From Raintree Nursery. I've made a habit of ordering way ahead. Not wanting many additions this time. Each has a specific reason -
Jujube Sugar Cane. According to the web page very sweet but very thorny. Raintree states they send 3 to 5 foot trees. The trees I One Green World sent last year were 1 foot trees - pretty lame. They survived and grew, and are now whopping 18 inch to 2 foot trees. Look out Sequoias, your record is about to be broken! So I want to jump start a little and add a taller one. Different variety for novelty sake. It's not clear if they need pollenizers. According to CFRG, jujubes don't require cross pollenation, but according to Raintree they do. CFRG states: "Small to medium fruit which can be round to elongated. Extremely
sweet fruit but on a very spiny plant. The fruit is worth the spines!". Maybe the spines will frustrate marauding deer, or at least annoy them. Pic is from Raintree site at link above
Q-1-8 Peach. I researched many websites for a late blooming, peach leaf curl resistant variety. I'm not sure about the late-blooming aspect, but Q-1-8 is described by most as quite leaf curl resistant. Since I have 2 yellow-flesh varieties, this white-flesh variety will be a novelty. It takes a few years to start bearing, and I want to see if I can get enough peaches for a pie, from any variety. Pic is from Raintree site at link above. Kind of a cute name for a peach. Rolls off the tongue.... but if it bears OK, resists peach leaf curl, and tastes good, that's all I need.
PrairieFire Crabapple. To feed honeybees and provide pollen for other apple varieties. DEscribed by Raintree as "A disease resistant, upright crabapple to 20' with reddish bronze
leaves, pink flowers, and bright red 1/2' fruit loved by birds.". WSU Extension states "Very resistant to apple scab, cedar-apple rust, fireblight and mildew." Pics are from WSU Extension. This might be the one I saw at Home Depot on sale, but that was similar size and I like the idea of buying from Raintree. Raintree states they sell 4 to 6 foot trees. If it was 6 foot it would be awesome. Many of my spring blooming trees have white flowers, so one with pink or red would be a nice addition.
Sunday, September 08, 2013
Bearded Irises. Progress report.Iris bed #2
Bearded Iris bed #2 |
Bearded Iris "Alcazar" 1910 |
Bearded Iris bed #2, also heritage irises, with a couple of exceptions. Marigolds and sweet alyssum grew larger than I expected, very nice but too much crowding. Still it will be ok to wait for frost when these annuals die off.
I did add some "step-over" plants. Hoping they stay small. A Sempervivum, alpine geranium, and a couple of others.
Bearded Iris "Owyhee Desert" 1997 |
Bearded Iris "Romeo" 1912 |
Alcazar was via Heritage Iris Preservation Society. From the separate, historic iris blog - "Color effect light hortense violet, velvety pansy-violet bicolor viened on bronze haft; size large; form long; open, oblong ; flowering habit free ; tall bearded class ; height 32 inches ; branching wide at center or above ; A flower of extra substance ; firm texture ; slightly crêped surface ; good fragrance ; An outstanding specimen plant, with very large well balanced flowers and excellent foliage." I like that description, "hortense violet".
I suspect "Romeo" is mislabeled. The prior blossom did not look like the web identification for this variety. It bloomed in the winter. It is about to bloom again. Why is this a fall blooming variety? Strange.
"Los Angeles" is in a shadier spot. Not good for new iris starts, but it is what is.
I'm continuing to clean up bearded iris bed #3. That is mostly new varieties, some were established clumps moved from the Vancouver yard. Some exceptions. A few unrelated plants need to be moved from that bed as well.
Bearded Iris :Los Angeles" 1927 |
Saturday, September 07, 2013
To make a prairie....
Image via commons.wikimedia.org |
“To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.”
-Emily Dickinson
Brugmansia
A few weeks back this brugmansia dropped its buds and some leaves. I was having a difficult time keeping up with watering. I repotted into a container about twice the volume. Now it stays moist longer, and is blooming like crazy again.
Kitchen Garden
Watermelon |
Pepper Barrel |
Minnesota Midget Canteloupe |
Fruit harvest |
Container-grown Peppers |
Also watching closely for the "Minnesota Midget" canteloupe.
Loved the fruit harvest. That was from the Vancouver back yard. Lattarula figs, Hawaiian Pineapple tomatoes, Italian Roaster peppers, various Asian pears, and a few peaches - forget the variety. Genetic dwarf peach. Was surprised to get any. The tree has quite a few more, not ripe yet.
Those "Hawaiian Pineapple" tomatoes are really good.
"Hawaiian Pineapple" Tomato |
Labels:
canteloupe,
Cougar Mountain,
Italian Roaster,
kitchen garden,
Lattarula,
Minessota Midget,
peach,
pepper,
Thai,
watermelon
Madrone roots |
It will be pretty surprising if this tree grows. I'll try to water it enough, but not too much. I added a stake given how little root mass there is to anchor it.
I will also order some more Plant Success mycorrhizal inoculant to add to the soil and water in when it arrives.
Madrone, planted |
Planting a Sourwood Tree
Out of the nursery pot, showing root ball |
When I bought it at the nursery, I thought these trees had been sitting in the containers for the season. Taking out of the pot, I see that's not true. They were dug up from the nursery row, balled and burlapped, and transported to the nursery. There, compost soil was placed in the container, the tree added, then more compost. So they looked like the root mass was much bigger than it was.
That makes me think it will be harder to establish. The tree is quite large for its root ball.
Planting. Daffodil bulbs surrounding the tree. |
Soaking in. |
Daffodils are reportedly deer and rabbit resistant, so I'm hoping they will have a bit of a protective benefit for the tree.
Planted and mulched. |
I hope it grows.
We are heading into the rainy season. That should help this nice tree establish roots and settle in.
Labels:
deer,
narcissus,
Oxydendrum arboreum,
rabbits,
Sourwood
Thursday, September 05, 2013
New Trees. Madrone and Sourwood.
Madrone Arbutus menziesii |
The first is a Pacific Madrone . Arbutus menziesii. Native to Pacific coastal areas, including Pacific Northwest. I don't see them very often. They have a Dr. Seuss appearance. I like the peeling bark, sort of like a Sycamore. According to most web sites, Madrones can be very difficult to establish. The reason I'm hopeful for this one is I am thinking it's been in the container for a season and so has some fine roots. I could be wrong.
I also read that Madrones depend on mycorrhizal fungi. So I will transfer some soil from other trees, if I don't have any innoculant on hand. Which I might
I started to regret buying the Madrone, after reading how hard they can be to establish. But if it grows, it will be a conversation piece and something to be proud of.
I read that Madrones are good bee forage.
This should be a good time to plant. Start of rainy season and cooler weather.
Sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum |
So we'll see. So far I've had good successes. These sound more challenging. Other tree species that are said to be difficult to starts, that I managed to establish, so far, include pawpaw and persimmon. The pawpaws are in their second summer, and the persimmons are finishing their first.
I might have to ask Ning to dig the holes and help me move them. I tire too easily. But these will give me something to ponder so are worth the effort.
Labels:
Arbutus menziesii,
Madrone,
Oxydendrum arboreum,
Sourwood
Today's harvest
Today's Harvest |
Labels:
beans,
Clemson Spineless,
cucumber,
okra,
pole beans,
Tomatoes,
zucchini
Bees do have a smell, you know.....
“Bees do have a smell,
you know,
and if they don't they should,
for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.”
-Ray Bradbury, "Dandelion Wine"
Image from commons.wikimedia.org
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