Category Archives: Flowering trees

Flowering trees, trees

Tree Varieties You’ll Love

We have Joyce Kilmer to thank for her poem ?Trees? that starts with the famous line:
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

In nature and in the garden it?s the trees that get most of the attention. Cambridge Dictionary defines the Wow Factor as a quality or feature?that makes people feel great excitement or admiration. Majestic and dramatic, no matter the size, a tree makes a garden or landscape speak that it?s here to stay.

Brahea armata – Mexican Blue Palm

Recently I had the pleasure to spend some time in a historic garden that dates back to the 1800?s. Last year this garden was featured on the Garden Conservancy Santa Cruz Open Days. The Conservancy?s mission is saving and sharing outstanding American gardens so I was thrilled to tour this garden, be introduced to several new tree varieties plus see some old favorites that might just work in your garden also.

Many of the hundreds of tall bearded iris were still blooming in the garden as well as early flowering perennials and shrubs. I didn?t see any dragonflies flitting about on this particular day but the stunning ornamental gate and mosaic created on one of the garden paths both feature dragonflies and I?m pretty sure they are regular visitors. The garden is called Odonata which is the order of carnivorous insects encompassing dragonflies and damselflies.

An unusual flowering dogwood from Mexico. Cornus florida ‘Pringle’

One of the most unusual flowering trees in Odonata was the Mexican flowering dogwood. This small ornamental tree, a cornus florida subspecies called ?Pringle? had the most unusual flowers. Their white bracts don?t fully open giving them a Chinese lantern look. This tree holds its foliage later than the more familiar Eastern dogwood and has reddish fall color. Glossy red fruit that forms later in the season is readily eaten by birds. This tree is showy and best used where the flowers can be appreciated.

Wedding Cake Tree or Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’

Another dogwood variety growing nearby was also new to me. Cornus controversa ?Veriegata? (Wedding Cake Tree) is graceful and spectacular with beautifully layered horizontal branches. Winner of the prestigious Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society the tree was covered with showy creamy white flowers in flattened clusters. Later the blossoms will give way to black berries in late summer that is, if the birds don?t get them first. Fall color is a lovely yellow color.

Golden Chain Tree aka Laburnum x watereri ‘Vossii’

Also in bloom, a laburnum x watereri ?Vossii? (Golden Chain Tree) looked spectacular with long, drooping clusters of lightly fragrant, bright yellow flowers. This handsome tree has a beautiful spreading canopy of bluish-green foliage and is a great choice as a single specimen or even in a group planting.

Honorable mention awards would have to be shared between the red form of Henry Lauder Walking Stick ?Red Dragon? and the white Flat Rock leptospermum. Well maybe the cryptomeria japonica ?Dacrydioides? (Whip Cord Japanese Cedar) or the pinus wallichiana ?Zebrina? (Striped Himalayan Pine) would also place.

Pittosporum ‘Silver Magic’

There were so many other note-worthy specimens in this garden. From showy shrubs like pittosporum ?Silver Magic? to large palm specimens such as Mexican Blue Palm and a giant bromeliad variety called a puya this garden is a landscape designer?s candy store. I even enjoyed the more common plants like lomandra ?Platinum Beauty?, variegated fortnight lily, a huge heuchera ?a la Rochette? blooming alongside a brilliant blue native pentstemon as well as gold flowering Moonshine yarrow.

It was an afternoon to remember between rain storms.

allergy-free gardening, dogwoods, Flowering trees

Dogwoods in the garden

Eastern flowering dogwood growing in Bonny Doon

I?m so excited. The dogwoods are blooming. Earlier this month there was nary a flowering dogwood to be found but now I?m seeing them everywhere. The native dogwoods in the Sierra are slower this year as the snow hasn?t even melted in many places yet but they?ll be blooming before you know it. If every year you vow to add a dogwood to your own garden here are some tips.

Dogwood are a good tree choice for the allergy sufferer as their pollen is not wind borne. Their showy flowers, which are actually bracts, are pollinated by insects. Their pollen is large and heavy, sticking to insects rather than becoming airborne and leading to sneezing, runny noses and watery eyes.

Cornus florida ‘Cherokee Chief’

There are four main species of dogwood trees. From the Himalayas in China comes cornus capitata. Korea is home to cornus kousa. Cornus florida is native to the east coast and the west coast is home to cornus nuttallii or the Western dogwood.

We are all familiar with the Eastern dogwood that?s blooming now. With various shades of pink or white blossoms they are stunning but rain and wind can cut short the flowering season many a year and the root system is prone to disease.

Our native Western dogwood is unfortunately prone to leaf spot fungal diseases when grown out of their range. They are a little temperamental in the garden before they reach the age of 10 years but after that they tolerate seasonal flooding and flower and grow with little care in morning sun or light shade.

The kousa dogwood is a more drought tolerant, disease resistant and a tougher plant all around. Large, showy flowers open after the tree has leafed out and remain for a long time. This makes it good for hybridizing with other varieties.

The Stella series is a mix of a florida on kousa dogwood roots. Vesuvius series is a cross of our native nuttallii with a florida as is Eddie?s White Wonder. There is also a nuttullii-kousa cross called Venus that displays huge flowers and gets its disease resistance from the kousa roots. All these cultivars strive to produce a tree with superior disease resistance and huge, long lasting blooms.

Cornus capitata ‘Mountain Moon’

Deciduous dogwoods don?t like wet feet especially in the winter. That?s how they develop fungal disease. But there?s an evergreen dogwood that can handle moisture all year round. Cornus capitata Mountain Moon is a tough tree that can handle strong winds and isn?t bothered by any pests or diseases. They enjoy lots of organic matter as do all dogwoods. Huge flowers up to 6? wide can last from late spring into early summer. After flowering, the fruits begin to form and grow into red balls about the size of large strawberries. This is the reason is it also known as the Himalayan Strawberry Tree.

Dogwoods attract a variety of wildlife. All sorts of critters use this tree for food and shelter. The giant silk moth and several species of butterflies favor dogwoods as host plants. The spring flowers provide nectar to bees and other pollinating insects. Robin and sparrow are just two of the bird species than build nests on the horizontal branches and many others seek shelter in the leaves. The high calcium, high fat, fleshy red fruits are eaten by 35 species of birds including titmice, juncos and waxwings.

Many people think of dogwoods as an understory tree but this location is often too shady. Grow them in a full or partial sun location that gets afternoon shade after 4:00 PM. Add a couple of extra drip emitters or inline drip tubing to your irrigation system and they?ll be happy.

Early spring bloomers, flowering shrubs, Flowering trees, fragrant landscape plants, fragrant plants, vines

Just a Few of the Plants Blooming Now

Fragrant Blireiana flowering plum

Some years plants bloom a couple weeks earlier than usual but not this year. Our February weather put many plants on hold. Nature?s catching up now. Outside my window the Blireiana flowering plum is covered with dark pink, double blossoms. It’s one of my favorite spring blooming trees with a sweet fragrance strong enough to scent the garden. It usually blooms in February in time for my birthday but not this year. Worth the wait. We all look forward to the earliest flowers of the new season. Spring officially began on March 20th.

Forsythia

The cold and rainy weather didn?t stop an old fashioned shrub like forsythia from blooming. They figure prominently in many old gardens because they are tough plants, able to survive neglect and still look beautiful. The bare stems of forsythia are completely covered with deep golden-yellow flowers in late winter and early spring and become the focal point of the landscape when in full bloom. The showy stems of this easy care shrub are great for cutting. Forsythias are native to eastern Asia but a chance discovery in Germany by a grower who specialized in breeding for the cut flower industry led to the especially vivid variety ?Kolgold? in the 1800’s. Forsythia has long been used in Chinese medicine. The flower petals contain powerful bacteria-fighting properties which make it an important dressing.

Flowering quince

Flowering quince is another old garden staple providing early color. They are easy to care for and nearly indestructible in almost any soil that is well drained and not overly fertile. Once established quince is a very drought tolerant plant and their spiny branches make them an excellent choice for hedges, screening or as a security barrier. There are red, pink, orange and white flowering varieties. The Toyo Nishiki cultivar even has pink, white and solid red flowers all on the same branch.

Yellow clivia

Buds are just starting to form on my clivia or Kaffir Lily. What would a shade garden be without a bright orange clivia? Every year I look forward to their huge flower clusters that emerge from between dark green, strappy leaves. Even in dark shade they will bloom and brighten the late winter/early spring garden although they would do fine in morning sun. If you have a north facing window you can grow them as houseplants. Clivias are hardy to several degrees below freezing. I have a yellow flowering variety also but I?m not seeing any buds forming yet. Possibly it?s too young. Clivie bloom best when crowded.

Hardenbergia ‘Happy Wanderer’

A beautiful vine that blooms at this time of year is hardenbergia ‘Happy Wanderer’. In the pea family, this evergreen vine looks like a small wisteria when in bloom. Pinkish-purple flowers cascade in clusters on twining stems that reach 12-16 feet long. They require little water once established and are hardy to about 23 degrees. If you have an older, tangled plant you can rejuvenate it with hard pruning in early spring after flowering. Never prune in late summer or fall because you will cut off the wood that is going to bloom the following winter.

The last plant I couldn’t live without is Fragrant Sarcococca. The tiny white flowers of this plant are easily overlooked but you can’t miss their scent. I have one near the front door that greets me with that vanilla fragrance every time I walk in or out. The flowers are followed by a bright red fruit. Sweet Box forms a natural espalier against a wall and if you have a problem spot in deep dry shade where other plants won?t grow give this plant a try. They are easy to grow, deer resistant and trouble free.