Nov. 2012 - Holidays are near and Fall leaves are here!

In my case, it is nearly all Pin Oak leaves. Hehe.. yes just the word "Taco" is deceptive, sorry Sally, it's not a very common tree at all. I don't think many people are aware of that tree even.
Guy Sternberg selected it not only for it's unique growing situation there but it has some interesting Fall colors that it's 2 contributing trees, the Bur and the White Oak don't have.
It has a combination of the 2 colors in the Fall, it's like the Bur's unspectacular brown mixed with the White's spectacular purplish/red Fall leaves. And I believe, it was unlike those other two in that it was a faster growing tree, unusual for a member of the White Oak family. I wasn't involved in it's discovery and selection, I only remember a few things about it that I was told, it's an interesting tree.

I don't know that I'll get a flu shot, I may go the season with my fingers crossed this year.

Haha! Till you quit smoking! I used to smoke too, in my early twenties, well, 18-28 or so, actually in that period I had quit for 2 and a1/2 years then started back up unfortunately. I haven't had one cigarette since Feb. 95', it is hard to quit smoking, I tried hundreds of times before I actually did it, but boy I felt better afterwards. Cold turkey and willpower is the only way.

Wow, 7 quarts of broth, that's a bunch, maybe you could have it with your Thanksgiving dinner, it sounds good.
Will

THANKSGIVING!!!EATS!!! OH YEAH!!!^_^ ^_^ ^_^
And if I tried with effort I could almost make that sound intelligent, maybe!??lol

I passed my 30 years no smoking on August 13, 2012, 7:30 PM.
I had smoked for 23 years, up to 3 packs a day. When I decided to quit my kids were after me to quit & then cigarettes were going up to $7 a carton. So I quit cold turkey that day!

I turned 69 the other day. I surely think if I wouldn't have quit smoking I would have never made it.

We are finishing the inside of our house we started on 3 years ago.
Here is the Hickory hardwood floor in my office. Door & window trim is new., too.

Love those floors!! We put down prefinished oak a few months ago. I love it! I would have preferred to finish it here so it would be more durable but as small as our house is it just wasn't pratical. No place to move furniture for that!! lol. You always do excellent work Bernie!!

Yes, really nice hardwood floors there, door and trim Bernie. I've seen them do that diy on tv, all the sanding on the floor, applying stain to the floor with a mop, polyurethane.. whew, I am exhausted just thinking about it! But, one can really save a lot of money doing that stuff themselves, very rewarding feeling I bet.

Yes, Thanksgiving, lots of food!

This Mezoo from Pepper has taken off already, that plant is very reliable to grow as a cutting! Here it is in a hanging basket, I guess they think it's time to get all thick and stuff, I have four of them in hanging planters! -

42/°/53°/32°
Partly to mostly cloudy. Winds ENE 5 - 10 mph

Thanks for the thread Will!
That is a pretty cool tree!
I would have never believed you were a smoker. Im glad you were able to quit for good. I feel great. I smoked a lot longer.
I had an acorn sprout and I did pot it up, but it didn't do well and slowly died. I think the tap root needed more room. I didn't have a place to put it anyway :o(

Ju,
ROTFL!!! But, that was perfect because that's how Thnksgiving food should be appreciated!!

Bernie,
You are so right. I went over a pck a day but I can't imagine three. A killer habit for sure. And look at the energy you have today!
What a beautiful floor and door, and a very nice room to work in!

Will,
Very nice plant! It's really thick and healthy!

It's a going to be a quiet day here. I've been busy for a few weeks now and need to kick back and do some of my own stuff.

Have a quiet day everyone!

I hate to burst everyone's bubble, but the flooring was pre-finished. Tongue & groove. My son did the work. Glued & nailed down. He did all the trim work too. We stained & varnished everything, too.
He is the master around here, I just do the leg work to get things bought, etc.
Want to see more of his work, go to;
www.berniescabinets.com
I did the website.
Bernie

Oh, well, good work anyway! It looks great prefinished! Somebody had to buy it, haul it and install it! It's still a job well done and a job well done all around is even better!

My laugh for the day. Thanks Bernie!! It still looks good.

Yes, was a smoker back in the day. Now, if I could just quit drinking the whiskey every day!
I'm just kidding! I have drank maybe once this year!

Your welcome for the thread, maybe someone will do the honors next month.
Here is a bunch of crowded acorns as well! It's a bunch of White Oak acorns that I learned sprouted very soon after getting them in the Fall!
They all perished, I believe the cold got them before I got them buried deeper. I know about not having a place to plant trees! I'd love to start a White Oak tree in a permanent spot, it would make a great legacy tree. In this photo on the left is a Chinkapin Oak and on the right is a Swamp White Oak, I grew both from acorns. I got the Chinkapin Oak acorns from Fleming Park here (Lake Jacomo), and the Swamp White Oak acorns from Powell Gardens Arboretum just East and South of here. I am partial to the Oaks in the White Oak family because they live so much longer, and don't break as easily in storms. Altho, I'd take ANY oaks over Bradford Pears or Silver Maples! These are getting big and their taproots must be pretty long but I don't have a place to plant them and I don't want to throw them away. Their leaves are all curled up because that was this Summer when it was so hot and the leaves fell off then grew back. Behind them on the left is an Eastern White Pine that died over the Summer.

Here is the biggest Oak tree (or any tree), that I've ever seen. It's the Missouri state champion Bur Oak, (which was also the last time I looked a runner-up for the national champion Q. Macrocarpa). It is South of Columbia, Mo. about 60 miles I think, in McBaine in Boone County.

Thanks Sally, the Mezoo is gonna make a great hanging plant someday.

Get this, the post office returned an envelope with a SpiderPlant baby in it and 2 Wondering Jew cuttings in it for insufficient postage. The cuttings were rotten when I got them back and they wanted the extra postage anyway. I wasn't home when she came but my friend gave them the $1.30 and it wasn't even delivered. I opened the envelope out of curiousity what they looked like and they smelled so bad I just put the envelope in the trash.

Thanksgiving is a mere 20 days away, yum! And almost time to power-shop!

I looked over the pics at your website Bernie, those are some real nice cabinets and stuff, good work on the website too.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back tonite!
Will

I actually meant to start it this time but you beat me to it!! LOL. I will try next time. Hopefully some new pics to post also.

Ok, but no spiders unless they have a white beard and a red hat and coat please!

I'll make sure to figure out how to photoshop so I can do that. lol

Oh dear..lol

Isn't this a pretty red/purple Fall color on my Swamp White Oak, (Q. bicolor)?! I need to try to talk my friend (the homeowner) into letting me plant it in her backyard somewhere.
It is just an outstanding tree and I'm thinking it'll live hopefully 400 or 500 years, that's your legacy tree, thanks Powell Gardens!

The Chinkapin Oak right of it hasn't started showing any Fall colors yet, I expect it to be a little less showy. The taproots must be getting a little cramped!
I got my leaf raking on again! Not a big fan of raking wet leaves, but one good thing is they pick up well since they are stuck together!
Will

I would take it except I'm out of room for trees now. lol. More have to die before I can plant anymore. When we first moved in here we had almost 25 trees on just under an acre. We've lost or taken down quite a few since then. 2 pears, 1 apple, 1 peach, 1 sycamore, 2 elms, 1 maple, 1 juniper (tall and skinny). That's what we have lost or taken down due to disease or bad placement.

I've planted a sugar maple and dogwood to replace the the shade from the trees along the driveway. The sugar maple is further back but will eventually provide shade and the dogwood will in a couple years I think.

Thanks anyhow! ^_^ I can always get more Swamp White Oak acorns at Powell Gardens, I just have to get there at the right time (around Sept. 24th) to get the acorns, there's trees all along that curvy walk going down the hill. The Chinkapin Oak acorns are easy to get at Lake Jacomo. The reason that I know Sept.24th is I took this dated photo that day, there is one Swamp White Oak in the photo even, there's that curvy walk! - That was the Powell Garden's Fall Plant sale in 2004, my friend bought the glorious Persimmon tree at that for $20, here it is today! -
Where'd that juhur go?!
Will

The plant sale is now held in the driveway. Makes it easier to load up the cars. lol. I haven't been there for awhile. My schedule is so crazy nowadays its hard to make it there. Funny thing is it's a straight shot from my house. lol

I'm still around, maybe, not to sure of reality !, planting the ditch lily around the garden to improve the soil the looks of things. Digging here and there and trying to get things done .Bagging pots that aren't sealed or frost proof looking over the garden plans and little plants in grow bags.
Planting and grow light setups things ,things an more things that aren't all that much but seem to take forever to get done lol.
Have some little pow wow coneflowers in my wanna be cold frame, and some hybrid cross daylily,, victoria lace x ed brown... They say ed brown is a good one for increasing ruffled edge blossoms on the hybrids, guess I will find out next year the year after or the year after that ARRGH!!! Why did they invent patience and time?to test and ,or aggravate me is my guess, lol yep,,, they did that just for me!!lol

Good to see ya, juhur! I just got back from voting. That was the first time I've ever had to wait to vote and I've been voting for 20 years. I saw people waiting in lines on the news but in Sugar Creek, MO.?! It was the first time somebody ever announced, "first time voter!" and she wasn't 18!

Yeah, I remember getting the plants to the car was quite a job there at Powell Gardens, glad to hear they've changed that.

Oh, I too know about patience and time as I usually get plants quite small and need to wait a few years for them to look presentable! But, I've done a bit of waiting and I now have quite a few larger plants (that started out small) that today are doing me proud!

Now, I'm not sure that that's a Chinkapin Oak, Chinkapin Oak leaves look quite a bit different than the "Chinkapin Oak" seedling I got. It looks like Bur Oak or possibly White Oak, I also used to grow them from acorns alot. But, I thought that was a Chinkapin Oak for sure. Upon looking at it now, it looks very much like Bur Oak, which isn't a bad tree at all. But, it's a super large tree and one that requires lots of space and has virtually no Fall color unless you like brown. I like many other attributes besides Fall colors in trees though. I like the longevity of the Bur Oak, (around 300 years), the size of the Bur Oak. I personally want a historic home someday and it's the ultimate old home tree to have in the front yard. It is known for having great big branches down lower that you could hang a swing bench on. Here's one that I used to live by. - The form of the tree/branches and it's bark is only rivaled by other Oaks in the White Oak family.
Seedling leaves often look different from the mature trees of the same kind, so maybe it's still a Chinkapin Oak. Here's what the Chinkapin's leaves are supposed to look like. - http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=QUMU Here is Bur Oak (Q. macrocarpa). - http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=72

There were or are a few Bur oak forests in southern Indiana and southern Ohio, been a while since I have seen any. They use to grow uphill of the beech trees(another becoming rarer) in the hilly forests .
They are an interesting form to look at when growing in the open pasture or grass land like White Oaks.Of course the red oak is nice too,, someone has one a few blocks away ,delightful form and color! That one is about three times as tall the house it is next to and about halfway or so to maturity, beautiful old tree so far.
OF course as are the ones in your pics!! Now if we could we figure how to be around as long as that from planting them to watching them mature we would have it made?!!! wouldn't we!!!lol
Only now this has me wishing I was a tree! How odd?? Elizabeth!!!LOL

I voted today too. Busiest I've ever seen it but I didn't have to wait. I live in a town of around 200 people so when I saw over 800 on the machine this morning I had to laugh. Of course that's the whole surrounding area but it's still a good number especially early in the day.

I wasn't purposely being rude in not answering that, i just know I would start a political fight!! We have enough,enough,enough???lol

That's why I'm not mentioning names or anything like that. lol. I'm just glad it's almost over. Or is over? Close enough. LOL

I like to walk thru woods that are full of Bur Oak trees. American Beech trees are nice. I always did like the smoothness of their bark and how the trunk is tall. I have never seen a Beech tree, if they grow around here I don't know where. According to Wikipedia, they aren't in Missouri, though they are in IN. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagus_grandifolia
Though, other sites say it is here, I've never seen it but that doesn't mean it isn't here somewhere! - http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=fagr
I don't know if Wikipedia is an authority on trees! I like Wikipedia and all but I'm inclined to go with usda.gov on this!

I like the Red Oak family too, just not as much! lol Pin Oak (a Red Oak tree) has got to be one of the most commonly planted residential trees there is.
Red Oaks are a faster growing bunch of trees and the quality of the wood is lower and they only live prolly between one half to one third as long as a White Oak tree, prolly closer to 1/3.
To each his/her own, but give me a White Oak!

Thanks for the compliment juhur, I hope the ones in my pics turn out good someday!

Oh, an open grown old Bur or White Oak tree is the ultimate Sleepy Hollow tree too! They are just more apt in general to be a nice roundness and more inclined to live longer and be less stressed out if not competing with other forest trees, grown in the open. Just imagine this great big old Bur Oak tree (in Independence, Mo.) without leaves on it and a headless horseman coming out of the trunk! -

Yeah, if one was a tree they wouldn't have to worry quite as much about age!

Boy, politics is the excitement of the hour! Oh, I agree too about politics, I'm not saying anything one way or the other or mentioning names..lol

Will

The Red Oaks I am talking about are not Pin Oak, Pin oaks are nice medium fast growers with their pyramidal form ,but they lose their branches way to easily.(as do many over planted trees)
Near the house my red plum is a favorite,pretty in spring,and scented all season, not much at making with the red plums though,it was a wrong choice for that here .lol (mistake)
Native Red Oaks have the traditional recognized Oak form,nothing like the Pin Oaks have, Okay the beech tree ,(and there is a big old rare one in a park not far from here) smooth gray bark (really smooth like paper),and real straight upright growth pattern with large oak like branches, Shallow root system ,needs a lot of cover and mulch ,defining it as a forest area only tree, I believe I had read where it takes 800 yards of constantly moist soil for a beech tree to mature to it's maximum growth.
Where you are that would be woodsy lowlands ,lots of lowlands where you are but not that many that are woodsy anymore. same around here also.

Yeah, the Red Oak tree is nice. There is even a little city in Iowa named "Red Oak". - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Oak,_Iowa I used to pass by that town on 1-29 when I'd go to the Omaha zoo or just up there on my travels. Actually, I like Red Oak better than Pin Oak too. I think the pyramidal form and just more maybe outlined or uniformed look or something makes Pin Oak such a popular tree in people's yards. I like out of the ordinary trees and stuff!

The Purple Leaf Plum? It's an ornamental tree, more known for it's purplish foliage, not the plums! - http://treesandshrubs.about.com/od/commontrees/p/PurpleLeafPlum.htm If that's the same tree some people have referred to it as the "Purple puke tree"!
Some people are kinda biased against trees that aren't green. They're like, "trees are supposed to be green". I don't really agree with that, there is quite a few trees that are nice that aren't green, the Purple Leaf Plum, 'Bloodgood' Maple, 'Forest Pansy' Redbud, that Copper Beech tree, that Tri-colored Beech tree (I forgot the name). I'm sure there's more non-green cultivars and stuff out there that aren't coming to mind right now. I used to go to this one McDonalds to see this Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood' that was just incredible. - I used to grow it from seeds from this tree thinking I'd also have a glorious tree in a pot, then I learned it's a grafted tree.

The only large tree I have is the yellow poplar and it 2 yrs old and just past 6 ft this month, next couple of years it will get large, and a Asian pear growing at the end of garden has made about 12 ft now but doesn't really count in this conversation about native trees.

Oh forgot Blue Spruce it is taller than the house now,it was in bad shape after being messed up as a seedling about a decade ago . I trimmed a second main trunk stem (it was growing with two) Will do pics when I get more batteries for the camera (not a green theme)

Yes, that IS a big tree, the Yellow Poplar or Tuliptree. Actually, it isn't a Poplar like that name says. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liriodendron
It's a neat tree, you also have to have ALOT of space for that tree. It is one of the tallest if not the tallest deciduous tree in North America. I wish I had room for one, it would be a must-have for a big yard or a field. It is an awe-inspiring tree when mature, you think when looking up, "how does a tree get that tall?!". You just can't beat it unless you go to the Pacific Northwest, I will go there someday!

Good job pruning, I have seen several Spruces that were left to grow on their own and they look hideous later. A spruce with two (or more) leaders is ruined unless all but one is cut off.
Blue Spruces grown from seed (or seedlings) I heard have a good chance of reverting to green, some stay blue, but it's a gamble. The only way to get a guaranteed blue one is to buy one of the blue cultivars like 'Fat Albert' or 'Hoopsii'. - http://www.treehelp.com/trees/spruce/spruce-types-colorado.asp

This message was edited Nov 7, 2012 3:41 PM

The yellow Poplar lets a lot of light in under where it grows , it is host plant for Eastern yellow Swallowtail Butterflies the branches do not do as much damage if they break, (the house ,yes?) Only it does suffer from trunk rot rarely.
Have seen bunches of them as they are as common here as Redbuds an started as wild plants that came up one day I let a few grow ,one I will keep.
They make good fence posts (antiquated info) and their wood still makes beautiful counter tops!!! Yes if I was a dog?lol I have found a favorite!!!!
Oaks ,Beeches, and old Atlantic red or white cedars are still my long time favorites. I don't have the right soil here for cedars or beeches, well a beech might work with some arranging,only you know how that goes!lol?
I have still been working with my Daylily and planted some garlic today, had to wait a while to plant as it was all I had to keep the Vampires and ghouls away during Halloween....(
Fall ground is always too wet and doing things can get muddy,raised beds,, raised beds,, soil improving soil improving and a so on so forth so forth, That use to be a song, i do that once in a while don't I lol Nice fall though, except for the storms in the east ,really nice!!!

I've heard that too, that Tuliptree is a butterfly magnet, so it's the Eastern yellow Swallowtail eh? Cool, that's good to know. I love to have butterflies around. I'd like to have something besides rotten tomatoes for them to feed on! lol

I'm going to try
Spicebush for that if I am able also.I imagine where you are you have to look for more southern zone plants for the BF's
All that dry rocky soil makes for a bundle of summer "burn outs" these days,tree cover first.
As said previously rocks are nice to look at ,,but they do get warm

Not all that southerly here really. It's below Canada that's for sure! If you look at a map, our lines of latitudes are nearly the same, around 40°, this area might be one degree less than yours. You can see it at Wikipedia for example - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Creek,_Missouri

I got a Butterfly Bush from Pepper last year and now it is getting some size, next year it should be getting up there, maybe it'll attract some butterflies.
Hehe! I hope rocks are nice to look at or I'm in big trouble!

I would love some spicebushes here but no good place to put them really. Not unless I go down to the property line and dig a hole in the messy area there and stick a couple in the ground. lol. I have witch hazels finally. Put them in my old chicken coop. Get some size on them then I will start planting ferns and either hostas or some woodland flowers. Stuff that I can let go and not worry about weeding. lol

That i like what makes Daylily, Coneflower, willow, several as that so nice, you do not have to pay any attention to them and they go and go.
Woodland flowers can be hard to establish ,so I hear,myself I would try a few easy shade flowers to start , that's not advice only me about me,lol They are a quality all their own once established though! very nice...
Well I still have my var. butterfly bush won't know till next year about the cuttings I made though, By then I will be taking cuttings of Jackmanii and Niobe clematis and I have autumn all over because of letting them go to seed.

I am wanting to go as native as possible in this spot. It's in a corner next to the pasture that hasn't been mowed in years and woods. If anything decides to escape to those areas I want it native so it's good for the ecosystem, not bad. I need to improve the soil but I won't. lol.

Kinda like snowflakes,cardinal flowers and Dutchman's breeches things like that , that's the direction your going?

Yeah, mixed with ferns. I have one dutchman's breeches already but cardinal flowers and I don't get along. I can't keep them alive in sun or shade for anything. lol

I am pretty sure that I've been duped, my "Chinkapin Oak" is Bur Oak I think! Does anyone else think it is Bur Oak and not Chinkapin Oak?
They still have cheap seedlings at the Missouri Dep't of Conservation seedling sale but they have changed the price structure it appears. Now, instead of usually $8 for 25 seedlings it is 10-40 seedlings at $1 per seedling. Not as cheap as before for smaller orders but the larger quantity customers I'm sure like the new deal. - http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/mdcdevpub/apps/seedlings/search.cgi?record=all . They kinda are suggesting breaking the law oddly enuff, talking about it is an answer to what tree farms and retail companies have wanted. I always thought it was a violation to re-sell the nursery stock but in the MDC magazine that doesn't sound like the case, they seem to be condoning it. - http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2012/11/growth-industry
Maybe I'm just mad because it isn't so cheap anymore for the one or two bundle customer like me.
But, that Spicebush is still for sell there if anybody in Missouri is interested, about 5/6 the way down when you scroll all the seedlings for sell online. It's still a better deal than buying from anywhere else, just not as good as it was..lol - http://extra.mdc.mo.gov/cgi-bin/mdcdevpub/apps/seedlings/search.cgi?record=all . If I'd known that the tree police weren't really coming I'd have possibly been growing their seedlings and selling them for $10 apiece or something! I kinda feel like I've been discriminated against in favor of the big customer.