Botanical Blog

The beautiful Purple Robe Black Locust tree

I fell in love last Thursday. I spotted the object of my desire over the fence in a yard of one of the houses near the creekside walkway. It was magnificent.
Beautiful lavender-colored flower clusters adorned a pretty rounded tree with yellow-green leaves. The leaves were divided into delicate leaflets. The tree looked about 20 feet tall. But what was the name of this mysterious stranger?
I described the tree to a knowledgeable friend who told me it was the Purple Robe cultivar of Robinia pseudoacacia, common name Purple Robe Black Locust. Now that I had a name, it was time to do some research.
I found that these trees can tolerate poor soil conditions. They can take full sun or part shade. How versatile. They can get by with little water. So far, so good.
Those beautiful blossoms are described as wisteria-like in some sources and sweet-pea like in others. The blossoms are apparently very fragrant and attract bees which then produce a particularly tasty honey.
The pollinated blossoms become brownish-red seed pods varying from three to six inches in length. These seed pods can persist on the tree through winter, giving winter interest after the leaves have fallen. This was sounding better and better. The tree was even fire-resistant.
I was truly infatuated and began imagining our life together. Unfortunately, I kept on reading. Those glorious flowers only last 10 to 14 days. Well, I reasoned, I have faithfully tended iris rhizomes for a similar bloom time reward.
The trees are very fast growing and can reach a height of 30 to 50 feet. They can have a width of 20 to 35 feet. Uh-oh! I have a small, suburban yard. Its branches can have sharp thorns, although supposedly there are some thornless varieties.
An insect called the locust borer can attack the trunk and branches. Another called the locust leaf miner can cause such damage that the leaves turn brown in the summer. As if I need more plants that turn brown in my summer landscape.
The doubts began to creep in. I did more research. The tree is described as short- lived. The bark, leaves, and seeds are poisonous if eaten. The final nail in the coffin for this love affair came when I read a Sunset article by McCausland, Sweezy, and Wilhelm published in 1995. They pointed out that the wood and branches on the tree were very brittle and could break off in a windstorm. They felt the tree should not be planted in urban, windy areas. While Fairfield is hardly urban, it is wind central.
Since I adhere to the philosophy of selecting the right plant for the right space, I would have to give up my dreams of this tree. While appropriate for other places, this tree would not be a good match for my yard.
In reading some of the garden forums on the Internet, I found many others who had fallen in love with this tree and its incredible flowers. The ardor seemed to last for a year or two, but as the tree grew, so did the problems. The gardeners seemed to have spent more years trying to get rid of the tree than they had spent loving it. The break-up was bitter. The language used in the letters rivaled that used in the most rancorous of divorces.
At least I had found out before I made a commitment. For once, I had learned from the experience of others. Research and the Internet had saved me from myself.
For more information on this plant consult document ENH-730 of the Environmental Horticultural Dept, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, University of Florida by Edward Gilman and Dennis Watson.
-- Karen Metz

A New Spring with Old Roses

What a wonderful way it was to celebrate the arrival of spring! In a cemetery.

To be more specific, in the Sacramento Historic City Cemetery, on Broadway between Ninth and Twelfth Streets. No, I wasn’t celebrating the dead; I was celebrating antique roses.

In 1850 the famous founding father of our capitol city, John Sutter, donated ten acres as burial grounds for the rapidly growing town around Fort Sutter. In those days, it was becoming common to think of cemeteries also as gardens, and as gardens the fashion of the times was to plant roses on and/or beside the graves.

At the time, roses were coming into their own in the United States. Tea roses and China roses had been introduced not long before and had quickly made their way from England and the Continent to our shores. Gold diggers and other early Californians ordered roses from back east and from Europe. In short time, those roses, now considered antiques, were gracing the graves of Sacramento’s City Cemetery. Neglected for years, they thrived nonetheless.

On April 12^th the cemetery was open to tours for an entire sunny morning and early afternoon. The woman who led the tour I took was a rosarian aflame with rose-love. As she led the group from family plot to family plot, often so festooned and laden with rose bushes that no grave was clearly visible, she spoke of the rose’s scent and color, its parentage and other history, its growing habits, and so on. We were listening to a book.

What did I see there? The beautiful survivors. A number of sprawling Duchesse de Brabant, an old shell-pink Tea rose of 1857; the blood-red Cramoisi Superieur, a China rose of 1832 or 1837 (no one is quite sure), so established in our state now as to be almost a native plant; the almost forgotten rose Hoffman von Fallersleben, a Hybrid Musk, a ruffled light pink beauty that grows eight to twelve feet; Monsieur Tillier (1891), an extraordinarily fragrant orangey-pink Tea rose that ages to violet red or even brick red. And there were so many others: Perle d’Or, Reve d’Or, Paul Neryon, Monsieur Boncenne, as well as the two budded cuttings I bought for only $10.00 each: Duc de Cambridge, a crimson-mauve heartthrob of 1800 which I’d never seen before and HAD to own; and another stranger to me, the little known Joasine Hanet, a Hybrid Musk of 1847, a rich pink that blooms profusely in spring and again in the fall. One rose, a Lady Banks, had climbed, lo, these many years, 40 or 50 feet into a pine tree—an astonishing sight! Imagine a dark green giant trailing a white chenille shawl from shoulder to ground.

The tour is an annual event. If you love roses, and especially if you delight in old roses—or just want to know more about them—you should consider attending the tour next spring. In addition to selling cuttings of these old roses, some of them quite rare, at least in this country, the Heritage Rose Group and the committee that sponsor the tour also run a raffle and a silent auction; best of all, knowledgeable rosarians are seated or milling about everywhere to answer your questions and lead you to the very roses you may be asking about. I’ve never seen a cemetery so alive!

 

--Darrell g.h. Schramm

Every color as long as it’s green

“In every wood in every spring there is a different green.”

So it says in J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” and so it is in my garden.
No matter whether the iris is blooming or the roses that follow, green is the primary color in my yard, even if you were to block out that big patch of lawn that my dogs play on.
I love green. It heralds spring and new life. Green can be peaceful or vibrant. It can “pop” from the landscape or serve as a backdrop. Selecting plants for their greenery can enhance a garden even when there are no flowers in bloom.
There are so many variations of green: the bluish green of eucalyptus or many junipers, the silvery foliage of many lavenders or germander, the apple green of the new leaves on the flowering pear tree, the lemon-lime green of some hostas, the mesmerizing variegation of the Canna ‘Pretoria,’ the dark, brooding green of some pines that is almost black, especially after the rain; or the green and yellow speckled leaves of the Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata.’
Although I love all the shades of green, I especially like the lime-green foliage plants. They pack a powerful punch and to me a note of whimsy. They stand out beautifully against a backdrop of dark green foliage and really glow next to the purple foliage of the Cotinus ‘Royal Purple.’
The variety of lime-green foliage plants is growing rapidly with the hybridization of new Heuchera and Coleus varieties. The splashes of color overshadow the flowers.
Both do well in shade with moderate watering. Plant them towards the front of the border. The Heuchera is a mounding plant while the Coleus is branching and will need to be pinched back to gain a full, bushy look that is attractive. Beware of snails and slugs that are attracted to both plant species. Both do well as container plants too.
Many Hostas have lime-green foliage and enjoy the shade like the Heuchera and Coleus.
Here too the flowers are less significant then the foliage. Some Hostas will grow two feet tall and three or more feet wide, but there are also dwarf varieties. Snails and slugs love Hostas.
One of the hardiest plants in my garden is Asparagus ‘Sprengeri.’ Lime-green mounds of foliage that bear red berries in winter. The tiny white flowers are insignificant. The liquid filled roots multiply and spread so be prepared for it to spread.
I’ve used it alone in hanging baskets on my patio for years. It’s evergreen and seems to do fine if I miss watering it occasionally.
Caryopteris ‘Worcester Gold’ attracted me the minute I saw it at a nursery several years ago. It grows about two to three feet wide and almost as tall. It’s a deciduous plant that will take full sun and moderate watering.
The lime green oval leaves are almost yellow. Clusters of lavender blue followers last all summer long. I liked it so much I spent a year looking for a second one.
A taller plant with lime-green foliage is Coleonema, also known as Breath of Heaven. It’s a common plant and even if you don’t know it by name, you’ve probably seen it in many yards. The tiny pink or white flowers appear in winter and spring. Some varieties grow to 10 feet.
Ipomoea ‘Marguerite’ is a pretty vine with heart-shaped lime-green leaves. Commonly known as Morning Glory, I grow it as an annual in hanging baskets and gracefully trailing in containers.
--Dottie Deems

Northern California pests

Most insects we find in our home gardens are more annoying than anything else and we are not threatened by their existence.
But agriculture in Northern California has been battling several insects; the glassy-winged sharpshooter and the Mediterranean fruit fly (or Medfly).
Since 1990, the glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca coagulata), has been a problem in California spreading Pierce’s disease. Appearing first in Southern California, the main threat has been to grapevines, although Pierce’s disease also causes leaf scorch in almond trees, mulberry, cherry plum, oleander shrubs and sweet gum dieback. In grapes, the bacterium spreads systemically, causing the leaf scorch. Once a plant is contaminated, it can act as a reservoir of the disease.
Pierce’s disease is caused by the bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa. This bacterium blocks the xylem, the part of the plant that transports water and nutrients from the roots upward throughout the plant. Although Pierce’s disease has existed for more than 100 years in California, there previously was no carrier as effective in transmitting the bacteria as far and as fast as the glassy-winged sharpshooter.
The glassy-winged sharpshooter is native to the Southeast United States. It is one-half inch in length, has a brown to black body with a lighter underside and stippled cream colored spots on its head and back. It gets its name from its transparent wings. It can fly up to one-quarter mile and is able to survive temperatures as low as 20 degrees.
Being a voracious eater, it can consume 10 times its body weight in liquids per hour. Sharpshooters acquire bacteria from infected plants and transmit to healthy plants while feeding. It is the adult stage of the insect that carries the bacteria in its mouthparts, which will remain there throughout its life cycle (of six months).
Small wasps that are egg parasites are used as biological control agents. In the spring, these wasps attack the glassy-winged sharpshooter’s egg masses. Eggs parasitized by these tiny wasps have pinpoint holes found at one end of the egg. On the other hand, chemical controls (various insecticides) are beneficial in areas where the insect is not well established
Recently I read that Yolo and Napa counties have avoided the glassy-winged sharpshooter while in Solano County, the Agriculture Department has successfully eradicated this pest, after a four year battle. For further information, refer to http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/Pestnotes.
Another insect, the Mediterranean fruit fly (also known as the Medfly), was discovered in Dixon in September 2007. This discovery quarantined a large area in Dixon and stopped produce from being exported or sold locally. Fruits and vegetables had to be destroyed in an attempt to stop the spread of this tiny pest. Once a Medfly is discovered, eradication efforts are difficult and expensive.
The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the world’s most destructive fruit pests. The species originated in Africa. When it has been detected in Florida and California in recent years, it required intensive and massive eradication and detection procedures so it did not become established.
The Medfly larvae feed and develop on 260 kinds of fruit, nuts and vegetables, many of which grow in home gardens. They are detected with the use of sticky boards and baited traps. Medflies share regurgitated food with other Medflies which helps spread insecticidal bait through the population.
The life cycle begins when the adult female pierces a hole in the fruit, nut or vegetable and lays her eggs. The eggs hatch, develop into maggots and destroy the fruit pulp as they feed, turning it into a mushy inedible mass. The Medfly is smaller than a common house fly and is very colorful. It has dark blue eyes, a shiny black back and yellowish abdomen with silvery cross bands. They normally have drooping wings with blotchy patterns of yellow, brown and black spots and bands.
The Medfly would devastate agriculture if it became established in California, making produce look less appealing with less production due to loss of crops. This would drive the cost of fruits, nuts and vegetables up significantly. Farmers and home gardeners would have to use more pesticides to keep crops free of the Medfly maggots.
Each one of us should take responsibility and a personal stand to help eradicate these pests. We can do this by not bringing or mailing fruits, nuts, vegetables and plants into California, unless they have been agriculturally inspected. These pests are hitchhikers.
The Medfly discovered in Dixon was determined to have originated in Hawaii. Dixon is hoping conditions improve and eradication can be declared as early as August 2008.
-- Sharon Rico

Garden Gifts

I just can't get over the beauty of the blooming plants in my garden. This year the roses seem to be on steroids, they are just magnificent. I grow mainly the tough guys who need minimal care. My' Don Juan 'climbing rose must have over 30 blossoms on it. The deep red that ages to an almost red-black is gorgeous. ‘Joseph’s Coat', another climbing rose is just starting to put on its show. I love what a hard worker this rose is, blooming all spring, summer and into fall.  My 'Double Delight' rose tree is bursting into bloom with much longer stems than in previous years.  The conditions must be just right this year.

The irises are doing well this year too. My 'Bewilderbeast' is a show stopper this year with its purple and white blend of colors in a wild swirl pattern. It will be time to divide that one once it finishes blooming.

This time of year, I love racing out to the yard each day to see what has started blooming overnight. It's almost like Christmas. 
                                                               

-Karen Metz

For the love of tomatoes

Saturday’s 90-degree heat surprised my husband and me when we pulled on our work gloves. It was time to haul 2 yards of just-delivered soil to our newly built raised bed waaayyyyyyy in the back of our property … one wheelbarrow at a time. We did the same thing last spring, slowly filling our first raised bed over four days. This time we did the job in a day, fighting new calluses and dehydration the whole time.

 
Once we were done hauling, I couldn’t wait a minute longer: I had to go buy the seedlings for that fluffy soil.

 
As it turned out, going to the nursery was the hardest part of this adventure. So many varieties, so little space! It’s hard to keep yourself from trying every last one of the tomatoes. A friend of ours, with much more space, put in 40 tomatoes over the weekend. I assume she preserves a lot of her harvest. I’m keeping it to three plants, and, based on last year, I will freeze enough tomato sauce for two or three pasta feasts.

 
I’m going with a favorite — ‘Black Krim’, a heat-loving brownish-red tomato with rich flavor with a bit of saltiness — and ‘San Marzano Redorta’, an Italian plum tomato known for tasty paste and sauce. I’m hunting for a 'Burpee Supersteak', which I’ve heard does well in our summer heat. I’m already salivating at the thought of BLTs, with thick slices of ‘Supersteak’ Ts.

 
Oftentimes, however, the fruit never makes it into the house. I confess I’ve eaten sun-warmed tomatoes, just plucked from the vine, juice running down my chin onto my shirt. Ain’t it the best?

 
Maybe I’ll put a saltshaker out there this year.

 
— Kathy Thomas-Rico

Itchy Scratchy

I don't know about you, but I am an allergy sufferer.  It seems kind of cruel that someone who works with plants and the outdoors is subject to seasonal allergies.  From now until mid-summer, I will suffer the tree pollen, grass pollen and molds.

My biggest nemesis is my own walnut tree.  Those quaint caterpillar-like tassels (flowers) fall to the ground and poof out their pollen.  My eyes swell, my nose waters and I am a mess.

However, I can see past all of the allergies to enjoy my yard.  It's just popping with color now.  The Lady Banks rose, yellow, is blooming and looks like buttered popcorn.  The weeping butterfly bush (Buddleia alternifolia) is dripping lavender clusters and is covered with butterflies!  My sweet peas are just now coming in to bloom and I picked several small bouquets to perfume my kitchen.  The 'Betty Boop' rose is showing off her fancy cream petals with red edges.  The bearded irises petals are just peaking out the top of their sheaths.  One I am particularly waiting on is called 'Dangerous Mood'.  It's supposed to be so dark it's almost black.  I will have to snap a picture and post it here for you to see.  Oh, and don't get me started on the borage (Borago officinalis), the honey and carpenter bees are just buzzing over it!

Allergy sufferers be damned, I say suck it up buttercup and get out in the garden! I have...

-Jennifer Baumbach

Prepping for Summer

From snowy winter to a brief cool California spring to full-fledged summer (if only for a weekend!). In preparation for the coming heat, I've been overhauling my drip irrigation. Such a contrast from Quebec, where water use was charged in a flat rate. Here in Benicia we pay for incoming and anything outgoing via the sewers, so quarter-inch drip irrigation is the most economical way to go. However, it requires attention now and then, especially with a teething puppy loose in the yard. I use a combination of 1/2 gallon emitters and a few pieces of 1/4 inch soaker hose. I've also brought our gas mower in for blade sharpening and a general overhaul. A well-adjusted mower will work more efficiently and be kinder to the grass. Let's face it - I wasn't fast enough in making a decision about a new battery-powered electric mower. I could have traded it in. Ah well, next year.

-Riva Flexer

Photinia brings lush, vibrant colors to borders and hedges

What’s red and green, and grows all over? Which plant most often catches your eye this time of year?
If you answered Photinia to both questions, you’re right.
But even if you never heard of Photinia, you probably know what I’m describing. At this time of year it’s hard to ignore the glossy bronze-red and green foliage -- on the same plant at the same time -- creating beautiful borders, background and hedges all over Solano County.
Photinia fraseri or Fraser’s Photinia is probably the most common of the varieties in our area. With ancestors in Asia, the stock available to us here is a successful hybrid that has made itself right at home in our Mediterranean climate.
It’s versatile, colorful and tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions. According to the Sunset Western Garden Book, ‘Birmingham’ is the selection most widely sold in nurseries.
Photinia, pronounced “fo-TIN-ee-ah,” is a densely branched shrub, excellent for hedges or screens. The bright red coloring that attracts so much attention is new growth emerging. As it matures, the large leaves become dark green.
An evergreen, you can count on it to add color to your garden year-round. It can be pruned to create an espalier or a patio tree. Photinia prefers full sun but will be fine with a little shade. They are considered to be moderate to fast growers to 8 feet-12 feet high, 8 feet-10 feet wide. Leaves are up to 5 inches in length.
Photinia is a genus of about 40-60 species of small trees and large shrubs in the Rosaceae family that includes roses. Other close relatives include the firethorns (Pyracantha), cotoneasters (Cotoneaster) and hawthorns (Crataegus).
The scientific name Photinia is widely used as the common name. Another name sometimes used is “Christmas berry” but that seems to be the case for lots of plants that produce fruit that looks like red berries.
Foliage is dense and consists of elliptical to oval leaves. Spring brings clusters of small white flowers with a mild hawthorn scent. The small, bright red, berry-like fruit is produced in the fall and often continues into winter. Birds love the fruit and the plant itself is sometimes used as food for butterfly larvae.
Photinia is naturally topped with an irregular crown of angular branches. Hedges are often pruned straight across to provide a formal look. The plants can also be pruned to small trees by removing lower limbs.
Pruning for any reason should take place before spring growth begins or after the flowers bloom. It is generally recommended that leaf pruning be done with hand shears for the cleanest cuts; electric trimmers chew foliage.
This is not a difficult shrub to shape, but it’s important to do it regularly. It will look better and grow better with that little bit of care.
Water needs are not excessive but as with many plants, more water is needed until plants are established.
While Photinia is relatively disease-free, it’s a good idea to check branches and the undersides of leaves for bacteria and pests from time to time. Photinia can suffer from fireblight, a bacterial disease that may require the use of fungicides and removal of branches.
Insects such as lace bugs and aphids suck the fluids from plants and can appear on Photinia. Their appearance may be unsightly and in the case of aphids produce that unpleasant honeydew, but they do not usually cause serious harm to plants.
Introducing beneficial insects that prey on aphids and lace bugs, hosing the “bad” insects off or spraying with oil soaps before the problem becomes acute are all good solutions.
While pest management may seem a bit daunting, think again about how ubiquitous this plant is. The problem can’t be too overwhelming considering their popularity.
So in case you didn’t have a name for all those spectacular red and green shrubs around you, now you do, and if you already knew, maybe yours are the ones the rest of us admire.
-- Marime Burton

Up on the House Tops

No, it's not Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...but frost.  Did you get up early enough this morning to see the frost?  You might be saying, "Hey, wasn't the ending frost date the 22nd of March?"  Well, nature doesn't follow the "rules". 

In Dixon, I saw frost this morning and boy, it was a good one.  White, snowy patches atop the roofs, so I am sure some of the tender foliage of plants in my yard were touched as well.  Keep an eye in your own yard, as damage may not show up for a few days.

-Jennifer Baumbach