portable log, enclosing the colony. This log is then capped on both ends with another piece of wood or pottery and sealed with mud."


Also the Mayan god Mok Chi.

According to Austin Cline, "Honey was an important part of the diet in most Mesoamerican cultures... a vital trade product...Ah Mucen Cab was an important deity in the Mayan pantheon. The Mayan word for "honey" was also the same as the word for "world," so the honey god Ah Mucen Cab was also involved with the creation of the world".

Also " in Mayan Codices...ceremonies worshipping Ah Mucen Cab, the god of honey, where a honey wine called balchï was consumed in excess by men only, while women drank sac honey wine of a lower alcohol content. In addition, the byproducts, wax and vinegar, were among the most valued trading commodities throughout Mesoamerica. "  and  "“To the beautiful lady foreign divine queen lord, I wash her wings, I give strength to her wings’, while intermixing the chant with sounds of a bee humming.”



Image from NewScientist.com.

Bees have been worshiped in other cultures as well, Minoan, Egyptian, Greek, and others.  Also in he ancient Hebrew bible with many verses discussing honey and bees. "The Bible refers to Israel as "a land flowing with milk and honey".  also "The Christians ate honey before fast-days, especially on Holy Thursday. On the eve of the Jewish New Year an apple dipped in honey was eaten; fruit and honey symbolized prosperity and peace."  Then there is this, "To the ancient Germanic god, Neckar, there was yearly sacrificed a man, a sheep, a loaf of bread and a beehive."


from maavaishnavi.com  Bhramari Devi is the Hindu goddess of black bees.  She created innumerable bees, which stung and killed the demon Arunaasura, who ruled the world and could not be killed by any creature with 2 or 4 legs.  

Bee goddess of the Ephesians.




Interesting illustration:
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Image from here.

Last night I went to a 3 hour beekeeping class.  I haven't made the "final commitment" yet and built or bought a hive, but I think I will.  It was very interesting.  I've been reading up on beekeeping, and it seems like a perfect fit to our kitchen garden and little orchard.  The Linden trees are reputed to make wonderful honey, which I mentioned before.  Also, Ning wants a wildflower meadow, which will also provide nectar and pollen.

Gardening for the next era.

This is a concept, I am making up as I go along.  I expect it to evolve.

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Each gardener has a local climate.  Also local soil, local minerals, local water, local plant diseases and insects.  By growing what grows best locally, the gardener pioneers for himself, and also for future gardeners.  Big companies can't/won't do that.  They grow what looks and does the best in big, regionally centralized commercial nurseries.  Plants that look best in the big box stores and garden centers.   Those may be shipped hundreds of miles.  For farmers, a genetic "bottleneck", is created, eliminating diversity by marketing genetically engineered crops that require commercial chemicals to grow.  

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Generations of gardeners and farmers in the past saved their seeds.  They created countless varieties of plants and great genetic diversity, and local adaptation.  Genetic diversity created opportunity and flexibility for changed conditions.  Now, with a much smaller number of hybrids (which don't grow true from saved seeds), and genetically engineered plants, that are not legal for gardeners to reproduce, we are increasingly dependent on plants that are not designed for diversity, not locally adapted, not amenable for the individual gardener to develop, probably more susceptible to disease, insects, climate challenges.  The effect is complete dependency on the marketer and chemical company, and at the same time, more risky plants with less future potential, and more dependency on chemical products for the garden.

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This is not to demonize hybrids.  Many of them are great.  But there is a lot to be said for saving seeds, starting your own plants from ones that do well for you, and sharing them with others.  It's usually easy.  It's very rewarding to see plants that I grew from seeds, that I collected from plants that I grew from seed, that I collected....

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Then there's trees.  Most nursery-grown trees are grown as cloned grafts from a small number of varieties.  Even forest trees are made via clones of the fast producing varieties.  That makes them more susceptible to disease and climate challenges.  By growing trees from seeds, you provide future generations with more genetic diversity.   You create a buffer against clonal degradation, and propagate varieties that prosper locally.  You grow a tree that is most likely to thrive in your own community.  That tree may impart disease or insect resistance not present in a clone.  In addition, cloned plants, especially grafts, carry viral disease from one generation to the next, but seeds do not proliferate the viral infections.  Virally weakened plants are less vigorous and less productive.  

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Figs and roses are good examples.  Grafted roses do not live as long, and virally infected roses are more susceptible to weather challenges.  Most figs carry fig mosaic virus, which is thought to make them less productive.  

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Many trees are easy to grow from seeds.  A young person will live to see the tree mature.  An older person will know that they have given something valuable to future generations.  As a boy, I grew maples, ginkgos, honey locusts, maples, and oaks from seeds.  Even though I don't live in the region where these were started, the last time that I visited, some of those trees were amazing, huge trees.  Shows how old I am.  My grandfather grew peaches from seeds.  More recently, I've grown ginkgos, peaches, cherries, and plums from seeds. 

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 The 15 year old ginkgo in my back yard is now about 20 feet tall.  That seed came from a tree, grown from seed from my elderly boyhood neighbor, Herman Deege.  He taught me about how gingkos were around in the time of dinosaurs.  Most commercially grown gingko trees are a handful of clones, all male to avoid growing female trees that make stinky, messy fruits.  However, ginkgos are also a food crop.  Americans have not caught onto that yet.  Similar thoughts apply to other tree species - ginkgos happen to be a favorite of mine.

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I'm planning to use more open pollinated, locally adapted varieties as time passes.  If I see a seed from a tree that is prospering, I might grow it.  I'll continue saving seeds from garden vegetables, and some fruits, that do well for me here.  I don't think I have to spend decades developing varieties.  Much of that has been done.  I just have to be conscious about my choices, and conscious about saving seeds when the opportunity presents.

Garlic, Shallots, Potato Onions. Progress Report.

Potato onions are almost all up, and 6 to 8 inches tall. The earlier ones are ahead of the later ones, by a few inches. Only one of the earlier ones has not sprouted. Several of the later ones have not sprouted. Egyptian Walking Onions are a little smaller but virtually all of them have also sprouted and grown to about 4 to 6 inches tall. The bed is a little weedy. I've been pulling weed seedlings. More of that effort is needed.

Inchelium garlic. I think it's at about 50% sprouted now. Keeping track of the growth will help me plan timing for next year. About half of the later-planted Inchelium garlic has also sprouted. Not clear the earlier planting is advantageous.

The german porcelain garlic. Growth is excellent. Next question will be, is faster growth more, or less, susceptible to the freezes to come.

The Holland Shallots are about 50% sprouted. The Safeway shallots are 0% = none have sprouted yet. I guess that's an effect of germination inhibitor, used for produce.. I wonder what germination inhibitors might do to the people who eat treated produce.