The other day while eating at my favorite lunch spot I noticed a decaying hemlock with deciduous seedlings growing out of it, a nurse log.
Nurse logs are rotting logs that support tree seedlings. As the old tree decays it creates a seedbed for tree seedlings. The decomposing wood stays moist and provides organic matter for seedlings to grow.
There were Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) seedlings growing out of a Hemlock log (Tsuga canadensis).
Look through the opening in the brush to find the hemlock trunk on the right behind the stump.
The yellow birch parent grows about 80 feet away.
This nurse log is resting on a rocky ledge while we are in the middle of a drought. The yellow birch seedlings are thriving and show no signs of stress.
Below is a great video about nurse logs for more information.
Next time you’re walking through the forest and see a tree growing on a tree, or a nurse log, take a moment to appreciate the glory of nature.
Today I spotted flowers on a stewartia seedling in the yard. I was beyond ecstatic. I felt the rush only gardeners and adrenaline junkies know.
There was something special about those flowers.
The flowers were flatter,brighter and more delicate than the parent.
A flower on the parent stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia).
The parent Stewartia growing in the front yard. In hindsight, I should have planted it at least another six feet away from the house.
The flower I saw today.
The grouping of stewartia seedlings, the one I saw is in the center of the picture with two flowers.
Big difference!
While we’re taught that all plants of the same genus and species grow X feet tall and X feet wide and have X attributes they don’t. There is always some variation unless plants are grown from cuttings or cloned.
When I laid eyes on the stewartia I planted in front of the house I knew it was destined for my garden. The tree had a distinct upright habit, rare for stewartias, as well as a strong central leader.
Take the time to listen to plants they’ll tell you where they want to grow and what they need to thrive. Forget what you know and listen to the plant.
Coral Bells (Heuchera spp.) love dry spots in the shade, like growing through the cracks of a bluestone patio.
Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) likes soil that is always damp, but not wet, and spreads like wildfire in the right conditions.
Plant begonias or impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) on shady patios in large containers. Old fashioned. Yes. Easy, colorful and bulletproof. Yup!
Pink impatiens hide an outlet while creating a focal point. This explosion of color will last until frost or the deer find them.
I’m a huge fan of tuberous begonias on shady patios. They have colorful flowers all summer.
Columbine (Aquilegia spp.) likes to grow just beyond where the gutter drips. Don’t plant under the gutter, the plants will be smushed by downpours. Columbine goes dormant by the end of summer but you’ll be rewarded next spring.
We don’t treat all people the same. Why should we treat all plants the same?
When you learn that all plants and people are different you’re well on your way in this adventure we call gardening, and life.
I thought it would be fun to share some pictures of my tree peony flowers along with some tree peony growing tips.
Tree Peony Growing Tips
Many people think tree peonies are difficult to grow. They’re not. However, tree peonies are slow growers and take a long time to become established.
Once established, for me meaning over 5 years in one spot, I don’t recommend transplanting. I transplanted well-established tree peonies out of necessity years ago with no luck. That loss hurts me to this day.
Tree peony flowers prefer shade or they dry out quickly. There’s really nothing you can do about it, though some use peony umbrellas, but be aware that the sun does damage flowers.
I grow my tree peony in USDA Hardiness Zone 6. The soil is average, not too sandy not too organic. I wouldn’t plant a tree peony where the soil is wet all the time or on a sandy hillside.
Originally I had three tree peonies. However, over time trees have grown in and shaded them. While the tree peonies didn’t die they stopped getting bigger and only had a flower or two a year. Eventually, I removed them.
The tree peony in this picture has been in the same spot for about 15 years. I didn’t do anything fancy when I planted it. I dug a hole, planted the peony and watered it. I usually deadhead the spent flowers. This peony keeps performing with little care.
Unfortunately, I planted a Dawn Redwood 10 feet from the tree peony and I don’t know how long until the Dawn Redwood takes all the nutrients and sunlight from the area.
I hope these tree peony growing tips will give you a head start on planning where to plant your tree peonies.
Tree Peony Flowers
I started taking pictures of this Tree Peony on May 5th and took the last picture on May 9th. The Tree Peony was in bloom for a couple of weeks.
While Tree Peony blooms don’t last long they are show stoppers and well worth planting if you have a forever home for them.
I love the way the water beads off tree peony flowers and foliage.
An opening tree peony flower in the rain.
The tree peony shrub in the rain.
A tree peony flower at the end of the day in the shade of the Dawn Redwood.
The tree peony in afternoon shade and it’s doing great!
More flowers have opened a couple days later.
Need I say more? What amazing flowers!
This tree poeny flower is almost six inches in diameter!
There were a total of 9 flowers, there are two more flowers in tight buds on the lower right of the shrub and one flower about to open in the upper right.
A few weeks after bloom the tree peony is full of seed pods.
The seed pods have a very distinct look.
If you’re not going to collect the seeds of your tree peony they should be deadheaded by cutting off the seed pods where they meet the stem.
This brief video explains deadheading tree peonies.
If unsure whether to plant a tree peony or not use the tree peony growing tips above and go for it. Tree peonies, like all other plants, grow one leaf at a time. There is no magic involved in growing tree peonies.
Some landscaping practices should be avoided. Below are my top three landscaping pet peeves.
Tags left on Plants
Why would anyone leave plant tags fluttering in the wind? Leaving tags on plants takes a beautiful landscape and makes it look like the side of the highway. Please remove all tags before leaving the job.
I occasionally leave a tag on a new plant, at my house, so I can remember what I planted or learn a plant’s name. However, if you’re bringing a plant to someone’s house either know what it is or keep a list of what you planted.
A great way to practice plant identification is to walk through a newly installed commercial landscape. Guess what the tree or shrub is and check the tag to see if you got it right!
Landscape Fabric
There’s never a reason to install landscape fabric under mulch.
In a few years, the mulch will break down and weeds will grow into the fabric becoming a headache to remove. In ten to fifteen years, when it’s time to redo the landscape, someone will suffer while ripping the fabric out. If you’ve never ripped out landscape fabric I assure you it’s no fun.
There’s never a reason to install landscape fabric under gravel either.
Dirt settles in gravel and creates the perfect seedbed for weeds. Weed roots anchor to landscape fabric under gravel the same as under mulch. It’s more of a hassle than it’s worth.
Volcano Mulching
Trees are not supposed to look like a fountain of lava shooting out of the top of a volcano. If you leave mulch against the base of a tree you’re doing more harm than good.
A properly mulched tree should have, at most, two to three inches of mulch tapering down six inches or more away from the tree.
Please stop the volcano mulching madness.
If you’re new to landscaping please heed the pet peeves on this page so your landscape doesn’t suffer.
I woke early today, I don’t know why, perhaps because of Daylight Savings. Seeing the sunrise inspired me to wander the garden with the Pentax.
The only other flower in bloom this week is Dorothy Wycoff Andromeda (Pieris japonica ‘Dorothy Wycoff’). It’s early-March with little else going on and Dorothy is covered with red buds. Andromeda is a reliable broadleaf evergreen growing 4 to 6 feet tall, the perfect size for the back of a foundation planting. Andromeda prefers partial shade, full sun can leave her foliage yellow and susceptible to lace bugs.
Gladiator Alliums (Allium ‘Gladiator’) are starting to emerge. I bought these on a whim and LOVE how easy they are to grow. Alliums, in general, are easy and deserve to be on the ‘Hard to Kill’ list.
There are several groupings of poppies around the yard. For such a fragile flower they are a ‘Die-Hard’ plant.
I have a funny story about poppies.
When my wife and I moved into the house twenty years ago there was a red oriental poppy by the front door. The previous owners were going for a period garden to match the age of the house.
My wife loved that red poppy. I didn’t realize how much until it was too late.
One day, I asked one of the crew to weed the gardens and, unfortunately, he didn’t know the poppy was a plant, not a weed. That poppy was my wife’s favorite plant in the yard. I’ve tried to replace it at least three times. I can never find a deep enough red.
My wife shows gratitude for the replacements but I can tell they’re not right in her eye. I’ll keep trying.
I bought a few tree peonies at Cricket Hill Garden in Thomaston, CT years ago. If you’re a fan of tree peonies you should visit Cricket Hill Garden when the peonies are in bloom.
The peonies have lingered since I planted them, yet it’s no fault of Cricket Hill Garden. They grow extremely slowly and only have a few flowers every year. Last year I culled two of them. This peony is surviving but only gives 3-4 flowers for a week each spring. The flowers are absolutely GORGEOUS so the plant keeps its place in the garden.
Last spring I was ‘Gung Ho’ about my square foot garden but as the season progressed enthusiasm waned. I cleaned out the weeds and vegetable plants last fall. I guess I missed the red onions. If onions can grow in the fridge why not the garden in the middle of winter?
Onions are biennials. The first year they get established the second year they flower and set seed. I should have a nice crop of onion flowers soon!
That’s it for this post. I’ve got to go move the clocks forward.
Last week, I wrote about the blooms on Arnold’s Promis Witch Hazel. It’s looking better than last week with flowers continuing to emerge.
This week I’ve got a few more things in bloom. Nothing is knocking it out of the park but need I remind you it’s early-March with temperatures going down to the twenties, and sometimes teens, at night.
My Lenten Rose has a few small flowers. I don’t remember the cultivar so we’ll call it Helleboris sp.
You have to look through the foliage to see the flowers. I had to kneel down to get this picture. There’s one flower in the middle with two other stalks flanking it.
I have a couple of clumps in the shade that aren’t as far along. They’re significantly larger clumps and put on quite the show every year. Every bit of purple you see is going to be a flower stalk. Green are the leaves emerging.
My Japanese cornel dogwood, Cornus Officinalis, is going to be in full bloom in a week or two. Even though the flowers aren’t fully open the tree has as much, if not more, color than my Witch Hazel.
The last flower in bloom is Crocus. About 8 years ago Crocus clumps started showing up in my side yard. Every year I find a few more. You have to be within a few feet to find the clumps but they give me something to look at as I wander the yard on warm days.
As I write I’m reminded of one more early blooming plant I’d like to add to the garden. Snowdrops, or Galanthus nivalis, have small drooping white flowers this time of the year. They only grow a few inches tall and form spreading colonies in humusy soils.
What are your favorite late-Winter blooming plants? Do you have anything in bloom?
This spring as I was raking leaves a bird quickly, yet conspicuously, flew away from where I was working. It was a little bird with four eggs in her nest.
If you’re walking and a bird conspicuously flies away and chirps you’re too close to her nest. Indeed, the bird is trying to trick you into chasing her rather than find her nest. Robins are the biggest offenders of this behavior.
Winter burn is when evergreens lose water quicker than they can replace it. In particular, you see winter burn when there’s either a brief winter warm spell or strong winter winds with frozen ground.
If your trees or shrubs have winter burn all you can do is prune out the dead branches and hope they regrow.
I decided not to cut the tip where the bird’s nest was to give her cover and mark where I shouldn’t walk. The nest was at the base of the burnt foliage.
I’m not sure what’s going to become of the Cryptomeria. Every one of them lost a central leader. I guess they’re going to become large shrubs.
Pruning Japanese Cryptomeria
Cryptomeria responds extremely well to pruning. The tree sprouts new growth better than most needle-leaved evergreens after heavy pruning. While I know they’re going to grow, unfortunately, I’m not sure in which direction.
Sadly, the momma bird lost her chicks a week after they were born. One morning all was well. That afternoon the nest was tumbled and the chicks were gone with momma flitting in the tree above.
You can see water droplets on her wings in the pictue below. She’s a great mom!
Let me know the type of bird that is and I’ll update the post. I’m thinking Finch but birds aren’t my specialty.
For one thing, Siberian Carpet looks like a Juniper without the prickliness. As a matter of fact, you can run your hand over the shrub without scratching.
In addition, it likes partial shade and average to dry soils. Most literature doesn’t recommend planting in full sun but the shrub will do great under those conditions.
Siberian Carpet may become leggy after several years. Therefore, use selective pruning to keep it in bounds. Another small issue is trapping leaves in the fall and winter. As a result, it’s going to take a little extra time for cleanup.
Plant in odd-numbered groupings and let it grow together for maximum effect.
